Students from across the United States competed in the "You Be the Chemist Challenge" in D.C. Monday, June 19, 2017 (Kellye Lynn, ABC7)

The future scientists were put to the test. Some of the country's best performing students competed in a national chemistry competition. Seventh grade Science teacher Barbara Ferri explained, "These kids are doing not only high school chemistry, they are doing chemistry that is above even the high school level."

Samuel Rhee is an eighth grader at Maret School in D.C. who was one of 42 participants competing in the "You Be the Chemist Challenge" at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Northwest D.C. "I never really saw chemistry as something super interesting before but now I see you could actually do stuff with it," he remarked. Rhee and the other contestants battled it out in 10 rounds of competition.

The interactive academic challenge organized by the Chemical Educational Foundation provides the champion a $12,000 scholarship. Kai Svenson, 14, a student at Tilden Middle School in Rockville, Maryland told ABC7 News, "You see a lot of sports competitions and kids who aren't really into that, this is their big chance."

No matter the outcome, organizers say every participant leaves a winner. Avery Reese, manager of Outreach and Events with the Chemical Educational Foundation stated, "We want to make that connection for them now and show them how cool it is to know science and be a chemistry pro." Svenson continued, "It's not so much winning a prize or trophy but for me it's more. I want to become a chemist or a physicist and I want to know how much more I need to study to become that."

The competition involved students between the fifth and eighth grades.

Eighth-grader Ananthan Sadagopan, 13, of Westborough, Massachusetts, won the "You Be The Chemist Challenge."

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Students from around U.S. compete in national chemistry ... - WJLA - WJLA

June 19, 2017 Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has identified for the first time what drives the observed differences in the chemical make-up of sea spray particles ejected from the ocean by breaking waves.

The discovery could enable researchers to better understand how ocean chemistry and physics directly influence cloud formation processes. The improved understanding could make climate models more accurate, especially since clouds are the hardest variable to portray in current simulations.

Kimberly Prather, Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry and a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, led the National Science Foundation-supported study. She said its key breakthrough involved showing that the drops sent airborne by breaking waves take on different chemical characteristics depending on the physical forces induced by the waves.

"It's the first time anyone has shown that drops from seawater have different composition due to the production mechanism," said Prather. "We are uncovering how ocean biology influences the physical production processes creating sea spray aerosol. Previous studies have focused on the processes involved in the physical production of sea sprays but our studies demonstrated that chemistry is at the heart of many ocean-atmosphere transfer processes that have profound impacts on the composition of our atmosphere as well as clouds and climate."

Some sea spray aerosols are "film" drops that are laden with microbes or organic material that collects on the ocean surface. They form when bubbles at the ocean surface rupture. Researchers had largely assumed that all aerosols smaller than a micron in size were of this variety. Prather and other researchers showed, however, that there are other cloud-forming particles derived from "jet" drops that are predominantly comprised of very different chemical species including sea salt, microbes, and other biological species. These new drops are ejected in the aftermath of bubbles popping.

These two types of aerosols have different capabilities for forming ice crystals in clouds, meaning that whether a cloud actually produces no precipitation, rain, or snow can be determined by the type of microbes and associated biomolecules being ejected from the ocean. More importantly, the presence of a large bloom of phytoplankton, as happens during red tide events, alters the ratio of film to jet drops, meaning biological processes can lead to profound changes in sea spray chemistry and ultimately cloud formation.

The study, "The role of jet and film drops in controlling the mixing state of submicron sea spray aerosol particles," appears June 19 in early editions of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers found that jet-produced particles can make up nearly half the total number of submicron sea spray aerosols that contribute to cloud formation. To reach this conclusion, researchers induced phytoplankton blooms in natural seawater pumped into wave-generating tanks at a Scripps laboratory. The conditions mimicked those in the ocean that produce sea spray. The scientists differentiated the film from jet drops as they rose in the air above the waves by observing their different electric charges. Jet sea spray aerosols have a greater charge than film aerosols.

The findings are the latest to come from researchers at UC San Diego on one of the most mysterious frontiers of climate: how aerosols produced on land and at sea - whether sea salt, organic material, dust, or pollution particles - determine if clouds form and whether those clouds can produce precipitation. Prather, who pioneered methods to analyze the chemical composition of airborne particles, is the director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment (CAICE) at UC San Diego where the work was performed. In 2013, the National Science Foundation named CAICE an NSF Center for Chemical Innovation, one of nine such centers in the United States.

Co-authors of the study represented a range of disciplines from biochemistry to marine microbiology. Scripps oceanographers Grant Deane and Dale Stokes contributed to the study and in follow-on work will attempt to see if they can determine the composition of sea surface aerosol mixes by measuring how long bubble-filled ocean whitecaps last.

Deane said the feat of the study likely could not have been achieved by any one of the researchers working alone, making it a model for how complex environmental research is done.

"It's a truly collaborative work among chemists, biologists, and physical oceanographers," Deane said. "This is the way this kind of work has to be done."

Explore further: How plankton and bacteria shape ocean spray

More information: Xiaofei Wang el al., "The role of jet and film drops in controlling the mixing state of submicron sea spray aerosol particles," PNAS (2017). http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1702420114

As the oceans ebb and flow, the resulting waves and splashes form tiny bubbles. The bubbles burst and release a vaporcalled sea spray aerosolinto the air. This aerosol scatters sunlight and is involved in forming clouds ...

Take in a deep breath of salty ocean air and more than likely, you're also breathing in naturally occurring sea spray aerosols. But, there's much more in each of those tiny bursting "bubbles" than salt. They're also bursting ...

Few things are more refreshing than the kiss of sea spray on your face. You may not realize it, but that cool, moist air influences our climate by affecting how clouds are formed and how sunlight is scattered over the oceans. ...

Breaking ocean waves beget a wake of bubbles. Reaching the sea surface, they burst into a spray of salt and carbon-rich material produced from microscopic sea critters. The far-flung particles can loft high enough to affect ...

Ocean biology alters the chemical composition of sea spray in ways that influence their ability to form clouds over the ocean. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists using a new approach to study tiny atmospheric particles ...

All over the planet, every day, oceans send plumes of sea spray into the atmosphere. Beyond the poetry of crashing ocean waves, this salt- and carbon-rich spray has a dramatic effect on the formation and duration of clouds.

On sunny days like this, a cloud full of ice-lollies sounds like the ultimate treat and researchers from the University of Manchester have discovered such clouds, twice.

The weather report for California 8,200 years ago was exceptionally wet and stormy.

For years, automakers have been working to reduce pollutant levels coming out of motor vehicles' tailpipes. Airborne particulate matter, for example, is present in automobile exhaust and has been shown to contribute to tens ...

Can the continental United States make a rapid, reliable and low-cost transition to an energy system that relies almost exclusively on wind, solar and hydroelectric power? While there is growing excitement for this vision, ...

Scientists believe they have discovered the reason behind mysterious changes to the climate that saw temperatures fluctuate by up to 15C within just a few decades during the ice age periods.

Huge pulses of volcanic activity are likely to have played a key role in triggering the end Triassic mass extinction, which set the scene for the rise and age of the dinosaurs, new Oxford University research has found.

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Chemistry of sea spray particles linked for first time to formation ... - Phys.Org

As a senior member of the team might do instinctively, Brandon Phillips took on a mentorship role during Dansby Swansons early season struggles.

