Blue-green algae sugar instead of glyphosate

Cooperation project develops environmentally friendly glyphosate alternative

06-Dec-2023 - Glyphosate reliably destroys unwanted plants, is used worldwide - and has been highly controversial for years due to its negative effects on the environment and health. For a long time, there was talk of banning the herbicide in Germany and possibly even throughout the EU. Fortunately, a better ...

Prebiotic chemistry - In the beginning, there was sugar

Chemist reports a reaction pathway in which minerals catalyze the formation of sugars in the absence of water

22-Oct-2020 - Organic molecules formed the basis for the evolution of life. But how could inorganic precursors have given rise to them? Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich chemist Oliver Trapp now reports a reaction pathway in which minerals catalyze the formation of sugars in the absence of ...

Chocolate physics: How modeling could improve 'mouthfeel'

27-Aug-2015 - Lecithin plays a vital role in the production of chocolate and many other foods. It's never been clear how this ingredient works on a molecular level, and confectioners have relied on observational methods to perfect their recipes. Now, scientists have shown how the field of molecular dynamics ...

The Sweetest Calculator in the World

Chemists let fluorescent sugar sensors ‘calculate’

23-Jun-2014 - In a chemistry lab at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany): Prof. Dr. Alexander Schiller works at a rectangular plastic board with 384 small wells. The chemist carefully pipets some drops of sugar solution into a row of the tiny reaction vessels. As soon as the fluid has mixed with ...