Scientists hoping to find clues about the origin on life on earth have been analysing dust collected by a robot space probe from an asteroid named Bennu. When asteroid debris falls onto the earth in the form of meteorites it is heated and contaminated by chemicals in the atmosphere. However, the Bennu sample was contained […]
Good news and bad news about the drug thalidomide that caused deformities in babies after their mothers took it during pregnancy last century. The good news is that we now know the drug comes in two slightly different molecular shapes and only one shape causes deformities. The other shape is proving a useful drug for […]
Chemists win 2001 AD Nobel Prize for sorting right hand from left after 33 years of research. Many molecules come in two slightly different shapes. They are like your two hands – they contain the same components but are mirror images of one another in shape. The different forms of molecules are referred to as […]