Here’s the weekly summary of both new chemistry research and studies that have been in the news. This week features research on a comet spewing alcohol into space, how wine waste can be turned into useful chemicals, and more. As always, links to further articles and original research papers are provided below, as well as further studies of interest not included in the graphic.

Note: links to studies behind a journal paywall are indicated with (£). Studies without this symbol are open access, and can be accessed and read for free.

Featured Stories

Orange peel waste helps remove mercury from oceans: [Article] [Study]

Super black material absorbs up to 99% of light: [Article] [Study]

Comet Lovejoy releases large amounts of alcohol into space: [Article] [Study]

Method turns wine waste into useful chemicals: [Article] [Study (£)]

Zircons suggest life on Earth began earlier than thought: [Article] [Study (£)]

Other Stories This Week

Liquid lens could lead to improved cataract treatment: [Article] [Study]

Turning bubbles during boiling on & off using surfactants: [Study]

World’s smallest heat engine uses a single calcium ion: [Article] [Study]

Cobalt atoms on graphene make effective catalyst for hydrogen from water: [Article] [Study]

Beetroot juice could help combat altitude sickness: [Article] [Study]

New method makes crime scene fingerprints glow under UV: [Article] [Study (£)]

New form of superionic ice could exist on Uranus & Neptune: [Article] [Study]

Crystals give insight into chemistry of DNA damage: [Article] [Study]

Arthritis drug doubles as hair fertiliser in mice: [Article] [Study]

Stick insects trick ants into dispersing eggs using fatty acids: [Article] [Study (£)]

New, safer to handle explosive molecules identified: [Article] [Study (£)]

New methane-metabolising microorganisms discovered: [Article] [Study (£)]

Keep track of older ‘This Week in Chemistry’ posts on the category page, or via the #TWIChem hashtag on Twitter.

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The graphic in this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. See the site’s content usage guidelines.

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