As scientists struggle to find an effective way to prevent Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health may have found a new approach to interrupting the process that leads to the devastating disease.
Almost 80 percent of current farmland in the U.S. would have to be devoted to raising corn for ethanol production in order to meet current biofuel production targets with existing technology, a new study has found. An alternative, according to a study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, would be to convert 60 percent of existing rangeland to biofuels.
Scientists have combined two new “designer” forms of aspirin into a hybrid substance that appears more effective than either of its forebears in controlling the growth of several forms of cancer in laboratory tests. Their report on the new NOSH-aspirin, so named because it releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.
An inexpensive device used by millions of people with diabetes could be adapted into a home DNA detector that enables individuals to perform home tests for viruses and bacteria in human body fluids, in food and in other substances, scientists are reporting in a new study. The report on this adaptation of the ubiquitous personal glucose monitor, typically used to test blood sugar levels, appears in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry.
Just as a wine glass vibrates and sometimes breaks when a diva sings the right note, carbon dioxide vibrates when light or heat serenades it. When it does, carbon dioxide exhibits a vibrational puzzle known as Fermi resonance. Now, researchers studying geologic carbon storage have learned a bit more about the nature of carbon dioxide.
A new study says genetic mutations in plants could make it easier to break down plant cellulose to the sugars that are fermented into biofuels. The researchers' findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A new report from Indiana University supplies a close examination of the European Union's reformed chemicals law REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), focusing on potential lessons for the U.S.
New study has extensive implications due to effects of lactation and breast cancer on bone.
An NC State University chemist has found a way to give DNA-based computing better control over logic operations. His work could lead to interfacing DNA-based computing with traditional silicon-based computing.
Nacre -- or mother of pearl, scientists and artisans know, is one of nature's amazing utilitarian materials. Produced by a multitude of mollusk species, nacre is widely used in jewelry and art. It is inlaid into musical instruments, furniture and decorative boxes. Fashioned into buttons, beads and a host of functional objects from pens to flatware, mother of pearl lends a lustrous iridescence to everyday objects.
A team of chemical engineers at UMass Amherst has discovered a small molecule that behaves like cellulose when converted to biofuel. Studying this ‘mini-cellulose’ molecule reveals the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel.
Two South Dakota State University professors want to change the way students learn about chemistry. That’s the goal of a two-year, $200,000 National Science Foundation grant awarded to associate professors of chemistry and biochemistry, David Cartrette and Matt Miller.
Sandia’s decontamination foam is now also a meth eraser.
North Carolina State University chemists have created a compound that makes existing antibiotics 16 times more effective against recently discovered antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.”
A team of University of Arkansas researchers, including an Honors College student, has created a new, “green” method for developing medicines. The researchers used energy from a light bulb to create an organic molecule that may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
Boise State University biologists have uncovered why the chemical defenses in birch, a common type of tree found in North America, are toxic to snowshoe hares.
NC State researchers have created specially engineered mammalian cells to provide a new “chemical handle” which will enable them to label proteins of interest more efficiently.
At a time of increasing concern about low vitamin D levels in the world’s population and increased use of blood tests for the vitamin, scientists are reporting development of a much-needed reference material to assure that measurements of vitamin D levels are accurate.
Taking inspiration from the yellow fattail scorpion, which uses a bionic shield to protect itself against scratches from desert sandstorms, scientists have developed a new way to protect the moving parts of machinery from wear and tear.
The widely used farm practice of grafting watermelon and other melon plants onto squash or pumpkin rootstocks results in larger amounts of certain pesticides in the melon fruit, scientists are reporting in a new study.
Consumers who remember laundry detergents from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are about to get that déjà vu feeling — and younger people quite a surprise — as detergent manufacturers once again try a major repackaging of their products. Laundry capsules that contain single doses of detergent and take up less space than conventional detergents are set to make a comeback.
A chemist is making and studying materials that decrease toxins in the air by either turning the lights on or off in a room.
Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste.
By using a novel technique to better understand mineral growth and dissolution, researchers are improving predictions of mineral reactions and laying the groundwork for applications ranging from keeping oil pipes clear to sequestering radium.
To better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules at surfaces, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are combining the powers of neutron scattering with chemical analysis.
Scientists working at the Medical Research Council have identified changes in the patterns of sugar molecules that line pre-cancerous cells in the esophagus, a condition called Barrett’s dysplasia, making it much easier to detect and remove these cells before they develop into esophageal cancer. These findings have important implications for patients and may help to monitor their condition and prevent the development of cancer.
