Chemistry

American Chemical Society honors Gustavo Scuseria

Rice University’s Gustavo Scuseria wins the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry.

NSF extends Physics of Living Systems network at Rice

The NSF awards nearly $3 million to the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics to continue its leadership role in the Physics of Living Systems graduate research network.

For some peptides, killing bacteria an inside job

Rice scientists study the dynamics of the immune system’s antimicrobial peptides, which attack and eliminate harmful bacteria. They find peptides that invade bacteria and do their damage from the inside are underrated.

Docking peptides, slow to lock, open possible path to treat Alzheimer’s

Researchers have identified a possible “Achilles’ heel” in the frustration of amyloid beta peptides as they dock to the fibrils that form plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Tweezer grant pleases Rice researchers

Rice researchers have won an NSF grant to acquire a sophisticated optical tweezer microscope to manipulate, measure and monitor micron-scale particles.

Bilayer borophene is a first

Scientists make bilayer borophene for the first time. The versatile 2D material shows promise for quantum electronics, energy storage and sensors.

CPRIT grant establishes Genetic Design and Engineering Center

Rice faculty members led by bioengineer Gang Bao have been awarded a $4 million CPRIT grant to establish the Genetic Design and Engineering Center.

Rice, Baylor win defense grant to advance metastasis study

Rice University chemist Han Xiao and biologist Xiang Zhang at Baylor College of Medicine have won a $2.3 million Department of Defense grant to expand their efforts to halt bone cancer metastasis.

Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power

Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy.

NSF grant kicks off Center for Adapting Flaws into Features

Rice University has won a Phase I National Science Foundation grant to establish the NSF Center for Adapting Flaws into Features to investigate nanoscale chemical phenomena and optimize the structures and electronic properties of materials.

Programmed bacteria have something extra

Rice chemists expand genetic code of E. coli to produce 21st amino acid, giving it new abilities.

Targeted tumors attack not-innocent bystanders

Antibody-drug conjugates developed are found to attack not only targeted tumor cells but also nontargeted “bystanders.”

Drug doubles down on bone cancer, metastasis

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine develop an antibody conjugate called BonTarg that delivers drugs to bone tumors and inhibits metastasis.

NIH grant will help streamline chemical synthesis

Rice University chemist Julian West has won a five-year, $1.8 million National Institutes of Health grant to advance his lab’s efforts to simplify the synthesis of organic chemicals.

Reversal speeds creation of important molecule

A Rice lab’s reverse approach to making halichondrin B is the shortest route to a “rather complex and important molecule."