Swanson hit .186 in the Braves first two months. Fans called for theshortstops demotion as the team floundered.

But entering the Giants series this week, Swansons was hitting .317 (19-for-60) in June and his success is reflected in the teams performance. The Braves have won or tied four of their five series this month.

Swansons started to relax a little bit more, Phillips said. I keep on giving him hell. Im always going to keep on playing around with him, loosen him up so he can play a little bit focused. Everybodys coming together and its a lot of fun.

At the beginning, you can say he was trying to do a little too much. He was uptight a little bit. So I just told him, You know, relax and play the game. Be like you were in high school. Just be that ATL-ien that you are and just have fun. Hes started to swing the bat a little bit better and hes playing better.

Defensively, Phillips said he and Swanson are close to where they need to be.

Were having a good time learning each other, he said. He knows where I like to have the ball thrown at me. I know where he likes it and its just one of those relationships where we grew together. We really take pride in our defense. You have two guys who take pride in their defense and they want to excel and be great. We just have a lot of fun out there turning double plays, talking. And me being the leader, I can be a great role model for him.

Braves manager Brian Snitker has noticed the pairs dynamics as well.

You play that much together, it kind of has a way of working itself out, you know, when theyre relying on each other and theyre kind of clicking a little bit, Snitker said. You do establish a rapport with that guy thats beside you. The level of trust and everything grows with the amount of time and the number of games they play together.

And their only interaction isnt just out there on the field, either. Its inside as they talk about the game and playing the game. So its good for (Swanson) to have somebody with that experience beside him.

The clubhouse is meshing, especially during its recent success, according to Phillips. He and the other vets have embraced guiding the youth movement.

Ownership did a great job getting the right guys over here, he said. We didnt have the superstars, all those guys, but the right group of guys. We all have personality. We all get along with each other. R.A. Dickey, (Bartolo) Colon, myself, Kemp; we just all get along with each other and the young guys listen to us, follow our lead. They see our work ethic Those guys come to the field hungry, earlier than I do, in fact.

The Phillips-Swanson duo has started to gain traction since Phillips was acquired from Cincinnati to plug the second base spot before spring training. Not only has Swanson regained form, but Phillips has hit .339 since May 16. He produced back-to-back walk-off singles Saturday and Sunday to give the Braves another series win over the Marlins.

Were just having fun, Phillips said. Were still getting to know each other. Were starting to put everything together. The pitching staff is doing a great job. The bullpens looking good. Were starting to get quality hits, having great at-bats and like I said, we get to .500, theres no turning back.

Entering the week, Atlanta was 25-25 over its last 50 games. Phillips admitted he thought the road-heavy April and May hurt the team.

The only thing I can say is this: The beginning of our season has been crazy, he said. I dont like making excuses, but playing on the road, Ive never, ever had a season Ive been playing baseball for a long time Ive never seen a schedule like this before, or ever at the beginning. So whoevers listening to me and whoever made the schedule, yall need to change that. No team should go through what we just (went) through.

Despite their budding friendship, Phillips said hes tired of losing rock-paper-scissors to his protege. Phillips started a celebration where the two play the finger game on the field immediately following every win.

Im not going to lie to you, hes kicking my butt so far, Phillips said. So I got to step my rock-paper-scissors game up.

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Chemistry between Phillips, Swanson leads resurgent Braves - Atlanta Journal Constitution

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The Associated Press 11:06 a.m. MT June 19, 2017

Royce Engstrom(Photo: File image)

MISSOULA Former University of Montana President Royce Engstrom will earn $119,000 a year when he returns to teaching as a chemistry professor.

The Missoulian reports Engstrom will the third highest-paid professor of the 10 faculty members in the universitys chemistry department.

Engrstrom resigned as president in December at the request of Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian.

Engstroms 2016 salary was $303,145.

He is expected to teach an introductory chemistry course and an honors course this fall. He previously taught chemistry at the University of South Dakota.

As Engstrom prepares for his new role as a professor, the university has offered to buy out about 100 employees to ease a budget crunch.

Tuition and fees are also going up between 5 and 13 percent for students at the school.

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Former UM president to earn $119K as chemistry professor - Great Falls Tribune

William G. "Bill" Hime, one of the nation's first and premier experts in cement chemistry and a pioneer in failure analysis of concrete and construction materials, died on June 6 in Glenview, Ill. He was 91.

The death of the former senior principal of structural and forensics engineer Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. follows by just 10 days that of the Illinois firm's former president John M. Hanson.

Hime joined Wiss, Janney in 1984 with its acquisition of Erlin, Hime Associates, which he had co-founded 12 years earlier with Bernard Erlin. It specialized in chemical and petrographic analyses of construction materials.

The chemist had previously been a chemistry assistant professor at Louisiana Tech University, and also laboratory chief and manager of chemical and petrographic research at the Portland Cement Association.

Among other things, while at Erlin, Himes, he was widely consulted to offer analysis on the use of Sarabond as a concrete mortar additive that was linked to masonry cracking, according to a March 1986 ENR article.

Himes said the Sarabond leached out chloride ions when in contact with unprotected steel in a building, which, in turn, had accelerated corrosion. He said excessive buildup of rust pushed outward on the masonry, eventually cracking and displacing bricks.

In a 1983 article related to ongoing litigation, the New York Times said Sarabond had been used in about 2,000 buildings.

Hime published more than 100 professional articles in books and magazines and received numerous industry group awards. He remained a Wiss, Janney principal until he was 81 and "was a champion" in cement burn prevention, said the firm.

"When there was a need for analytical work, [Hime] enthusiastically beamed when he did hands-on 'wet chemistry' to get data that more [sophisticated] instrumental methods would miss, or not be as accurate," said former partner Erlin in a 2007 interview in Concrete Construction magazine, referring to him as "one of the greatest chemical and technological minds of our industry."

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Concrete Chemistry Pioneer Bill Hime is Dead at 91 - Engineering News-Record (subscription)

The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are a how-to guide written 20 years ago for chemists and chemical engineers. They provide insight on developing new chemicals and chemical processes and revitalizing existing ones so that they achieve their desired function while being environmentally and economically friendly. Its a creative challenge to put the 12 principles into action.

Five technologies that have succeeded in meeting that creative challenge are being recognized with 2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. Merck, Dow Chemical, Koehler, Amgen, Bachem, UniEnergy Technologies, and University of Pennsylvania chemistry professor Eric J. Schelter were honored for their achievements at a ceremony held on June 12 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

The Environmental Protection Agency established the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards program in 1995 as a competitive effort to promote chemical products and manufacturing processes that help the agency achieve federal goals set by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The program is administered by EPAs Green Chemistry Program and is supported by partners from industry, government, academia, and other organizations, including the ACS Green Chemistry Institute.

EPA has now presented 114 of the awards to scientists and companies selected from more than 1,700 nominations. The work described in the award nominations must have been carried out or demonstrated in the U.S. in the preceding five years. An independent panel selected by ACS, which publishes C&EN, judges the nominations and selects the award winners.

Among this years winners, Merck took home the Greener Synthetic Pathways Award for developing a streamlined synthesis of the antiviral drug letermovir, which is currently in Phase III clinical trials. The new synthesis reduces the process mass intensity for making the drug, a sustainability measure of raw materials used per amount of product made, by 73% compared with the original synthesis.

