World of Chemistry

What do computer games and science have in common? Well, when working together, they can figure out a structure for an enzyme of a virus very similar to HIV, that scientists had not been able to descipher!

According with this article published in a Yahoo! gaming blog, a group of gamers using a program called "Foldit" produced an accurate model of an enzyme that had eluded scientists for a decade.

The importance of this discovery is that, as stated in the article, knowing the structure of the enzyme will allow the design of better "antiretroviral" drugs, which are key in fighting HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.

NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday (October 5) for "groundbreaking experiments'' with the thinnest, strongest material known to mankind, a carbon vital for the creation of faster computers and transparent touch screens.

See article at this link

NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a chemical method that has allowed scientists to make medicines and better electronics.

See article at this link

You might be interested in the following article from the "National Geographic News" website:

Titanic Bows to Nature

How is that related to Chemistry?  Well, Titanic's hull is mostly made of steel, which is an iron alloy, and it is slowly rusting away and being eaten by microorganisms and fungi that feed on iron oxide.  The strange formations seen in the pictures, which resemble red icicles, are actually made of rust, and were dubbed "rusticles" by oceanographer Robert Ballard, who lead the team that discovered the wreck of Titanic.

A link to a small article on rusticles found in Wikipedia is here.