Oleg Borodin

Small, EarlyView.

Automated in vitro evolution of a translation-coupled RNA replication system in a droplet flow reactor

Automated <i>in vitro</i> evolution of a translation-coupled RNA replication system in a droplet flow reactor, Published online: 08 August 2018; doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30374-0

Automated in vitro evolution of a translation-coupled RNA replication system in a droplet flow reactor

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Metathesis-active ligands enable a catalytic functional group metathesis between aroyl chlorides and aryl iodides

Metathesis-active ligands enable a catalytic functional group metathesis between aroyl chlorides and aryl iodides, Published online: 06 August 2018; doi:10.1038/s41557-018-0078-8

Functional group interconversion typically requires reactive reagents to irreversibly generate a desired product in high yield and selectivity. Now, a CO-free catalytic functional-group-metathesis approach can be used to interconvert aroyl chlorides and aryl iodides—two important classes of electrophiles often employed in the preparation of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals—with the help of metathesis-active phosphine ligands.

Small, Volume 14, Issue 34, August 23, 2018.

Polymerized TCNQ was evaluated as a metal-free ferromagnetically active organic material and showed unusual ferromagnetic properties. This study provides insights to guide the design and development of materials for future organic flexible magnetic materials.

Yeast chromosome numbers minimized using genome editing

Yeast chromosome numbers minimized using genome editing, Published online: 01 August 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-05309-4

Genome-editing approaches have been used to fuse 16 yeast chromosomes to produce yeast strains with only 1 or 2 chromosomes. Surprisingly, this fusion has little effect on cell fitness.

Paul Delos Boyer (1918-2018)

Paul Delos Boyer (1918-2018), Published online: 03 August 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-05880-w

Nobel laureate in chemistry who discovered nature’s smallest rotary motor.

Advanced Materials, July 2018.

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition, EarlyView.

Semiconducting quantum dots for artificial photosynthesis

Semiconducting quantum dots for artificial photosynthesis, Published online: 27 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41570-018-0024-8

Semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) can serve as light-absorbing components in efficient artificial photosynthetic systems for H2 evolution. This Review describes how we can optimize QDs for H2 evolution using sacrificial reductants, before moving on to sustainable strategies for the photolysis of biomass or H2O.

Volume 30, Issue 11, November 2018, Page 965-969
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Advanced Materials, July 2018.

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Chemistry – A European Journal, EarlyView.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.

Abiogenesis and the reverse Hofmeister effect

Abiogenesis and the reverse Hofmeister effect, Published online: 20 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41557-018-0111-y

Bruce C. Gibb takes us on a journey through the physical and chemical evolution of planet Earth and suggests that the reverse Hofmeister effect, the phenomenon whereby poorly solvated ions associate in water, could be a powerful driving force towards the first hint of life on the rock we call home.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition, EarlyView.

Active systems can produce a far greater variety of ordered patterns than conventional equilibrium systems. In particular, transitions between disorder and either polar- or nematically ordered phases have been predicted and observed in two-dimensional active systems. However, coexistence between phases of different types of order has not been reported. We demonstrate the emergence of dynamic coexistence of ordered states with fluctuating nematic and polar symmetry in an actomyosin motility assay. Combining experiments with agent-based simulations, we identify sufficiently weak interactions that lack a clear alignment symmetry as a prerequisite for coexistence. Thus, the symmetry of macroscopic order becomes an emergent and dynamic property of the active system. These results provide a pathway by which living systems can express different types of order by using identical building blocks.