Dow and papermaker Koehler jointly landed the Designing Greener Chemicals Award for a new technology that uses a polymer coating on paper to create air pockets that collapse during printing to create an image stemming from the altered refractive index of the coating. This physical process replaces chemical dyes and image developers such as bisphenol A in the production of thermal paper used for printing receipts.

Amgen and Bachem teamed up to receive the Greener Reaction Conditions Award for an improved peptide manufacturing technology to make the drug etelcalcetide, a calcium inhibitor to help control activity of the thyroid gland in patients with kidney disease. The new process produces more peptide in less time while drastically cutting solvent and water use.

UniEnergy Technologies garnered the Small Business Award for its design of a vanadium-based redox flow battery for grid-scale energy storage. The new battery has double the energy density of previous flow battery technology even though its smaller and uses smaller amounts of chemicals.

Schelter got the nod for the Academic Award for developing a process that uses tailored ligands to separate mixtures of rare-earth metals during the recycling of consumer lighting and electronics. Scientists expect the approach to reduce energy use and the waste generated during recycling of rare-earth metals and help minimize new rare-earth metal mining.

The Green Chemistry Challenge Awards highlight the importance of sustainable chemistry and its impact across a range of disciplines, says Princeton Universitys Paul J. Chirik, a 2016 award recipient. Striking features common among many of the winners is that green chemistry often results in an improved product or a cost savings, demonstrating that environmentally responsible science does not have to come with reduced performance or added cost.

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Green chemistry efforts honored - Chemical & Engineering News

We occupy a world where words have become the opposite of technology. When I read a long essay or a thoughtful book, I subconsciously attribute an oldness to the author. Like charming remnants of a bygone era, theres something impossibly experienced about writing. But technology is a young beast. It turns ancient nouns into modern verbs you text someone, you dont write a text to them. You message someone, you dont compose a message to them.

Cinema has invariably punctuated this clash of communication. Love is traditionally a long-form feeling. Serious characters in dire situations write letters or, at worst, eloquent emails to each other. They accidentally discover one another through a medium of writing, before discovering one another through writing. The Lunchboxs middle-aged widower Saajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan) and housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) trade thoughts through handwritten notes because fortuitous words were their first point of contact. Youve Got Mails Joe (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen (Meg Ryan) exchange emails because of their chance correspondence in an over-30s chatroom. The Lake Houses Alex (Keanu Reeves) and Kate (Sandra Bullock) exchange letters because they exist across two separate time periods. These couples thrive on connecting intellectually to connect emotionally. Their souls meet for their hearts to beat.

But even they would tut-tut at the sight of red-blooded kids typing on their cellphone screens. Texting, for an entire generation of old-school idealists, is not the language of longing its the bastardization of personal expression. This is also because the movies, as a whole, have often condescended on the shorthand of new-age interaction. Just like travel is used for visual gratification, social media is used as a flimsy cosmetic device; emojis and web slang are tonal rather than narrative tools. But Alice Wus The Half of It (on Netflix) is that rare film in which words marry technology. It puts the text back in texting: Messages read like compressed letters, while cellphones feel like motorised papers. On the face of it, The Half of It has a crowd-pleasing premise: A closeted Chinese-American student (Leah Lewis, as Ellie) is hired by an inarticulate jock (Daniel Diemer, as Paul) to write love letters for him to the popular girl (Alexxis Lemire, as Aster). Ellie gets carried away; letters soon turn into late-night texts. Geeky Ellie finds a kindred spirit a mind of melancholy and culture and loaded ellipsis in pretty Aster, who in turn thinks she has located the literature behind Pauls empty gaze.

Despite the girls tender age, theres a charming antiquity about their textual chemistry. They speak like highschoolers, but write like artists freed from the shackles of social etiquette. They simultaneously hide behind and reveal themselves through their chats. For once, a distant romance is allowed to wear the wisdom of a digital emotion. The characters may be misfits whose art of differentness is inextricably linked to loneliness, but they prefer the slow-burning subtext of the written word even in the presence of human company. A memorable scene features an awkward date between Aster and Paul being rescued by an impromptu texting session under the table. Aster feels surer once she reads Pauls (but actually Ellies) messages, perhaps bemused by the fact that the boldness of their heads aided by safeness of technology is stimulating each other more than their bodies. The Half of It is so gracious about the grammar of the young gaze that Ellies sexuality becomes a footnote. One suspects that even if she wasnt a queer immigrant in a conservative American town, Ellie might have still pursued intimacy in the stealth of automated darkness.

At one point, Aster confides in Ellie that Paul makes her feel safe in person, but his texts are bold. The dissonance of his personality is confusing. In many ways, I resonate with the duality of the plots central conceit. Owing to my social anxiety, every relationship of my adult life has started with carefully constructed words that lead to the future. A relationship has two versions of me. The online version playing out over ponderous texts and instant messaging, a faceless equation infused with the naked courage of two strangers on a liferaft. Thinking is an integral part of liking. Consequently, falling in love feels less like a leap of faith and more like a wobbly parachute of fate. We share music, opinions, secrets, tiny pieces of ourselves to see if they fit. This version is what I wish to be in person. (Aditya Chopras Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi literalised this duality).

Then theres the offline version playing out face to face, or on the phone, once the intrigue of words wears off. This is the spellbreaking reality, the clumsy part initially concealed through the confidence of writing. Its jarring, resulting in a sort of sibling-like affection to overcompensate for the daring side. The passion melts away. Life gets diluted by the film we envisioned in our head. Perhaps thats why Saajan resisted meeting Ila, and Ellie left in a train after kissing Aster. Maybe they knew all along. If words form their story, only the written half of it is love.

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The textual chemistry of young love - The Hindu

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EPA Awards Green Chemistry Challenge Winners - JD Supra (press release)

Luis Echegoyen, Ph.D.,professor of chemistry and biochemistry at The University of Texas at El Paso, was recently inducted as a 2019 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

For 178 years, the RSC has been dedicated to the advancement of chemical sciences by networking scientists and academics, creating partnerships, and strategically documenting and funding research that contributes to the development of society.

To be considered for fellowship, the applicant must have evidence of five years of experience in a senior position or have made a significant contribution to the chemical sciences.

I want to thank all of my students and postdoctoral associates over the years who performed the research work that is being recognized by this appointment as Fellow of the RSC, Echegoyen said.

Echegoyen has been a prominent figure in the College of Science at UTEP. His research has focused on carbon-based materials, nanoscience, fullerenes, and endohedral fullerene derivatives for organic photovoltaic (solar cell) applications.

The 2019 American Chemical Society President is the Welch Chair Professor of Chemistry at UTEP and was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry from 2010 to 2018.

Echegoyen has won various awards and held positions of distinction including director of the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation (NSF), chair of the Department of Chemistry at Clemson University and member of the board of IMDEA-Nanoscience Center in Madrid.

He has published more than 420 research articles, 47 book chapters, more than 470 scientific invited lectures and presentations,

It is always an honor and satisfaction to be recognized for your work, especially by a distinguished society such as the Royal Society of Chemistry, Echegoyen said.

