Amid ongoing concerns about scientific illiteracy — with studies indicating that many citizens lack a firm grasp of basic scientific concepts and facts — the world’s largest scientific society today is holding a special symposium on how scientists can better communicate their work to the public.
Billions of people owe their lives to nitrogen fertilizers — a pillar of the fabled Green Revolution in agriculture that averted global famine in the 20th century — but few are aware that nitrogen pollution from fertilizers and other sources has become a major environmental problem that threatens human health and welfare in multiple ways, a scientist said here today.
Ever since scientists first began growing human cells in lab dishes in 1952, they have focused on improving the chemical soup that feeds the cells and helps regulate their growth. But surfaces also matter, says Laura Kiessling, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In this International Year of Chemistry (IYC), writers and producers for the most popular crime and science-related television shows and movies are putting out an all-points bulletin for scientists to advise them on the accuracy of their plots involving lab tests, crime scenes, etc., and to even give them story ideas.
One of the most serious personnel shortages in the global science and engineering workforce — numbering more than 20 million in the United States alone — involves a scarcity of real-life versions of Superman, Superwoman and other superheroes and superheroines with charm, charisma, people skills and communication skills.
Groups representing laundry product and fragrance manufacturers sharply rebutted seriously flawed statements regarding fragrances in laundry products based on a study that fails to meet the basic principles of scientific investigation.
The researcher who used chemical sleuthing to uncover what’s in scented products now has turned her attention to the air wafting from household laundry vents. Air from laundry machines using the top-selling scented liquid detergent and dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals, including two that are classified as carcinogens.
Baylor University environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals.
In a new study, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have described a simple process to separate sugars from a carrier molecule, then attach them to a drug or other chemical.
Yafang Cheng, a University of Iowa post-doctoral researcher, and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, have found that soil nitrite can be released into the air in the form of nitrous acid (HONO) and indirectly enhance the self-cleansing capacity of the atmosphere.
For the first time ever, scientists are using computers and genomic information to predict new uses for existing medicines. A National Institutes of Health-funded computational study analyzed genomic and drug data to predict new uses for medicines that are already on the market.
Pegloticase can produce significant and sustained clinical improvements in many patients with chronic gout that is resistant to conventional therapies. In two clinical trials, pegloticase rapidly lowered high levels of uric acid, the biochemical abnormality in gout. Forty percent of patients had complete resolution of at least one of the painful swollen joint nodules that are a hallmark of severe gout.
A novel microscopy method is helping scientists probe the reactions that limit widespread deployment of fuel cell technologies.
Paper in Science Translational Medicine by Dr. Katerina Gurova and colleagues is the first published research on anticancer drugs called curaxins, and outlines the mechanism by which they inhibit tumor cell growth and division.
A relatively simple combination of naturally occurring sugars and amino acids offers a plausible route to the building blocks of life, according to a paper published in Nature Chemistry co-authored by a professor at the University of California, Merced. The study shows how the precursors to RNA could have formed on Earth before any life existed, and it builds on the work of John D. Sutherland and Matthew W. Powner, published in 2009.
At a recent Gordon Research Conference, Anna Gudmundsdottir of the University of Cincinnati described the work of her research team, including efforts to build organic magnets, and systems using light to release chemicals, including fragarances.
A simple cut to the skin unleashes a complex cascade of chemistry to stem the flow of blood. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have used evolutionary clues to reveal how a key clotting protein assembles. The finding sheds new light on common bleeding disorders.
The Texas Tech study found only 8 to 9 percent coverage of oil on the shells of fertilized mallard duck eggs resulted in a 50 percent mortality rate. However, scientists also reported the amount of time the oil remained at sea and exposed to weather had a significant effect on its toxicity to the fertilized duck eggs.
Researchers at New York University’s Department of Chemistry and NYU Langone Medical Center have developed a compound that blocks signaling from a protein implicated in many types of cancer.
Researchers at the Salk Institute have been able to genetically incorporate "unnatural" amino acids, such as those emitting green fluorescence, into neural stem cells, which then differentiate into brain neurons with the incandescent "tag" intact.
Roberta Colman, Willis F. Harrington Professor Emerita of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware, ranks 23rd in the journal Biochemistry’s 50 most prolific authors. The journal, published by the American Chemical Society, is celebrating its 50th year of publication this year.
Scientists have discovered fundamental steps of charging of nano-sized water droplets and unveiled the long-sought-after mechanism of hydrogen emission from irradiated water.
There will be some very interesting passengers on the final mission of the NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis scheduled to launch July 8, 2011: thousands of bacteria.
According to the CDC, about 20 percent of Americans with HIV don’t know it, greatly increasing their risk of transmitting the virus.
By accounting for the floppy, fickle nature of RNA, researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of California, Irvine have developed a new way to search for drugs that target this important molecule. Their work appears in the June 26 issue of Nature Chemical Biology.
