Chemistry

Golden orb spider

When Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider in a laboratory, he became Spider-Man, a superhero with the ability to spin strong, flexible webs. Jeff Yarger and Gregory Holland are hoping to harness spider power in their research lab, as well. But these real-world spider men aren’t waiting around for bizarre lab accidents. The ASU chemists are studying the molecular structure of spider silk in an effort to produce materials ranging from bulletproof vests to artificial tendons. They also want to mimic spiders’ eco-friendly methods in the process.

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Post image for Six New Isotopes of the Superheavy Elements Discovered

A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has detected six isotopes, never seen before, of the superheavy elements 104 through 114. Starting with the creation of a new isotope of the yet-to-be-named element 114, the researchers observed successive emissions of alpha particles that yielded new isotopes of copernicium [...]

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