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UTEP Professor admitted as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry - El Paso Herald-Post

This digitally-colorized transmission electron microscopic image depicts the ultrastructural details of an influenza virus particle. Credit: CDC, Frederick Murphy

A team of MIT chemists has discovered the structure of a key influenza protein, a finding that could help researchers design drugs that block the protein and prevent the virus from spreading.

The protein, known as BM2, is a proton channel that controls acidity within the virus, helping it to release its genetic material inside infected cells.

If you can block this proton channel, you have a way to inhibit influenza infection, says Mei Hong, an MIT professor of chemistry and senior author of the study. Having the atomic-resolution structure for this protein is exactly what medicinal chemists and pharmaceutical scientists need to start designing small molecules that can block it.

MIT graduate student Venkata Mandala is the lead author of the paper, which was published on February 3, 2020, in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. Other authors include graduate students Alexander Loftis and Alexander Shcherbakov and associate professor of chemistry Bradley Pentelute.

There are three classes of influenza virus A, B, and C and each of them produces a different version of the M2 protein. M2 is an ion channel that carries protons through the viruss outer membrane, known as the lipid envelope. These protons usually flow into the virus, making the interior more acidic. This acidity helps the virus to merge its lipid envelope with the membrane of a cellular compartment called an endosome, allowing it to release its DNA into the infected cell.

Until now, most structural studies of the M2 protein have focused on the version of M2 found in influenza A, which is usually the most common form, especially earlier in the flu season. In this study, the researchers focused on the version of M2 found in influenza B viruses, which usually dominate in March and April. However, in contrast to previous patterns of seasonal flu infections, this winter, influenza B has been unusually dominant, accounting for 67 percent of all flu cases reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control since last September.

The A and B versions of M2 vary significantly in their amino acid sequences, so Hong and her colleagues set out to study what structural differences these proteins might have, and how those differences influence their functions. One key difference is that the BM2 channel can allow protons to flow in either direction, whereas the AM2 channel only allows protons to flow into the viral envelope.

To investigate the structure of BM2, the researchers embedded it into a lipid bilayer, similar to a cell membrane, and then used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to analyze the structure with atomic-scale resolution. Very few ion channels have been studied at such high resolution because of the difficulty of studying proteins embedded within membranes. However, Hong has previously developed several NMR techniques that allow her to obtain accurate structural information from membrane-embedded proteins, including their orientation and the distances between atoms of the protein.

The M2 channel is made of four helices that run parallel to each other through the membrane, and Hong found that the alignment of these helices changes slightly depending on the pH of the environment outside the viral envelope. When the pH is high, the helices are tilted by about 14 degrees, and the channel is closed. When the pH goes down, the helices increase their tilt to about 20 degrees, opening up like a pair of scissors. This scissoring motion creates more space between the helices and allows more water to get into the channel.

Previous studies have found that as water flows into the M2 channel, the amino acid histidine grabs protons from the water in the top half of the channel and passes them to water molecules in the lower half of the channel, which then deliver the excess protons into the virion.

Unlike the AM2 channel, the BM2 channel has an extra histidine at the virion-facing end of the channel, which the MIT team believes to explain why protons can flow in either direction through the channel. More study is needed to determine what kind of advantage this may provide for influenza B viruses, the researchers say.

Now that chemists know the structure of both the open and closed states of the BM2 channel at atomic resolution, they can try to come up with ways to block it. There is precedent for this type of drug development: Amantadine and rimantadine, both used to treat influenza A, work by wedging themselves into the AM2 channel pore and cutting off the flow of protons. However, these drugs do not affect the BM2 channel.

Hongs research group is now investigating another one of BM2s functions, which is generating curvature in lipid membranes in order to allow progeny viruses to be released from cells. Preliminary studies suggest that a portion of the protein that sticks out from the membrane forms a structure called a beta sheet that plays a role in inducing the membrane to curve inward.

Reference: Atomic structures of closed and open influenza B M2 proton channel reveal the conduction mechanism by Venkata S. Mandala, Alexander R. Loftis, Alexander A. Shcherbakov, Bradley L. Pentelute and Mei Hong, 3 February 2020, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.DOI: 10.1038/s41594-019-0371-2

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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Chemists Discovered the Structure of a Key Influenza Protein Breakthrough Could Lead to Flu Treatment - SciTechDaily

With the rest of spring training suspended and the start of the regular season pushed back at least two weeks, there's plenty of time to answer some Mets questions ...

I doubt it, though typically any sort of anomaly like this will no doubt involve the MLB Players Union and/or is already is addressed in the contract -- especially given the man injured himself in an incident with a boar.

That said, overall it is an advantage for him and the Mets because it means he'll be needed for fewer games and allows more time for him to rehab, which is a good thing for everyone involved.

I don't think so. The bold play he's known for on field is something he did more toward the early part of his career and in 2015. Since then, he's been much quieter and probably humbled by how he's struggled to get back to where he wants to be in his career.

To be honest, those who know him and cover him repeatedly talk about how soft-spoken and somewhat private he is. For example, the reason you never hear about him partying or getting into trouble is because he's far more likely to have friends, family, and teammates over for a private barbecue in the backyard of his ranch in Florida.

He's described as a nice guy, not the selfish, cocky, 24-and-1 (now 25-and-1) type guy that people seem to think.

The point I'm making, which directly answers your question is that, no, I don't think him being injected into this roster that he has not spent a lot of time with will be any sort of issue. Alonso wants to win and no doubt will welcome anyone, no matter how they act, if it's going to help the lineup. And Conforto and Nimmo have played with Yo, as have most of the pitching staff. They will be fine together...

I mean, you laid it out exactly the same way I see it.

My expectation is he will be fine. He had just one really bad start out of eight last season after the Mets traded for him, the rest of which were worthy of being a mid-to-top-of-the-rotation starter. His time pitching for them extrapolated across a full 30 games would have played out to be a roughly 3.25 ERA, 3.0 WAR and 160 strikeouts in 170 innings. This is also on par with 2020 projections from FanGraphs.

Also, he now knows what it's like to pitch in front of friends and family and deal with the pressure and expectations that come along with it. He has an apartment, knows the reporters, etc., all of which he had to adjust to on the fly, while dealing with the unique experience of returning home and dealing with expectations and pressure from family and friends, all of whom likely called to welcome him, get together and pick up free tickets.

I'm sure it was a lot, but that's all behind him, leaving him able to focus entirely on baseball.

Matthew Cerrone (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Contact) is a senior writer of MetsBlog.com, which he created in 2003. His book,The New York Mets Fans' Bucket List, details 44 things every Mets fan should experience during their lifetime.

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Mets Mailbag: On team's chemistry with Yoenis Cespedes and what Marcus Stroman adds - SNY.tv

In modern Chemistry, names do matter, especially in pathbreaking chemical reactions or phenomenon.

Here is a sample of few chemical reactions -Grignard, Wittig & Barton, the Claisen condensation, Friedel-Crafts acylation, the Sharpless epoxidation, Grubbs olefin metathesis and Suzuki coupling.

These are all top scientists, discoverers or developers after whose names have been given to the reactions that they are identified with.. A few hundreds such reactions exist, especially in organic Chemistry.

DB Ramachary, a professor from the University of Hyderabad (UoH), has also joined this list with some outstanding research work in developing new and novel reactions.

