Tag: chemistry

H. C. Ørsted discovered aluminium, but he did not take his discovery seriously

Ørsted, the great physicist, was also a great chemist. In 1825, he was the first to discover the element aluminium, but it was not until 100 years later that his discovery was recognised.

Sulphuric acid was the bedrock of the Industrial Revolution

And it is still used in fertilisers the world over today.

Atomic structure is key to making crack-resistant phone screens

A new material can withstand powerful impacts without breaking and could be used in glass products in the future.

No health risk from scented products

Perfumes are in the clear.

3D-model of cream cheese can reduce food waste

Scientists have for the first time created a 3D-picture of a food product. The new knowledge has the potential to reduce food waste due to defective products.

Scientists develop explosives-detecting liquid

Scientists have developed a liquid that fluoresces when in close proximity to explosives--may even replace sniffer dogs.

Ozone may be the cause of health problems among airline crew

Pilots and flight attendants have long complained about health problems. New study suggests that high ozone levels and low cabin humidity might be to blame.

Lack of oxygen did not hold back evolution of complex life

There was much more oxygen on Earth 1.4 billion years ago than scientists have previously thought. Rules out conventional theories as to what kick-started complex life on Earth.

Iron could help make cheaper solar panels

Scientists have developed a new iron compound that could be used in future solar panels, and make them cheaper, lighter, and smaller.

New biofuel cells will retire toxic metals

Natural enzymes can replace the expensive and toxic precious metals used in fuel cells.

Scientists discover impossible hydrogen bond

This type of bonding was previously considered near impossible.

Could laser light and nanoparticles replace chemotherapy?

Scientists are investigating the possibility of eliminating malignant tumours using lasers. The collaborative efforts between physicists and doctors is already producing promising results.

Historic discovery: huge electric field occurs spontaneously in laughing gas

Scientists have discovered a new, astonishing electric phenomenon.

Scientists create crystals that absorb and store oxygen

New substance binds extremely concentrated quantities of oxygen, could have many uses as the oxygen can be released again when needed.

Danish scientists are turning CO2 into medicine

We should find more ways to reuse CO2, says scientists who just developed a method to turn the greenhouse gas into medicine.

Cancer cells on a mission to the ISS

As part of an international project, a Danish professor will soon be sending a batch of thyroid cancer cells out into space. The aim is to figure out why the absence of gravity inhibits the growth of thyroid cancer cells, and to examine the cells’ ability to produce and secrete proteins that can open up new possibilities for cancer treatment.

Hairdressers troubled by respiratory problems

Asthma, congestion, dry coughs and wheezing. These are just some of the symptoms which plague hair salon workers.

How spiders weave their webs

Scientists have at last figured out what goes on when spiders spin their webs.

Untested chemicals damage children’s brains

The number of industrial chemicals with a proven neurotoxicity effect on children’s brains has doubled since 2006. Meanwhile, the number of children with developmental disorders such as autism and ADHD is on a rise. Scientists are raising the alarm.

A 3D-printed running shoe that regenerates itself

A running shoe that can regenerate itself overnight, and is printed in 3D to fit your foot perfectly. That is the vision of a British design project with Danish participation.

Pregnant women who eat fish get chubby daughters

When an expectant mother gets the environmental toxins PCB and DDE into her bloodstream from eating fish, her daughters are likely to become overweight, new Danish/Faroese study reveals.

New food to speed up satiety in overweight people

Scandinavian scientists aim to find out how the structure of food is related to satiety. The objective is to develop new foods that can help overweight people as well as people who eat too little.

When insulators become electronics

A new, superconducting oxide system multiplies the electron mobility in electronic oxide transistors. Benefits include superconducting nanotransistors, self-charging electronic devices and a new type of RAM.

New micro pills make swallowing easy

New research project aims to make pills easier to swallow by encapsulating medicine in micro-containers. The containers can be used for all types of medicine – including those currently taken by injection.

What’s so great about wholegrain bread?

