In the search for cheaper materials that mimic their purer, more expensive counterparts, researchers are abandoning hunches and intuition for theoretical models and pure computing power.In a new study, researchers used computational methods to identify 10s of platinum-group alloys that were previously unknown to science but could prove beneficial in a wide range of applications.

i hadn’t thought beyond proteins, but computational chemistry can be used to find radically cheaper catalysts than platinum, and in general, revolutionize materials science. this is potentially a very big deal, as advances in materials science are one of the few areas that tend to benefit all of mankind equally.

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