Latest Freezing Stories

Eindhoven University of Technology Exactly how a crystal forms from solution is a problem that has occupied scientists for decades. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), together with researchers from Germany and the USA, are now presenting the missing piece. This classical theory of crystal formation, which occurs widely in nature and in the chemical industry, was under fire for some years, but is saved now. The team made this breakthrough by a detailed study of the...

If you thought antifreeze was only something that was necessary to keep your car from freezing up in the winter, think again. Plants and animals living in cold climates have natural antifreeze proteins (AFPs) which prevent ice growth and crystallization of organic fluid matter. Without such antifreeze, living matter would suffer from frost damage and even death. Production of such antifreeze proteins is one of the major evolutionary routes taken by a variety of organisms, including fish,...

Alpha Galileo Foundation Certain plants and animals protect themselves against temperatures below freezing with antifreeze proteins. How the larva of the beetle Dendroides Canadensis manages to withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius is reported by an international team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith from the Department of Physical Chemistry II at the Ruhr-Universität in the journal PNAS. Together with American colleagues, the RUB-researchers showed that...

Winter begins the third week in December, but many areas are already experiencing freezing temperatures. A water restoration leader offers advice to homeowners on protecting their pipes from cracking or bursting due to colder than averages temperatures. Cleveland OH (PRWEB) December 04, 2012 Restoration Local, one of the leading providers of water damage repair and restoration in the country, if offering tips to property owners on how to prevent water damage due to frozen pipes. With many...

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE:APD) recently launched a new microsite bursting with information for food processors who are currently freezing or considering freezing product. The microsite includes instructional videos, interactive tools, and a comprehensive literature library all aimed at helping food processors maximize their operation and improve the quality of their product. The microsite features a Freeze Time Calculator, which is an...

Derek Walter for redOrbit.com A team of Harvard researchers has developed a superior method for keeping metal surfaces free of ice and frost. It’s a difficult task, but one that could have substantial implications for metal surfaces used in wind turbines, aircraft, refrigeration systems, marine vessels and the construction industry. Airplane wings, railings, and other fabrication parts are just a sample of how often metal is used throughout the world in most of the largest industries....

Scientists have made an important step forward in their understanding of cryoprotectants "“ compounds that act as natural 'antifreeze' to protect drugs, food and tissues stored at sub-zero temperatures.Researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Illinois, and Columbia University in New York, studied a particular type of cryoprotectants known as osmolytes. They found that small osmolyte molecules are better at protecting proteins than larger ones.The findings, published in Proceedings of...

RUB chemists unmask natural antifreezeTogether with cooperation partners from the U.S., the researchers surrounding Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith (Physical Chemistry II of the RUB) describe their discovery in a so-termed Rapid Communication in the prestigious American chemistry journal, the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). The journal's independent reviewers evaluated the work as one of the top 5% of all submissions.Better than household antifreezeTemperatures of minus 1.8 ° C...

New research by UC Davis wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky and his colleagues could lead to new strategies for improving freezing tolerance in wheat, which provides more than one-fifth of the calories consumed by people around the world. The new findings, published June 22 in the Online First issue of the journal Plant Physiology, shed light on the connection between flowering and freezing tolerance in wheat. In winter wheat and barley varieties, long exposures to non-freezing cold...

Supercooling, a state where liquids do not solidify even below their normal freezing point, still puzzles scientists today. A good example of this phenomenon is found everyday in meteorology: clouds in high altitude are an accumulation of supercooled droplets of water below their freezing point. Scientists from the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the ESRF have found an experimental explanation of...