Enzymes, the micro machines in our cells, can evolve to perform new tasks when confronted with novel situations. But what if you want an enzyme to do an entirely different job—one that it would never have to do in a cell? In a recent report published in ACS Central Science, researchers show that they can mimic nature and perform evolution in a test tube, developing enzymes that can perform brand-new chemical reactions.

Real or counterfeit? Northwestern University scientists have invented sophisticated fluorescent inks that one day could be used as multicolored barcodes for consumers to authenticate products that are often counterfeited. Snap a photo with your smartphone, and it will tell you if the item is real and worth your money.

Of what use is a newborn baby? This rhetorical question, variously attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Michael Faraday and Thomas Edison, is meant to suggest that a novel discovery or invention whose ultimate utility is not yet known should be viewed as a bouncing bundle of potential.

Enzymes are naturally existing biocatalysts of great potential for application in sustainable chemistry. Yet, controlling enzyme reactions at atomic level is still a challenge in biology. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology provide novel tools to study enzyme catalysis, which allow them to direct the incorporation of 'naked hydrogen atoms' into substrates.

As an idea, the notion of an "artificial leaf" was always meant to be simple: Could scientists, using a handful of relatively cheap materials, harness the power of light to generate two powerful fuels—hydrogen and oxygen—by breaking apart water molecules?

Scientists have for the first time captured live images of the process of taste sensation on the tongue.

A fully extended strand of human DNA measures about five feet in length. Yet it occupies a space just one-tenth of a cell by wrapping itself around histones—spool-like proteins—to form a dense hub of information called chromatin.

A new type of graphene aerogel will make for better energy storage, sensors, nanoelectronics, catalysis and separations.

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in academic research laboratories say that they witness and experience fewer accidents and injuries when the lab's lead faculty member or supervisor is actively engaged in safety programs, according to a UCLA study.

The sandalwood tree (Pterocarpus santalinus) provides a durable timber that is used in Asia both as a source of incense and as the basis for devotional figurines, chess-pieces, and prayer beads. The characteristic red color of this precious hardwood is due to the presence of several complex secondary metabolites, such as the santalins and santarubins.

Using DESY's ultra bright X-ray source PETRA III, scientists have resolved the molecular structure of two promising drug candidates from the new group of Spiegelmers for the first time. The results provide a deeper understanding of the mode of action of these substances that have already entered clinical trials. The researchers from the Universities of Hamburg and Aarhus (Denmark) together with colleagues from the biotech company NOXXON in Berlin present their work in the journal Nature Communications.

Generation of fragment screening libraries could enhance the analysis and application of natural products for medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, according to Griffith University's Professor Ronald Quinn.

If you've studied ingredient labels on food packaging, you've probably noticed that soy lecithin is in a lot of products, ranging from buttery spreads to chocolate cake. Scientists have now found a potential new role for this all-purpose substance: dispersing crude oil spills. Their study, which could lead to a less toxic way to clean up these environmental messes, appears in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Tropical plantations in Southeast Asia have supplied most of the essential, natural rubber for truck, car and airplane tires for the past century. Now the tire industry and others say they're finally overcoming long-standing challenges to turn a desert shrub into an alternative source of the stretchy material. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) explains that the latest developments will help diversify an otherwise vulnerable supply chain.

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a method to increase the amount of electric charge that can be stored in graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The research, published recently online in the journal Nano Letters, may provide a better understanding of how to improve the energy storage ability of capacitors for potential applications in cars, wind turbines, and solar power.

Modern research has found no simple, inexpensive way to alter a material's thermal conductivity at room temperature.

As baby boomers age, the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease is expected to increase. Patients who develop this disease usually start experiencing symptoms around age 60 or older. Currently, there's no cure, but scientists are reporting a novel approach that reversed Parkinson's-like symptoms in rats. Their results, published in the journal ACS Nano, could one day lead to a new therapy for human patients.

Combining state-of-the-art realistic atomistic modelling and experiments, a new paper describes how thermal conductivity of an ultrathin silicon membrane is controlled to a large extent by the structure and the chemical composition of the surface. A detailed understanding of the connections of fabrication and processing to structural and thermal properties of low-dimensional nanostructures is essential to design materials and devices for phononics, nanoscale thermal management, and thermoelectric applications.

"I climbed Mount Everest." This is a boast that some climbers worldwide may think about as the reward for the biggest challenge of a lifetime. For Nepalese and foreign professionals who work there, getting up and down is not the only issue weighing on their minds. Climbers and adventurous trekkers arrive at the world-famous site and then leave with their memories but the human waste that they leave behind is a problem. The waste is attended to but there is a problem.