A review published online June 22 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) reports the conclusions of an international workshop on ways to improve chemicals safety testing for effects on the breast. The studies reviewed by workshop scientists indicate that chemical exposures during critical periods of development may influence breast growth, ability to breastfeed, and cancer risk. The scientists recommend that future chemical testing evaluate effects on the breast after prenatal and early-life exposure.
Beer undergoes a lot research before the glass touches your lips, and one of the few Canadian scientists to pursue such research is Dalhousie professor Alex Speers. With a PhD from the University of British Columbia in brewing science, Dr. Speers is only the second person in Canada to be recognized as a Fellow by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.
Controversy over the F.D.A.’s proposal to withdraw approval of Avastin (bevacizumab) for breast cancer treatment will reignite June 28-29 with a new round of hearings. One oncologist who will be monitoring the hearings is Dr. Frederick C. Tucker Jr. of Fredericksburg Oncology in Virginia, whose recent New York Times op ed defended the F.D.A.’s position on scientific grounds.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have zeroed in on the dose levels of the “sacred mushroom” chemical psilocybin yielding positive, life-changing experiences, while minimizing transient negative reactions. Former U.S. "Drug Czar" comments.
Writing in the current online issue (June 9) of the journal Science, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry Professor Shannon Stahl reports a new, environmentally friendly way to make substituted aromatic molecules that can be customized for different industrial needs.
A biological sensor is a critical part of a human cell's control system that is able to trigger a number of cell activities. A type of sensor known as the "gating ring" can open a channel that allows a flow of potassium ions through the cell's wall or membrane — similar to the way a subway turnstile allows people into a station. This flow of ions, in turn, is involved in the regulation of crucial bodily activities like blood pressure, insulin secretion and brain signaling. But the biophysical functioning of the gating ring sensor has not been clearly understood. Now, UCLA researchers have uncovered for the first time the sensor's molecular mechanism, shedding new light on the complexity of cells' control systems.
A new research project will establish a liver mimic as an effective model for studying the effects of different types of toxicants on the liver.
Formoterol, a medication used to treat asthma and other lung diseases, improves fat burning and protein metabolism in men, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
The drug topiramate can help people lose weight as long as they can tolerate the side effects, according to authors of a new study that reviewed the medical literature. Brazilian researchers will present the results Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
In his new book, 'First Life,' biochemist David Deamer presents an engaging and accessible overview of research into life's beginnings and a personal history of his work in this field.
Bitter taste often causes rejection that can interfere with food selection, nutrition and therapeutic compliance. Now, scientists from the Monell Center and Integral Molecular describe the discovery of a compound that inhibits bitterness by acting directly on a subset of bitter taste receptors.
A drug already approved for people with cancer shows early potential as a therapy for a common form of dementia, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.
A promising cancer treatment drug can restore function of a heart en route to failure from high blood pressure, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
Their landmark research discovered a family of kinase inhibitor drugs -- that all target one enzyme called IKK beta kinase --as effective for Huntington’s. Basically, the drug restores a critical chemical change that should occur in the huntingtin protein, but does not occur in people with Huntington’s disease.
A new study by Baylor University environmental health researchers found that zebra fish exposed to several different technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – a common fire retardant – during early development can cause developmental malformations, changes in behavior and death.
Less expensive alternative just as safe and effective as common, costly immune suppressants for transplants.
A new comparison of proteins shared across species finds that complex organisms, including humans, have accumulated structural weaknesses that may have actually launched the long journey from microbe to man. The study, published in Nature, suggests that the random introduction of errors into proteins, rather than traditional natural selection, may have boosted the evolution of biological complexity.
Slowing down the aggregation or “clumping” of vitamin A in the eye may help prevent vision loss caused by macular degeneration, research from Columbia University Medical Center has found.
A cancer drug already used to treat adults and school-age children with sickle cell anemia is safe and significantly reduces pain and other complications of the disease in children as young as 9 months, according to a national study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher.
Two Baylor University chemistry professors have invented a new polarimeter, a basic scientific instrument used to measure and interpret the polarization of transverse waves, such as light waves, that could prove useful in determining the purity of pharmaceuticals. Baylor has now patented the device.
The American Physical Society has released a new assessment — Direct Air Capture of CO2 with Chemicals — to better inform the scientific community on the technical aspects of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
High in the sky, water in clouds can act as a temptress to lure airborne pollutants such as sulfur dioxide into reactive aqueous particulates. Although this behavior is not incorporated into today's climate-modeling scenarios, emerging research from the University of Oregon provides evidence that it should be.
Tests of a new antibody-based “biosensor” developed by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science show that it can detect marine pollutants like oil much faster and more cheaply than current technologies. The device is small and sturdy enough to be used from a boat.
An over-the-counter drug used to treat diarrhea combined with minocycline, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, could one day change the lives of those living with cystic fibrosis.
Many genes that cause human diseases have parallel genes in other organisms, including yeast. Now Columbia University researchers have used an innovative yeast-based screening method to identify a possible treatment for the fatal childhood disease Niemann-Pick C (NP-C). This “exacerbate-reverse” approach can potentially be used to study any disease. The findings were published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on April 13, 2011.
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