The laboratory's contributions in terms of a slew of reactions are focused on using bio-friendly, amino acids as catalysts in developing novel approaches for drug development which is also sustainable as compared to chemical methods which use heavy metals like copper, Gold etc, which are both toxic and finite in resources, says Ramachary.

Some of these are the Ramachary Reductive Coupling, Ramachary-Bressy-Wang cycloaddition, Ramachary 2-Aminobuta 1,3 enyne catalysis, Ramachary Base Induced Ring Opening (BIRO) Reaction, Asymmetric Supramolecular-Organocatalysis: Ramachary, Organocatalytic AzideCarbonyl [3+2]-Cycloaddition etc. are also routinely used in the US, Japan, UK, China, Germany etc.

During the 20th century, as organic chemistry developed, chemists started associating useful reactions with the names of the discoverers or developers.

Many chemists from different nations contributed to this privileged list . In 1934, Indian chemist, K Venkataraman also contributed through his reaction and that was named after him along with Wilson Baker as BakerVenkataraman rearrangement.

During the past two decades, a few reactions developed in the Ramachary Lab at the School of Chemistry in UoH , have been recognised as highly useful for organic to medicinal to material chemists. Consequently, they have become well known organic reactions to be named after him.

These findings have received wide attention among researchers world-wide; it is expected that they will pave way to utilize for the design and synthesis of new drugs, materials and natural products in more economical manner, Ramachary told BusinessLine.

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Indian chemist has key chemical reactions named after him - BusinessLine

Business Planet heads to Latvia to see how the country's biggest household chemical and cosmetics maker is profiting thanks to its eco-minded strategy.

Chemicals are essential to our daily lives, but some can pose a risk to human health and the environment. Europe's chemical legislation known as REACH places a high responsibility for chemical management on industry. For small firms using substances and mixtures in their production, dealing with such strict requirements can be tough. In this episode, the Business Planet team looks at what the European Union is doing to help SMEs cope with their legal responsibilities.

When an enterprise makes a concerted effort to reduce its environmental impact, that is, of course, better for the planet, but it can also be good for business. JSC Spodriba is one such company. Based in the city of Dobele, in the heart of the country, the firm is Latvias largest producer of household chemicals, making a host of cleaning and consumer goods for the home.

Since 2012, the company has worked on developing more ecologically friendly products, like its Seal brand range. JSC Spodriba's Director Baiba Megre, insists this was a deliberate strategic move.

"...it was the companys choice and it fitted very well with the companys values and philosophy, for a greener future for {the} next generation. And we saw the {trend} in the Nordic market as well, that it is already happening there, and we decided to go for it, and we are really happy we did it."

That move to produce more environmentally friendly products has paid off. The firms eco-range now represents nearly 25 per cent of total turnover. But JSC Spodriba is not resting on its laurels. The company has recently obtained new equipment to develop even greener household products through an EU funded project called LIFE/Fit for REACH.

Coordinated by the Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia, the project is designed to help firms in the Baltic region to comply with Europes stringent chemical rules.

"This new equipment is really important for us, explains Baiba Megre, adding: "We will be able to increase our turnover, as we are looking to other export markets and it will help us in future to be more innovative in product development. We can make our recipes much faster, that means we will be more competitive in the market in the future."

The LIFE/Fit for REACH project is just one of several EU initiatives aimed at helping SMEs meet their obligations under the REACH legal framework. Business Planet spoke to Agnese Meija-Toropova, from the Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia.

Paul Hackett, Business Planet: "Agnese...what kind of support are you offering companies?"

Agnese Meija-Toropova, Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia: "We are offering various types of assistance to companies, from consultation to small scale financial aid."

Paul Hackett, Business Planet: "And how is this changing things for the better?"

Agnese Meija-Toropova, Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia: "We have supported changes in cleaner technologies in over 50 companies in all three Baltic states, all of which have clear and measurable results, or impacts on the environment."

"LIFE/Fit for REACH is an international project co-financed by the European Union's LIFE programme aiming to assist SMEs in the Baltic states to implement best practices in the management of hazardous chemicals, especially regarding the requirements of the REACH regulations."

"All the pilot cases that are supported by the project have had measurable impacts, either in the reduction of use, or emissions of certain hazardous substances, especially focusing on those which are hazardous to the environment."

"I would say that first and foremost the national regions CLP helpdesk that are trained by the European Chemicals Agency to answer questions from industry regarding correct chemical management and implementation of legal acts."

REACH is the European Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It entered into force in 2007, replacing the former legislative framework for chemicals in the EU.

The REACH regulations aim to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment, promote alternative testing methods, and ensure the free circulation of goods in the EU, while enhancing competitiveness and innovation.

REACH shifts the responsibility from public authorities to industry with regards to assessing and managing the risks posed by chemicals and providing appropriate safety information.

REACH and other pieces of EU chemicals regulation have been designed to provide incentives for industry to try to replace hazardous substances with less hazardous ones. Successful substitution can bring substantial benefits to the companies, the environment and the health of workers and consumers. It can also have a significant positive impact on the implementation of a circular economy.

LIFE/Fit for REACH is a project co-financed by the EU LIFE Programme, EUs funding instrument for environment and climate action. The project aims to support SMEs in the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) transition to sound chemicals management, especially when it comes to helping them substitute hazardous substances with safer alternatives.

The rest is here:
Good chemistry: helping business to come within REACH rules - Euronews

GEISMAR Maggie Britton, of East Ascension High School, Zoey OConnor, of Dutchtown High, and Garret Paxton, of Zachary High School,jump-started their college experience and learned the business of chemistry at the seventh annual BASF Science Academy.

The three students were among 20 high school seniors who earned the opportunity to participate in the program designed to prepare students for a career in science, technology, engineering or math.

The two-week summer science program, developed by BASF Corp., is held at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. Working in teams, students use BASF chemistry to formulate their own personal-care products and develop a go-to-market plan and strategy. At the end of the program, students present their product to a panel of BASF executives and university academic leaders.

Providing students access to high-quality learning opportunities in STEM is a priority, said Tom Yura, senior vice president and general manager for BASF in Geismar. This two-week academy continues to play an important role in the students enduring appreciation of science and will serve as an inspiration to pursue higher education and a career in STEM.

Following the curriculum theme From Molecules to Marketplace, students gained invaluable hands-on experience in college chemistry labs, while developing a marketing strategy to link their product to the consumer.

Students also experienced chemistry in action by visiting the BASF research and development labs in Tarrytown, New York, and by meeting with cosmetic chemists and subject matter experts. Through exposure to real world chemistry, students observed how the fundamental building blocks of many everyday products are comprised, a news release said.

Science Academy was a great experience where I met people from all over North America and developed teamwork skills, Paxton said.

Britton said the two-week academy is an unmatched experience where chemistry meets business to create an awesome product.

Science Academy is an opportunity to meet like-minded people, take challenging classes and experience college life, OConnor said.

Students graduate from the program with three transferable college science credits to encourage their pursuit in a STEM field. In addition, Fairleigh Dickinson Universityoffers Science Academy alumni $5,000 scholarships if they elect to attend the school in fall 2018.

Of the 140 students who have participated in the program to date, several Science Academy alumni have returned to BASF through the summer hire internship program and the Professional Development Program. This fall, Michelle West, a 2013 Science Academy graduate will begin a full-time role in the program at the BASF site in Geismar.

