Chemists from HSE University and the Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INEOS RAS) have developed a new method for synthesising amides, essential compounds in drug production. Using a ruthenium catalyst and carbon monoxide under precisely controlled reaction conditions, they successfully obtained the target product without by-products or complex purification steps. The method has already been tested for synthesising a key component of Vorinostat, a drug used to treat T-cell lymphoma. This approach could lower the cost of the drug by orders of magnitude. The paper has been published in the Journal of Catalysis. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.

The review bridges physics and biology by analyzing how stochastic thermodynamics—a framework describing energy exchanges in microscopic systems—helps explain limitations across diverse biological functions.

A new UCLA-led study shows that the 2022 eruption of underwater volcano Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai did not warm the planet as was expected but actually reduced temperatures over the Southern Hemisphere by 0.1 C. The eruption released far less sulfur dioxide and much more water vapor than expected into the stratosphere. The work underscores that geoengineering could have multiple consequences, and scientists need to understand a given atmospheric system properly in order to understand whether geoengineering it will contribute to cooling or warming.