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Your gut bacteria are chemical detectives—sniffing out nutrients and even feeding each other to keep your microbiome thriving. Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria that constantly “sense” their surroundings to survive and thrive. New research shows that beneficial gut microbes, especially common Clostridia bacteria, can detect a surprisingly wide range of chemical signals produced during digestion, including byproducts of fats, proteins, sugars, and even DNA. These microbes use specialized sensors to move toward valuable nutrients, with lactate and formate standing out as especially important fuel sources...

Professor Fernando Uribe-Romo and his team of students created a way to trigger a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metal-organic frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic materials. Think of it as an artificial photosynthesis process similar to the way plants convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into food. But instead of producing food, Uribe-Romo’s method produces solar fuel. Credit: Bernard Wilchusky

Process produces energy at the same time. A chemistry professor in Florida has just found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all at the same time...