Molecular ring structures in polymer materials. Credit: Journal of the American Chemical Society (2026). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6c01062 From household plastic packaging to the flexible frameworks that ...

Helical molecules, similarly to a corkscrew, have a spiral shape that can be either left- or right-turning. Such "chiral molecules" can collectively organize (assemble) into large left- or ...

(Nanowerk News) Just like any long polymer chain, DNA tends to form knots. Using technology that allows them to stretch DNA molecules and image the behavior of these knots, MIT researchers have ...

Polymer fluids are made of long chains of atoms. Scientists have used simulations to discover a special polymer liquid that takes this behavior to the extreme. When researchers elongate necklace-like ...

Turning the art of a trefoil knot into polymer science is no easy process, but researchers at Case Western Reserve University developed a technique that produces a long chain molecule with the desired ...

Heralding the era of new generation advanced materials which are super strong, flexible, and elastic, the University of Manchester broke many world records in science with its team of chemical ...

Researchers have discovered the factors that influence how knots travel along a strand of DNA, using technology that allows them to stretch DNA molecules and image the knots' behavior. Just like any ...

DNA, like other macromolecules, has the propensity to self-entangle. However, the factors that control the formation of knots and their roles in biological processes are poorly understood, owing to a ...

(Nanowerk News) Plastics or DNA: Many molecules are so long that they can form knots, much like tying shoes. Whereas it is still disputed whether right- and left-handed people prefer to tie their ...