From bats to horses, from insects to chimpanzees, a lot of deadly viruses originated in an animal host. In his last book, Spillover, the American science writer David Quammen tells the stories of some of these viruses. We reached him at the Festival della Scienza in Genoa, where he was going to present the book, and asked him some questions.
Pathogens and fear: the double epidemics
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Discovered a New Carbon-Carbon Chemical Bond
A group of researchers from Hokkaido University has provided the first experimental evidence of the existence of a new type of chemical bond: the single-electron covalent bond, theorized by Linus Pauling in 1931 but never verified until now. Using derivatives of hexaarylethane (HPE), the scientists were able to stabilize this unusual bond between two carbon atoms and study it with spectroscopic techniques and X-ray diffraction. This discovery opens new perspectives in understanding bond chemistry and could lead to the development of new materials with innovative applications.
In the cover image: study of the sigma bond with X-ray diffraction. Credits: Yusuke Ishigaki
After nearly a year of review, on September 25, a study was published in Nature that has sparked a lot of discussion, especially among chemists. A group of researchers from Hokkaido University synthesized a molecule that experimentally demonstrated the existence of a new type of chemical bond, something that does not happen very often.