In the last 10 years, computer security researchers have shown that malicious hackers don't need to see your data in order to steal your data. From the pattern in which your computer accesses its memory banks, adversaries can infer a shocking amount about what's stored there.

Rice University engineering students are working to make virtual reality a little more real with their invention of a glove that allows a user to feel what they're touching while gaming.

At the RSA security conference in San Francisco. a security firm's researchers presented what they said was a vulnerability allowing attackers to crash iOS devices in range of a WiFi hotspot. Chris Mills in Gizmodo reacted to the news and said "Gulp." The attack can occur whether or not the victim deliberately connects.

The pilot set to attempt an ambitious crossing of the Pacific Ocean in a solar-powered plane said on Wednesday that the flight will not only test the aircraft but his own endurance as well.

Google said Wednesday it was launching its own US mobile wireless service, with considerable potential savings for customers using their devices at home and for international travel.

Alerts about hit-and-runs and kidnappings in Los Angeles will soon pop up on traffic app Waze, along with road closure information, the West Coast city's mayor said.

Self-driving vehicles hold the key to reducing traffic fatalities and will transform the automobile industry, a top Google executive predicted Tuesday.

Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Tencent are promising to build the cars of the future, vehicles linked seamlessly to the Internet and offering shopping and navigation help while on the road.

It's been dubbed "Taxis Gone Wild," and for the next 120 days Oregon's largest city will see a big shakeup in an old-school industry.

HBO Now, the cable channel's new stand-alone streaming service, is both a blessing and a curse.

As Congress considers whether to extend the life of a program that sweeps up American phone records, privacy advocates and civil liberties groups say too much about government surveillance remains secret for the public to fully evaluate its reach or effectiveness.

Sony on Wednesday chopped its loss forecast for the just-ended fiscal year owing to a pick up in sales and falling costs in its home entertainment business.

Imagine this: there's a knock at your door. "Pizza delivery!" It's the fifth time in the last hour that you've had to say to a delivery-person: "No, I really didn't order anything." That's irritating.

In-flight Wi-Fi is one of the most sought-after facilities for air travellers these days, now that laptops and smartphones are so common and so much of our working and personal life revolves around online services.

The old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link certainly applies to the risk organizations face in defending against cybersecurity threats. Employees pose a danger that can be just as damaging as a hacker.

American consumers are increasingly streaming television instead of viewing live broadcasts, often using services like Netflix for binge-watching, a survey showed Wednesday.

Drivers want more collision-prevention technology in their cars, but there is a limit to how much they will pay.

The House on Wednesday passed long-awaited legislation designed to thwart cyberattacks by encouraging private companies to share information about the attackers' methods with each other and the government.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) Center and Cray Inc. announced today that they have finalized a new contract for a Cray XC40 supercomputer that will be the first NERSC system installed in the newly built Computational Research and Theory facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A conference of Internet security experts is not for the faint of heart.

Facebook said Wednesday that profit in the first quarter plunged 20 percent from a year ago but revenues got a lift from robust growth in mobile advertising.

South Korea and the United States agreed a new nuclear cooperation pact Wednesday that stopped short of granting Seoul the permission it had sought to start reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.

As a strategy to decrease road accidents caused under the influence of alcohol, a group of young students at the Institute of Technology of Cintalapa, Chiapas, (southeast state of Mexico) have developed an automotive safety system that detects the alcohol blood level of a person and prevents them from driving.

In collaboration with European companies and research institutes, VTT has developed a cloud-based, easily customized, modular software platform for improving the sustainability performance of industrial products by lowering production costs and reducing emissions. The platform provides a virtual collaborative environment for organisations that are jointly developing the same product and/or service.

On 22 April 2015, it is world Earth Day. The idea is to raise awareness of the need to rely on renewable energy. The EU requires its member states to provide a a 27% share of renewable energies by 2030—up from a 23.3% share of the overall electricity generated in Europe in 2012. Thus, wind power is on the rise. But its success depends on European countries' renewable energy policies, which have a knock on effect on raising electricity bills.

Weeks before a key surveillance law expires, Senate Republicans have introduced a bill that would allow the National Security Agency to continue collecting the calling records of nearly every American.

This isn't your grandparents' "Beat the Clock."

Vehicle cost, current battery technology, and inadequate consumer knowledge are some of the barriers preventing widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. Developing less expensive, better performing batteries is essential to reducing overall vehicle cost, and a market strategy is needed to create awareness and overcome customer uncertainty. The report recommends a range of incentives that the federal government can offer to address these and other barriers.

Some small business owners say government quotas are keeping them from finding the highly skilled help they need.

Hackers who penetrated the State Department and White House computer networks in recent month were "Russian speakers," security researchers said Wednesday.