by Meng Wu edited by Natalie Hudson-Smith In a previous post, Can gold melt at room temperature? Melting temperature depression!, we talked about how the color of gold changes from shiny yellow to dark red …
Sustainable Nano
Nanostructures in butterfly wings
by Jaya Borgatta A few weeks ago (before it started snowing!) I went on a walk in the garden across the street from the University of Wisconsin chemistry building and saw an abundance of beautiful …
How science helped me overcome my fear of death
by Natalie Hudson-Smith Do you remember the first time you saw a dead body? I do, and it isn’t a very pleasant memory. I remember approaching a casket to view the body of a man …
It’s National Chemistry Week! What do Marvelous Metals have to do with nanotechnology?
by Miriam Krause Happy Mole Day! On October 23 we celebrate Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 1023), an important unit of measurement in chemistry. Every year, the American Chemical Society promotes the week that includes Mole …
#NationalNanoDay Linkfest
by Miriam Krause Happy National Nanotechnology Day! The National Nanotechnology Initiative chose October 9 (10/9) for this festival of all things nano in honor of the nanoscale, which is 10-9. In other words, a nanometer …
Seeing the Invisible
by Xiaoxiao Yaoedited by Natalie Hudson-Smith Human beings have been trying to figure out the elementary composition of the universe since the era of ancient Greece. Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, created atomic theory. In …
Can We Make Nanoparticles More Sustainable?
by Joe Buchman Most of us are familiar with the concept of “side effects.” This is when something that is designed to be helpful ends up having some harm that goes along with it. For …
How Click Chemistry is Like Playing with LEGOs
by William Beimersedited by Stephanie Mitchell LEGO blocks may be one of the simplest but most genius toys ever created, as evidenced by their popularity. Taking such simple building blocks that are modular and being …
Combining the Old With the New: using nanotechnology to enhance ancient medicines
by Larissa Davis You walk past a body products store on a weekend shopping trip and are immediately overtaken by fragrance, your nose saturated with floral, sugary and tropical scents. Intrigued by the promise of …
Nanostructures in chameleons, damselflies, and peacocks (oh my!)
by Jenny Orbeckedit by Emily Caudill My favorite rain jacket is bright blue. So bright, in fact, that my first semester chemistry professor was able to point it out in a class of 300 people …