/chemistry/taxonomy/term/450/all en /chemistry/channels/news/grinding-enzymes-break-down-cellulose-287629 <p>Cellulose, one of the three major components of plants, is showing great promise as a renewable source for many convenience products. It is made of glucose, a molecule which can be fermented by microorganisms into virtually any desired small molecule of interest. More especially it can be converted to ethanol to make sustainable biofuels.</p> Wed, 13 Jun 2018 14:32:03 +0000 audrey.moores@mcgill.ca 1114 at /chemistry /chemistry/channels/news/watching-energy-flow-solids-ultrafast-electron-bursts-287616 <p>The way individual atoms and molecules move in materials has important consequences on properties such as electrical conductivity, heat capacity and acoustics.  Even in solids, atoms are always moving back and forth about some average position, and this motion occurs through specific wave-like modes called phonons. Phonons form elementary excitations in the material and can therefore carry energy in the form of heat.  As temperature increases, so do the number of phonons and vice-versa.  The group of Dr.</p> Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:35:50 +0000 audrey.moores@mcgill.ca 1113 at /chemistry