Computational Chemistry

Why staying warm in winter is a bit more complicated if you're a lizard

9 Feb 2012

Recent studies at the ISIS neutron source, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) world leading research centre, have given a new insight into the mysterious ‘anti-freeze’ capabilities of glycerol – a property successfully used in nature, by animals such as lizards, for survival at sub-zero temperatures. 

Wolfram Alpha to Get Brainier

7 Feb 2012

How much does a civil engineer in New Orleans make? What is the average temperature there? What are the differences in the trigonometric functions of sin, cos and tan? What is the exchange rate between the U.S. and the UK right now? Throw one of these questions at Siri, the voice assistant in iPhone 4S, and she will speedily reply. Fueling Siri is Wolfram Alpha, a computational knowledge search ...

Geochemists develop new modeling techniques

7 Feb 2012

An article published in Nature Materials features a new theory to explain how minerals and glass interact with water. The paper was co-authored by James Rustad, a UC Davis Geology Department emeritus professor, and William Casey, a professor in the UC Davis Chemistry Department. Existing models “could explain anything and predict nothing,� Casey said. “Environmental [...]