In the past several decades, significant progress has been made in controlling molecular chirality, as evidenced by the several Nobel Prizes in chemistry awarded in this area, particularly for advancements in the asymmetric catalytic synthesis of molecules with central and axial chirality. However, the exploration of new types of chirality has been largely stagnant for more than half a century, likely due to the complexity and challenges inherent in this field. Prof Li and Liang’s groups at Texas Tech University present the discovery of a novel type of chirality—staircase chirality.

The same chemicals and receptors that control the sensation of pain in the opioid system also play a role in regulating social behavior. The body produces natural opioid substances which are drawn to receptors throughout the nervous system, sending signals through neurons that induce pain relief, pleasure, and more. Low-dose morphine and buprenorphine that attach to the mu (μ) opioid receptors (MORs) could help promote social interactions, which could help people with neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that affect social interactions.

Purpose

The authors target the interrelationships between non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi) and carbon allowances (CA) markets during 2021–2023. The recent shift of crypto and DeFi miners from China (the People's Republic of China, PRC) green hydro energy to dirty fuel energies elsewhere induces investments in carbon offsetting instruments; this is a backdrop to the authors’ investigation.

 

Design/methodology/approach

The quantile vector autoregression (VAR) approach is employed to examine extreme-quantile-connectedness and spillovers among the NFT Index (NFTI), DeFi Pulse Index (DPI), KraneShares Global Carbon Strategy ETF price (KRBN) and the Solactive Carbon Emission Allowances Rolling Futures Total Return Index (SOLCARBT).

 

Findings

At bull markets, DPI is the only consistent net shock transmitter as NFTI transmits innovations only at the most extreme quantile. At bear markets, KRBN and SOLCARBT are net shock transmitters, while NFTI is the only consistent net shock receiver. The receiver-transmitter roles change as a function of the market conditions. The increases in the relative tail dependence correspond to the stress events, which make systemic connectedness augment, turning market-specific idiosyncratic considerations less relevant.

 

Originality/value

The shift of digital asset miners from the PRC has resulted in excessive fuel energy consumption and aggravated environmental consequences regarding NFTs and DeFi mining. Although there exist numerous studies dedicated to CA trading and its role in carbon print reduction, the direct nexus between NFT, DeFi and CA has never been addressed in the literature. The originality of the authors’ research consists in bridging this void. Results are valuable for portfolio managers in bull and bear markets, as the authors show that connectedness is more intense under such conditions.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led team found that BOR1 is expressed in the tapetal cells of young anthers in unopened buds, showing polar localization toward the locule where microspores develop.

Understanding how molecules interact with ions is a cornerstone of chemistry, with applications from pollution detection and cleanup to drug delivery. In a series of new studies led by JILA Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder chemistry professor Mathias Weber, researchers explored how a specific ion receptor called octamethyl calix[4]pyrrole (omC4P) binds to different anions, such as fluoride or nitrate. These findings, published in The Journal of the American Chemical Society, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, provide fundamental insights about molecular binding that could help advance fields such as environmental science and synthetic chemistry.