Wholemeal bread has become generally accepted as the healthy alternative to bread made from refined white flour. A new study with pigs, bread-baking and fancy technology brings us closer to an answer to why this is so.

Prosperous Vikings whitewashed their walls

Archaeologists have found Denmark’s oldest lime kiln near a large Viking hall at a Viking settlement on the Danish island of Zealand.

Synthetic mussel adhesive sticks to anything

A new type of glue that can make any kind of materials stick together is currently being developed by Danish scientists. The glue can even glue wounds together and make objects stick under water – and if it breaks, the glue can repair itself.

Our homes are filled with soot nanoparticles from candle flames

Cozy candles and sizzling pans make Danish homes as polluted as a typical Beijing apartment, new study finds.

Mechanism behind weird membrane patterns revealed

See pictures of the mysterious cell membrane patterns that scientists discovered five years ago. The mechanism behind these patterns has now been uncovered.

Old concrete can purify rainwater

Strange as it may sound, concrete from your old bathroom can help make our environment greener. This is because concrete has a great ability to bind phosphorus, say the scientists behind a new project.

Decomposed organs reveal skeletons’ last days

Mercury analyses of the soil surrounding medieval skeletons reveal how the deceased spent their last days. The discovery may change the way archaeological excavations will be carried out in the future.

A new way of making complex anticancer compound

Ingenol, a substance known for its anticancer potential, has so far been extracted from plants, but now scientists have achieved the first efficient chemical synthesis of the substance.

Carbon may replace metal in mobile phones

A new technique gives scientists greater control in the production of carbon nanotubes. This may solve the problem of finding enough rare metals to produce electricity in the future.

New CO2 findings may unlock Mars secrets

Scientists have figured out how CO2 reacts with sunlight. The findings give a better understanding of atmospheric evolution on Earth and on other planets, not least Mars.

Fungi and rust can stifle smell of slurry

New study shows how fungal spores and rust can help reduce the stench of slurry in biofilters, which help prevent harmful substances from being released into the atmosphere.

New nanotechnology paves way for molecular super glue

A new method which enables the combination of metals and plastics at a molecular level has been developed by Danish researchers. This ‘molecular glue’ forms strong and tight sealing bonds between materials that would not otherwise stick together.

Reduce PFC exposure and rescue childhood vaccines

To ensure that childhood vaccines work, we need to reduce our exposure to harmful PFC substances. The maximum daily intake should even be reduced dramatically, new data shows.

Special genes suspected to cause lethal overdose in drug addicts

Forensic scientists investigate genes from dead and living drug addicts on suspicion of link between overdose risk and minor variations in the genes.

New centre to unravel mystery of solar energy storage

A new research centre has been given five years to develop new techniques for storing solar energy.

Soil bacteria can clean your drinking water

Bacteria that occur naturally in soil can effectively reduce the amounts of the pesticide residue BAM in drinking water.

Liposomes in skin creams don’t work

Liposomes in skin creams are not capable of carrying nourishing and beautifying substances into the skin’s deeper layers, as previously assumed.

Sea ice regulates greenhouse gases on land

Atmospheric levels of CO2 and methane above land are mainly determined by sea ice melting to water.

Sedatives turn fish into unsociable gluttons

Drug residues in the waterways can have unexpected consequences for our ecosystems, say Swedish researchers after exposing perch to anti-anxiety drugs.

Sun-kissed sulphur reveals volcanic effects on climate

Remains from the most powerful volcanic eruptions were branded by the sun before they ended up buried under the polar ice. This discovery enables scientists to find out when the volcanoes controlled the climate.

New hi-tech climate research station in Greenland

A new, state-of-the art research station is currently being built in the far north of Greenland. Here researchers will study how climate change affects the high-Arctic air, sea and wildlife.

Storm clouds are full of live bacteria

Hailstones are brimming with microscopic life, but mostly from plants, new study reveals.

The Greenland ice sheet will survive global warming

The inland ice will not disappear even though Earth’s climate is getting warmer. But the higher temperatures will lead to substantial melting of Antarctica, new study finds.

