Chemistry

Perseverance rover perseveres: Explaining Mars’ atmosphere

NASA, as part of its everlasting odyssey to acquire knowledge about Earth’s famous neighbor, has launched yet another rover to embark on a treacherous expedition to the red, rocky terrains of Mars. The spacecraft was granted the name Perseverance, a title fitting for the government agency’s undertaking. This mission would be no straightforward task. Prior

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A fluorescent cry for help: How corals use “sunscreen” to stay cool

Glow sticks are part of a happy childhood memory for many. Beneath your fingertips, you snap the plastic stick in half, revealing a beautiful vibrant color show in the dark. While glowing colors may remind us of nostalgic times, fluorescing corals are a sign of a last-ditch effort to survive bleaching in the battle against

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Seeing through trees: Transparent wood as a next-generation glass

Glass is an integral part of modern buildings, appreciated for its uniquely transparent nature that provides a literal window to the outside world. Made mostly of sand, sodium carbonate, and limestone, glass resists intense weather patterns and precipitation and is recyclable and relatively inexpensive to produce. However, glass has several weaknesses — it is thermally

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From rock to water: Studying the origins of water on Earth

Imagine water seeping up from the solid ground beneath our feet. Then imagine water falling from the sky — not as rain, but as a giant rock crashing into Earth. Both seem like ridiculous scenarios, but they closely relate to real theories about what may have happened billions of years ago. The origins of water

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