The chemical industry, which touches 96 percent of all manufactured goods, is seeing some positive signs for 2012, although the overall outlook is not very rosy. Growing demand for chemicals used in agriculture, electronics, cars and airplanes will boost an industry that generates $674 billion in sales in the U.S. alone, but expiring patents and global economic woes will take a toll.
Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore once wrote, “Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” Now, a new study is finally offering an explanation for why small dew drops do as Tagore advised and form on the tips, rather than the flat surfaces, of leaves. It appears in ACS’ journal Langmuir.
Scientists are reporting development and initial laboratory tests of an imaging agent that shows promise for detecting the tell-tale signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the brain — signs that now can’t confirm a diagnosis until after patients have died. Their report appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.
Why do heavy coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease on the increase around the world that can lead to serious health problems? Scientists are offering a new solution to that long-standing mystery in a report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
Chemical engineers at UMass Amherst, using a catalytic fast pyrolysis process that transforms renewable non-food biomass into petrochemicals, have developed a new catalyst that boosts the yield for five key “building blocks of the chemical industry” by 40 percent compared to previous methods.
Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., DrPH discusses the trail of research to his first discovery that aspirin prevents a first heart attack, as well as all the subsequent research that has confirmed his initial landmark finding. He was the founding principal investigator of the landmark Physician's Health Study and was the first to demonstrate that aspirin prevents a first heart attack.
Biochemists have discovered a key interaction that could lead to a new treatment for a rare metabolic disorder, Fabry disease. It should aid understanding of other protein-folding diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well. Findings are the cover story in the current Chemistry & Biology.
Roughly three million Americans suffer from peanut allergies; yet current diagnostic methods don’t detect every case. New findings by University of Virginia scientists, however, may allow for the development of more sensitive diagnostic tools and a better understanding of nut allergies.
Scientists are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind technology that could help law enforcement officials trace the residues from terrorist attacks involving nerve gas and other chemical agents back to the companies or other sources where the perpetrators obtained ingredients for the agent.
In pursuit of riches and energy over the last 5,000 years, humans have released into the environment 385,000 tons of mercury, the source of numerous health concerns, according to a new study that challenges the idea that releases of the metal are on the decline.
An antimalarial agent developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans – by literally starving the parasites to death. The study, published in the November 11, 2011 issue of PLoS ONE, was led by senior author Vern Schramm, Ph.D., professor and Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at Einstein.
A high-speed robotic screening system, aimed at protecting human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States, begins today to test 10,000 compounds for potential toxicity. The compounds cover a wide variety of classifications, and include consumer products, food additives, chemicals found in industrial processes, and human and veterinary drugs. A complete list of the compounds is publicly available at www.epa.gov/ncct/dsstox.
Using clever but elegant design, University at Buffalo chemists have synthesized tiny, molecular cages that can be used to capture and purify nanomaterials.
One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients.
Take a Petri dish containing crude petroleum and it will release a strong odor distinctive of the toxins that make up the fossil fuel. Sprinkle mushroom spores over the Petri dish and let it sit for two weeks in an incubator, and surprise, the petroleum and its smell will disappear.
A new study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrates how graphene foam can outperform leading commercial gas sensors in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals. The discovery opens the door for a new generation of gas sensors to be used by bomb squads, law enforcement officials, defense organizations, and in various industrial settings.
We drink water, bathe in it and we are made mostly of water, yet the common substance poses major mysteries. Now, University of Utah chemists may have solved one enigma by showing how cold water can get before it absolutely must freeze: 55 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.
Researchers discover role of H2S as defense mechanism against oxidative stress and antibiotics.
Like a shadowy character just hidden from view, a mystery atom in the middle of a complex enzyme called nitrogenase had long hindered scientists’ ability to study the enzyme fully. But now a Cornell-led scientific team reveals the once-elusive atom. (Science, online, Nov. 17, 2011).
Georgia Tech has developed a computer program that can study larger molecules faster than any other program in existence. The analysis program is designed to improve knowledge about why certain molecules are attracted to each other and how those relationships can be "tuned" to improve drug development.
An experimental treatment for urinary tract infections has easily passed its first test in animals, alleviating weeks-long infections in mice in as little as six hours.
NVC-422 called “effective alternative to known antimicrobial compounds.”
Experts from around the globe came together at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Nov. 4-5 at the Baruch ’60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research to discuss the development of technologies that run on the cleanest and safest energy production process on Earth: photosynthesis.
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