See the original post here:
Louisiana students learn business of chemistry at summer science program - The Advocate

Featured Events

Oct 20: Chemistry Science Saturday

Oct 22-26:National Chemistry Week: "Chemistry is Out of This World"

Yellowstone Steaming Acid Pools of Death

Sept 21st:Dr. Christopher H. Hendon,University of Oregon

"Chemical and Physical Considerations in the Production of Coffee"

Oct 5th:Dr. Michal Marszewski, University of California Los Angeles

Oct 12nd:Dr. Keisuke Ikehata, PACE Advanced Water Engineering

Nov 2nd:Colin Selby, MS, ChemicalEngineering,Turlock Irrigation District

Nov 9th:Dr. Bryon Purse, San Diego State University

Outstanding Chapter Award Received by the ACS

The Warriors Chemistry Club, an ACS student affiliate chapter, received an Oustanding Chapter Award for their work done during the 2016-2017 academic year. The club was recognized in the November/December issue ofinChemistrymagazine and at the 255rdACS National Meeting in New Orleans.Congratulations!

The Department of Chemistry offers programs of study for students seeking the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. Students may also elect to complete a concentration in Environmental Sciences or a Teaching Credential as part of their degree program. Students should consult with their department adviser to determine which degree and program is best suited to their career objectives.

The Chemistry Department is well equipped with modern instrumentation and facilities. Check out our inventory.

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Chemistry | California State University Stanislaus

George Hill was one of several Bucks players that had Giannis Antetokounmpo's back after the reigning MVP fouled out of the team's opener against the Rockets on Thursday.(Photo: Eric Christian Smith, Associated Press)

When the Milwaukee Bucks get ready to take the Fiserv Forum floor for Saturday's 4 p.m. game against the Miami Heat, time will be carved out for introductions.

That's what you do that's what every team does for thehome opener.

There will be pyrotechnics and light displays as each player gets introduced, but those are all just formalities. If you have been following the Bucks for at least the past year, you pretty much already know this team no introductions necessary.

We talked about it a lot this summer that our continuity, we thought, was one of the biggest things we had in our favor," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Jon Horst and the front office and ownership just did an amazing job to bring back so much of a really good team, which is hard in todays age, todays game."

Yes, some faces have changed. There's a limit to how much continuity a team can have year over year. Wesley Matthews, Kyle Korver and Robin Lopez all got some run on opening night while new additions Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Dragan Bender were on the bench, inactive.

But if Milwaukee's117-111 win in Houston on Thursday night taught us anything, it's that the Bucks at their core are very much the same team as last year's 60-win squad. They can put points up in a hurry, lock down on defense and,on the negative side, they can fall into early holes. They're also cohesive,selfless, deep and unrelenting all traits that have carried over from a shift in organizational culture cemented a season ago following the arrival ofBudenholzer.

"Our chemistry is amazing," Giannis Antetokounmpo said after Thursday's win. "I think when the game started, guys werent able to get in rhythm. My first shot was an airball, Khris (Middleton) had zero points. We werent playing the best basketball we could play, but at the end of the day we stuck together, we played together.

"As I said, the chemistry is amazing. Weve got to keep working on that. Youre going to find adversities throughout all the season, but at the end of the day youve got to play together and face moments like this because moments like this make you better.

It didn't take long for that chemistry to undergo its first test, though. The Bucks went into halftime Thursday trailing the Rockets by 16 points and lookingalmost nothing like their former selves. Their offense was stagnated by Houston's switching, their defense was out of whack and very little was going right.

RELATED:Miami star and Marquette alumnus Jimmy Butler won't play vs. Bucks

But in the locker room, voices old and new piped up and none of them in a negative way. Korver, Antetokounmpo, Hill, Matthews, Middleton and Eric Bledsoe all had their say offering various reminders that the game was not yet over.

These arethe same kind of stories that would come out of last year's locker room, one that was unusually close, loose and positive. This year, though, there's a new twist in the form of the veteran free-agent additions who arrive with plenty of experience and already have earned the respect and listening ear of their teammates.

And all of that is obvious on the bench, too, where those off the court are locked into what's happening on it, constantly trying to assist their teammates.

"Everybody was talking," Giannis Antetokounmpo said."Most important, those guys Kyle, Wes and George Hill they know how to win. Theyve been in the league for 12, 13 years now and Kyle for 18, 19 Im not sure, a lot. They know how to win.

"They know what to say. In the fourth quarter I saw Kyles face, he had like how you guys say veins, like popping out of his face yelling, Get it done, get the job done. I love that.

Antetokounmpowas one of those guys at the end of the bench on Thursday. The reigning league MVPfouled out with 5 minutes, 18 seconds remaining. He paced and he cheered and he hung around the huddle during timeouts trying to stay involved during crunch time.

His teammates on the court picked him up, working selflessly together to finish off the victory. Lopez ran the offense from the block, finding teammates for good looks. Matthews made big shots and did yeoman's work defending James Harden. Middleton came up with clutch three-pointers late to shake off an otherwise rough night. Ersan Ilyasova, playing in Antetokounmpo's stead, made multiple big buckets, grabbed critical rebounds and put his body in harm's way time and again.

Just a lot of guys on our team just want to win," Hill said."I think none of us care about who scores or who gets this or that. All of us have the same goal and thats to just play the best we can on both ends of the floor and win the game.

Lopez added:The great thing about our team, and Giannis especially, is that we all trust whoever is out there, whichever five we have out there. We all believe in them fully and we all trust in each other.

On Saturday, the Bucks will be back at Fiserv Forum for the first meaningful game since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. Most of the faces are the same and a few are different, but the ethos of the team remains unchanged.

They're the same old Bucks and it's a good thing.

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Bucks show they're at the top of the class in chemistry once again in opener - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

August 16, 2017 | :

Can you imagine a new state college having a junior faculty member chairing an open rank chemistry search committee? This occurred at a new college, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), which is within the university system of Georgia.

Dr. C. Douglas Johnson

GGC was established in 2006 with 13 charter faculty and 120 students, and has now grown to 458 full-time faculty, 240 adjunct faculty and well over 11,000 students. The nine searches for full-time chemistry faculty have resulted in a diverse group of colleagues.

Students tend to look to faculty as role models. And it is greatly encouraging for a student to identify with the person in authority in the classroom. The accompanying graph shows that the statistics of gender, race and ethnicity of the faculty at GGC actually reflects the student population it serves.

Experts say faculty diversity and inclusion within STEM is attainable through two approaches: top-down and bottom-up.

The top-down approach epitomizes most chemistry departments across the country in which the chairs sometimes with the help of diversity officers, committees and/or teams are working to change the culture, policies and practices of the existing department in order to increase diversity.

Dr. David Pursell

The bottom-up approach focuses on encouraging minorities to pursue chemistry through primary school exposure to training and mentoring programs so that students will pursue careers in chemistry academe.

The chemistry faculty at GGC used a top-down approach to achieve a cooperative working team. The primary goal, however, was not to increase diversity, per se, but to develop a functional working team that was inclusive and collaborative.

Several factors contributed to what happened at GGC. The chemistry faculty chair was a junior faculty member (owing to the age of the school) who led searches that resulted in multiple hires in the same year. The searches were open to all ranks (instructors as well as assistant, associate and full professors) and the advertisement included language not only describing broadly-defined chemistry professionals specializing in traditional areas but also engineers, environmentalists, toxicologists and chemical educators. The hiring committee embraced non-traditional career paths and expanded its network beyond prestigious institutions.