Synthetic supermolecule to fight cancer, arthritis and herpes

They look like tiny trees and they can be used to produce everything from printer ink to cancer drugs. New book outlines the great therapeutic potential of the supermolecules known as dendrimers.

Mercury pollution robs EU kids of billions

Global mercury pollution affects children’s brain functions and thus also their odds of getting a low-salary job. The total annual loss of life earnings amounts to €9 billion.

Renewed worries over carcinogens in foods

Acrylamide, a substance that can be formed during food preparation, has been linked with an increased cancer risk in the past. A new study brings us one step closer to proving that link.

Thawing permafrost emits more carbon than expected

Thawed Arctic permafrost emits more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than scientists have thought. This can have frightening consequences, warns a researcher.

Oilfields have reduced their methane emissions

Capturing methane-rich natural gas from oilfields has helped ensure that emissions of methane have been far lower than expected, a new study shows.

Hydrogen sulphide and lack of oxygen stifled early life

After the Triassic geological period gave way to the Jurassic, life was almost impossible on the seabed in coastal waters. The water here lacked oxygen but was rich in toxic hydrogen sulphide.

How to build the perfect sandcastle

Scientists have come up with a formula that makes it possible to build spectacular sandcastles.

Dyed clothes came into fashion in early Iron Age

Analyses of bog bodies show that dyed clothing became fashionable in the early Iron Age – centuries before previously thought.

Colour secrets revealed in fossilised fish-eye

A Swedish palaeontologist and Danish researchers have now proved that prehistoric fossils still have traces of colouring from the animal’s skin, hair or feathers.

Lack of oxygen led to first mass extinction

The first mass extinction of animal life on Earth was previously blamed on a rise in the oxygen concentration in the oceans as a result of a cooler climate. But a new study shows the catastrophe was really caused by a massive decrease in oxygen.

Air pollution hospitalises small children

Rising numbers of small children are hospitalised with asthma when air pollution increases, new study shows. One surprising finding is that ultra-fine particles from road traffic play only a little role.

Harmful bacteria invade the groundwater

New research reveals that bacteria in farm slurry seep down to the groundwater before they can be broken down in the subsoil.

The Earth has lost a quarter of its water

In its early history, the Earth's oceans contained significantly more water than they do today. A new study indicates that hydrogen from split water molecules has escaped into space.

Everyday chemicals impair effects of vaccines

High concentrations of so-called PFCs in children’s blood reduce the effect of vaccines, a new Faroese/Danish study shows.

The chocolate that won’t make you fat

By adding linseed and chilli to dark chocolate, researchers can raise your metabolism so you can eat chocolate without putting on weight.

New Year’s rocket science

Here's the full story of what happens after you've lit the fuse of a rocket and run off to a safe distance.

Resistant bacteria can be tamed again

Pioneering research has found the key to making resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics. New medicine could be on the market within two years.

Geology behind mass extermination

New study challenges the established view that a sudden climate change caused a sharp reduction in the number of animal species.

Uncharted area of the brain discovered

Researchers have unveiled a previously unknown area of the brain, a discovery which could lead to new kinds of psychiatric drugs.

Making plastic out of carbon dioxide

Finnish scientists are using carbon dioxide to create plastic coating for food packaging. They claim that foods would have a longer shelf-life with the new material than with traditional packaging film.

Air-traffic shutdown justified

Last year’s closing of flight zones due to the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull was justified, considering the potential damage from the ash, a new study concludes.

That dream screen is just around the corner

A Danish chemist expects the first new super-thin graphene screens to be in stores quite soon. But we may have to wait a few years for computers that use this miracle material.

Now we can learn more about chemicals in the body

Now it will be much easier to examine the effects of chemical substances on humans, thanks to a new computer model which compares data from all over the world.

Researchers sow doubt about Moon's origins

New dating of Moon rock pulls out the carpet from under the prevailing theory about how our Moon came into being. Either the Moon is younger than previously thought – or it was not born of a red hot sea of magma.