A team of scientists at the University of Vermont have invented a new tool—they call it a “nanocageâ€â€”that can catch and straighten out molecule-sized tangles of polymers.
Once a knotty polymer strand—whether made of protein or plastic—is pulled open “then we can activate just the polymers we want, while leaving the rest alone, “ says UVM chemist Severin Schneebeli who led the new research.
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