The strategy to mentor and retain faculty after the hiring process at GGC has been developed over the last decade. It is essential to provide ongoing professional development to faculty members at all career levels through mentoring, collaborations and training in new pedagogical methods and technologies. Active mentoring of adjunct faculty has also been implemented so that they become competitive for full-time positions.

Dr. Patrice Bell

The initial college leadership namely, the charter president, the provost and the dean were retired Army officers. Their collective experience in the Army allowed them to recognize the significant value of diversity and inclusivity to organizational effectiveness and mission accomplishment. They brought this emphasis to the college. This view of racial and ethnic equity continues to guide the GGC culture and explains the unique composition of GGCs chemistry faculty.

The motivation to hire faculty was to identify those who would best fit with the GGC culture regardless of ethnicity, race, gender or sub-discipline. Additionally, a military framework, which helped guide the culture of the institution, facilitated hiring of competent contributors who subscribe to the schools mission.

In fact, research on this topic has also resulted in other potential strategies to solve diversity issues. There was a realization that change can occur through open dialogue among chairs, social scientists and representatives of diverse communities. More specifically, the GGC chemistry department has fostered an equitable, respectful environment that other disciplines use as a model for collegiality, diversity and productivity.

Dr. Patrice Bell is an associate professor of chemistry and Dr. David Pursell is a professor of chemistry in the School of Science and Technology at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), Lawrenceville, Georgia. Dr. C. Douglas Johnson is a professor of management in the School of Business at GGC.

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Faculty Chemistry Pays Off at Georgia Gwinnett College - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Conventionally, the medication used to treat maladies like ulcers or bacterial infections, have to be administered alongside a secondary compound known as proton pump inhibitors. These chemicals temporarily halt the production of stomach acid, allowing the medicine to do its work without being destroyed. However, long term use of PPIs can make matters much worse, from headaches and fatigue to anxiety and depression.

UCSD's "micromotors" are made up of a titanium dioxide protective shell surrounding a spherical magnesium core. Above the TiO2 layer is a layer of antibiotic medication and above that,is another layer made up of a positively-charged polymer that helps the motor stick to the gut wall.

Now here's the really cool part. These motors use the stomach's own acid as a fuel source. The magnesium layer reacts to the gastric acid to generate a stream of hydrogen bubbles to produce thrust, while also reducing the amount of acid present. Once the stomach's pH hits the correct level, the motors release their medication and finish dissolving.

These devices are still in the early days of their development so don't expect to have your antibiotics squirming through your belly for a few years yet at least.

Read this article:
'Micromotors' alter your gut's chemistry to safely deliver medicine - Engadget

LINCOLN No word yet on whether itll win any more games, but the 2017 version of Nebraska is a bigger democracy among teammates than in recent seasons.

Its a lot more free, junior left guard Jerald Foster said. Youre able to get your word in. If you have something thats really going to help out an older guy, just say it. Get it going. Im happy with what were doing right now.

Previously, Foster said, the seniors would talk and everybody else would sit back and listen to what they say.

Since that large senior class left after the Music City Bowl, it changed. Sure, Foster said, the true freshmen dont know the lay of the land. But redshirt freshmen are able to get a word in.

On a team as young and inexperienced as Nebraska, thats logical. Conventional wisdom about team building suggests that this squad might still be finding its way in terms of chemistry, culture and player leaders.

Coach Mike Riley sees just the opposite. The first week of training camp, he said, was seamless. Two practices viewed by reporters revealed much the same. Riley credited the player leaders, many of whom werent leaders in previous years.

Theres no doubt that talent is respected, and that can cloud that real leadership deal sometimes, Riley said. But with this group, I dont have to worry about anybody being misguided in that way. When your good players are doing the right thing and working at the highest level, thats what you have to have.

Riley likes it when he can steer young players toward the veterans and say, Watch how he does it. When the players, Riley said, are the main teachers. Sometimes hell call them magnets.

On Saturday, Riley pointed to inside linebackers Chris Weber and Dedrick Young as examples. Weber is a sit-in-the-front-of-the-class walk-on. Young is a shy interview who may be more chatty with his teammates, but is far from a screamer.

Theres guys who are dynamic about lets go, but theyre not overly dramatic, Riley said. Theyre just great example guys. Those two inside linebackers, you just dont have to worry about those guys. The football phase, the school phase, life. To me, thats tremendous leadership. They do everything theyre supposed to do.

Its hard not to contrast that with a 2016 captain who was suspended for the first and last games of the season because of academic issues. Or the 2015 captain who went on a Twitter rant after the loss to Miami, suggesting fans would kiss my feet. A few weeks later, he blew sarcastic kisses to fans after a loss to Illinois. He got to remain captain.

Nate Gerry and Alex Lewis are going to play in the NFL a long time, Id bet. It wouldnt surprise me if both make Pro Bowls one day.

But this Husker squad less experienced than either of those teams and facing what I think is a harder schedule needs as much smooth, seamless practice as it can get, especially as camp drags into that fourth week, when guys start school but are 12 days away from a game.

Coaches, players and training staff were prescient in understanding this team would need great chemistry. So it set up those offseason conditioning groups, with 11 captains, to help. And it appears to have worked. It probably benefited quarterback Tanner Lee the most; installed as a group leader months ago, Lee built up cachet with his teammates.

Hes a workaholic, receiver DeMornay Pierson-El said of Lee.

Pierson-Els on-field story is interesting, perhaps more so than any current Huskers. As a freshman, he was a big part of that final Bo Pelini team. The edge that Pierson-El plays with easily fit into the old Bo-to-the-troops leadership paradigm.

Like all players under Riley, Pierson-El has more personal freedom to figure out where he fits in, and coupled with two injuries and a slow road back to full health, he seemed a little restless. At times last season he seemed, to this reporters eyes, to press a little. Like Jamal Turner used to, and not just trust that he was as good of an athlete as he was.

You sensed a big jump in the spring. Pierson-El had that extra gear back and he shifted into it often. His routes were cleaner and more exact; he seemed more confident Lee was delivering the ball where Pierson-Els route was actually headed. Nebraska needs Pierson-El at the top of his game; this is not a deep receiving corps.

Though Pierson-El said hes never been shy to speak up if something needed to be said, his answer about how he views his senior season is a portal into what might happen. Getting back to the basics and just having fun, for real, for real, Pierson-El said. Enjoy myself, let things come to me, have a blast and enjoy the team, friends. Just have fun.

Young guys speaking up. Seniors trying to find a good groove.

Its a different culture inside Nebraska football.

Five stats

Three: Years since Nebraska has been ranked in the preseason Top 25, in either the coaches or Associated Press poll. NU received votes in the coaches poll in 2017, but fell short of the Top 25. I dont expect the AP to be any kinder. In 2014, NU was No. 22 in both polls to start the season. In 2013, the Huskers were 18th in both, and 17th (AP) and 16th (coaches) in 2012.

