9-anthryl gold(I) isocyanide (3?) turns invisible and emits infrared after it’s ground whereas phenyl gold(I) isocyanide (1) turns yellow.
Credit: Seki T. et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society, May 2, 2017

A gold compound shifts from a visible fluorescence to emitting infrared when ground – a big shift with potential applications in bioimaging and security inks. Some materials luminesce, changing their color and intensity when under mechanical forces such a

s grinding or rubbing. These luminescent “mechanochromic” materials can produce various emission colors in the visible light spectrum, from blue to red. Their color-shifts under force are well documented, and are caused by changes to the molecules’ crystal structures.

A research group at Hokkaido University in Japan found a go...

Working with image data from NASA’s Cassini mission, researchers have found evidence that Saturn’s moon Enceladus may have tipped over, reorienting itself so that terrain closer to its original equator was relocated to the poles. This phenomenon is known as true polar wander. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Cornell University

Saturn’s icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus may have tipped over in the distant past, according to recent research from NASA’s Cassini mission. Researchers found evidence that the moon’s spin axis—the line through the north and south poles—has reoriented, possibly due to a collision with a smaller body, such as an asteroid...

Self-assembly of a redox-responsive stomatocyte nanomotor system, which can be used for triggered drug release under biological reducing conditions

Self-destroyed redox-sensitive stomatocyte nanomotor delivers and releases drugs for cells. Autonomous targeting and release of drugs at their site of action are desired features of nanomedical systems. Now, a team of Dutch scientists has designed a nanomotor that has these functions: An antitumor drug encapsulated in self-propelled, self-assembled stomatocytes is carried across the cellular membrane and released inside the cell upon a chemical signal that disassembles the vesicle membrane. This deliver and unpack nanomedicinal system is introduced in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Self-propelling nanovesicles if fueled by hydrogen peroxide, th...