Chemical reaction

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A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants. Chemical reactions are usually characterized by a chemical change, and they yield one or more products, which usually have properties different from the reactants. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that strictly involve the motion of electrons in the forming and breaking of chemical bonds, although the general concept of a chemical reaction, in particular the notion of a chemical equation, is applicable to transformations of elementary particles, as well as nuclear reactions. Different chemical reactions are used in combination in chemical synthesis in order to get a desired product. In biochemistry, series of chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes form metabolic pathways, by which syntheses and decompositions ordinarily impossible in conditions within a cell are performed.

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News tagged with chemical

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Mars

Life on Mars theory boosted by new methane study

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (30) | comments 11

Scientists have ruled out the possibility that methane is delivered to Mars by meteorites, raising fresh hopes that the gas might be generated by life on the red planet, in research published tomorrow in Earth an ...


New way to break some of the strongest chemical bonds

New way to break some of the strongest chemical bonds

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (23) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Cornell University in the U.S. have found a new way of breaking two of the strongest chemical bonds, at ambient temperature and pressure, and this breakthrough could lead to ...


First Pump-Probe Experiment at LCLS Completed

First Pump-Probe Experiment at Linac Coherent Light Source Completed

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (12) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first experiment using the Linac Coherent Light Source to illuminate molecules via a "pump-probe" technique has been completed by an international team of more than 30 scientists from ...


Fine-tuned

Fine-tuned: A wholly new approach to tuning a laser's frequency

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (10) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 30 years, scientists have been trying to harness the power of terahertz radiation. Tucked between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum, terahertz rays ...


Gravestones Talking through Time

Gravestones Talking through Time

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A visit to your local graveyard can provide not only a history lesson, but a science lesson as well. Historians know that gravestones can reflect the lives of people whose memories are lost ...


Suzaku spies treasure trove of intergalactic metal

Suzaku spies treasure trove of intergalactic metal

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Every cook knows the ingredients for making bread: flour, water, yeast, and time. But what chemical elements are in the recipe of our universe?


Prof gets messages from space

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Barbara Frisken received several messages from outer space this year on her answering machine.


The Meandering Channels of Mars

The Meandering Channels of Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 5

Sinuous channels on the Martian surface may be evidence of relatively recent rainfall. Researchers plan to test this hypothesis by studying sinuous streams on Earth.


New on-off 'switch' triggers and reverses paralysis in animals with a beam of light

New on-off 'switch' triggers and reverses paralysis in animals with a beam of light (w/ Video)

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 4

In an advance with overtones of Star Trek phasers and other sci-fi ray guns, scientists in Canada are reporting development of an internal on-off "switch" that paralyzes animals when exposed to a beam of ultraviolet ...


Poisonous Poisson

Poisonous Poisson

Biology / Evolution

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0

In contrast to the exhaustive research into venom produced by snakes and spiders, venomous fish have been neglected and remain something of a mystery. Now, a study of 158 catfish species, published in the ...


Studying a Star Before it is Born

Studying a Star Before it is Born

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first phase of a star's formation are thought to begin deep inside a natal cloud of gas and dust. In the earliest stages, material coalesces under the influence of gravity into so-called ...


A light touch: Iron complexes as efficient catalysts for the light-driven extraction of hydrogen from water

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen is a promising alternative energy carrier that can be efficiently converted into electrical energy in fuel cells. One hurdle to the introduction of sustainable hydrogen technology is the fact that ...


Nature's fine designs: Scientists find modern lessons in ancient creations

Nature's fine designs: Scientists find modern lessons in ancient creations

Biology / Other

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nature and its bottom-up processes for creating robust and responsive materials are inspiring new generations of synthetic materials and creative design.


Self-destructing bacteria improve renewable biofuel production

Self-destructing bacteria improve renewable biofuel production

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe ...


Thermochemical nanolithography now allows multiple chemicals on a chip

Thermochemical nanolithography now allows multiple chemicals on a chip

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Georgia Tech have developed a nanolithographic technique that can produce high-resolution patterns of at least three different chemicals on a single chip at writing speeds of ...