Five: Ohio State Buckeyes projected in the first round of NFL analyst Matt Millers 2018 mock draft. Miller, who writes for Bleacher Report, has long been one of the scouts I follow. Four of the five Buckeyes play defense, and two (end Sam Hubbard and tackle DreMont Jones) play on the defensive line. There may never be a better defense than 2011 Alabama which gave up 8.2 points and 184 yards per game but this OSU unit could make a run at 10 points and 250 yards, if it finds a way to slow down Oklahoma.

6.26: Average number of Nebraska penalties per game since joining the Big Ten. Over that same time, Wisconsin has averaged 4.42 penalties per game. Iowa averaged 4.52 penalties per game. Fewer penalties doesnt always mean better teams, but its interesting to compare the three teams.

Minus-10: Nebraskas penalty margin in its last six games against Wisconsin and Iowa. NU has committed 39 penalties in those six games while Wisconsin (13) and Iowa (16) have committed a combined 29 penalties in those games.

Minus-105: Nebraskas penalty yardage margin in those six games. Divided over six games, thats 17.5 yards, or roughly two first downs. NU is 1-5 in those games.

Opponent watch

You may remember last week when I wrote about Penn State embracing a quick-tempo spread offense and riding that to a Big Ten title. Under P.J. Fleck, Minnesota is going to run a similar style of offense, and its practices are being run at a furious tempo to accommodate it.

We get in 90 plays a day within an hour and 20 minutes, Gopher Carter Coughlin told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. That tempo is honestly faster than a game tempo, so its preparing us for a game. Its going to slow things down for us in a game.

Said Fleck: We condition during practice and put them in a lot of very tough positions in practice. We put them in situations that youd like to say will be harder here than in a game.

Flecks a lot of PR flash and catchphrases, but this thing how his offense runs is what will determine his success in Minnesota. Pay attention to that. Flecks betting on not needing four- and five-star recruits to win. Hes betting on his leadership style and this system. Im curious to see if it works.

According to the Daily Chronicle, Northern Illinois opened its camp at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. The Huskies have a three-man quarterback race, and one player is Chad Beebe, whose last name might ring a bell: His dad, Don Beebe, played in the NFL for the Bills and at Chadron State.

Forecast

After a week of all smiles, Im guessing the training camp grind starts to settle in.

As a freshman, Husker wide receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El had 1,090 all-purpose yards, including 596 on 34 punt returns, 147 on on 10 kickoff returns, 321 on 23 receptions, 16 on one completion and 10 on five rushing attempts. Do you think he'll break that total this y
ear?

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Husker football coach Mike Riley greets players.

Husker linebacker Willie Hampton stretches.

Husker wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty stretches.

Husker defensive back Dicaprio Bootle runs through drills.

Husker Mikale Wilbon walks onto the practice field.

Husker wide receiver Stanley Morgan, left, and defensive back Dicaprio Bootle greet each other.

Husker kicker Drew Brown practices his field goals.

Husker wide receiver Conor Young runs through drills.

Husker linebacker Mohamed Barry stretches.

Husker defensive lineman Peyton Newell walks onto the outdoor field.

Husker Zack Darlington holds for kicker Drew Brown.

Husker quarterback Tanner Lee warms up before the start of practice.

Husker running back Mikale Wilbon warms up before practice.

Husker Caleb Lightbourn punts a ball during practice.

Husker defensive line coach John Parrella talks with his players during practice.

Husker offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh works with his players during practice.

Husker offensive lineman Nick Gates arrives for practice.

Husker defensive linemen Mick Stoltenberg, left, and Matt Jarzynka walk onto the field.

Husker wide receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El.

Banners commemorating Nebraska's five national championships hang in the Hawks Championship Center.

Husker football coach Mike Riley greets players.

Husker linebacker Willie Hampton stretches.

Husker wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty stretches.

Husker defensive back Dicaprio Bootle runs through drills.

Husker Mikale Wilbon walks onto the practice field.

Husker wide receiver Stanley Morgan, left, and defensive back Dicaprio Bootle greet each other.

Husker kicker Drew Brown practices his field goals.

Husker wide receiver Conor Young runs through drills.

Husker linebacker Mohamed Barry stretches.

Husker defensive lineman Peyton Newell walks onto the outdoor field.

Husker Zack Darlington holds for kicker Drew Brown.

Husker quarterback Tanner Lee warms up before the start of practice.

Husker running back Mikale Wilbon warms up before practice.

Husker Caleb Lightbourn punts a ball during practice.

Husker defensive line coach John Parrella talks with his players during practice.

Husker offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh works with his players during practice.

Husker offensive lineman Nick Gates arrives for practice.

Husker defensive linemen Mick Stoltenberg, left, and Matt Jarzynka walk onto the field.

Husker wide receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El.

Banners commemorating Nebraska's five national championships hang in the Hawks Championship Center.

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McKewon: More players communicating as younger Husker football ... - Omaha World-Herald

ROCHESTER, New York, August 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Elsevier, the information analytics business specializing in science and health, announces SSRN, its world leading working paper repository and preprint server, today launches the Chemistry Research Network - ChemRN.

The launch of ChemRN follows hot on the heels of the BioRN launch in June 2017, SSRN's new network dedicated to biology and its first outside the social sciences. BioRN already has nearly 5,000 papers live from approximately 6,500 authors.

Gregg Gordon, Managing Director of SSRN, said: "The launch of ChemRN is part of our strategy to extend the expertise and knowledge we have in building community driven networks to benefit even more people in the research community. It's been a little over a month since we launched BioRN, our network dedicated to biology research. It has been a huge success and we look forward to ChemRN being just as a popular."

Chemistry researchers can share ideas and other early stage research, including posting preprints and working papers on ChemRN. Users can quickly upload and read papers for free, across all of Chemistry, including the fields of Energy, Environmental and Materials Sciences.Join Gregg's live webcast on August 17.

Chemistry researchers can post preprints and working papers on ChemRN, share ideas and other early stage research, and collaborate. It allows users to quickly upload and read abstracts and full text papers, free of charge.

A preprint is the author's own write-up of research results and analysis that has not been peer-reviewed, nor had any value added to it by a publisher (such as formatting, copy-editing, technical enhancements). A preprint server, or working paper repository as they are also known, allows users to share these documents.

SSRN has been serving the research community since 1994 and was acquired by Elsevier in May 2016. Since joining Elsevier, SSRN has completely redesigned its website making it cleaner and easier to use. It has also launched full-text search. SSRN is now working towards deeper integration with Elsevier's other research products, particularly Mendeley's reference management software and Pure's research management system.

Read more on Elsevier Connect.

Interviews with Gregg Gordon, Managing Director of SSRN, are available on request.

About SSRN

SSRN is a worldwide collaborative of over 350,000 authors and more than 2.2 million users that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research. Founded in 1994, it is now composed of a number of specialized research networks. Each of SSRN's networks encourages the early distribution of research results by reviewing and distributing submitted abstracts and full text papers from scholars around the world. SSRN encourages readers to communicate directly with other subscribers and authors concerning their own and other's research. Through email abstract eJournals SSRN currently reaches over 400,000 people in approximately 140 different countries. http://www.ssrn.com

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 35,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries.www.elsevier.com

Media contactDavid TuckerGlobal Communications, Elsevier+44-(0)-7920-536-160rel="nofollow">d.tucker@elsevier.com

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SSRN Launches ChemRN - A New Network Dedicated to Chemistry - Markets Insider