The fortune-telling porphyrin

Today I learned that porphyrins have secret desires to be ancient Chinese fortune-telling devices.



Reference: Mi Zhou, Zuowei Li, Tiecheng Liu, Peng Zhang, Dapeng Xu and Shuqin Gao, "Stiffness Tunable Molecular Spring Washers: High-Pressure Raman Investigations on Porphyrin Self-Assemblies", J. Phys. Chem. B, doi: 10.1021/jp910676y

Nanobacon

Sara Perry's first law of cooking is "Everything is better with bacon". Since her cookbook popularized the synthesis of bacon and sugar, bacon has since moved beyond its traditional roles as a savory layer in sandwiches or an accoutrement for breakfast eggs.

Chemists in Serbia and the Czech Republic have since brought the notion of bettering the world with bacon one step futher. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B chronicles the invention of nanobacon, an innovation that makes even black and white micrographs of vaguely phallic or turdlike cylinders become totally awesome and delectable:



Reference: G. Čirić-Marjanović et al., "Synthesis and Characterization of Self-Assembled Polyaniline Nanotubes/Silica Nanocomposites", J. Phys. Chem. B, 2009, 113 (20), 7116–7127, doi:10.1021/jp900096b

Big yellow arrow says BAM!

Graphical abstracts are an excellent way for scientists to summarize their new results in a visually compelling manner.

For example, consider:



BAM!

In your face, RMSD! Big yellow arrow pwns you! The RMSDs are falling! Time to SELL SELL SELL!

Reference: C.-K. Siu et al., Optimization of Parameters Used in Algorithms of Ion-Mobility Calculation for Conformational Analyses, J. Phys. Chem. B doi:10.1021/jp910858z