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American Chemical Society National Meeting Press Conference Schedule

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With almost 100 million people in developing countries exposed to dangerously high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, and unable to afford complex purification technology, scientists today described a simple, inexpensive method for removing arsenic based on chopped up pieces of ordinary plastic beverage bottles coated with a nutrient found in many foods and dietary supplements.

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The potato’s stereotype as a fattening food for health-conscious folks to avoid is getting another revision today as scientists report that just a couple servings of spuds a day reduces blood pressure almost as much as oatmeal without causing weight gain. Scientists reported on the research, done on a group of overweight people with high blood pressure, at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week.

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A new study of dust-like particles of soot in the air — now emerging as the second most important — but previously overlooked — factor in global warming provides fresh evidence that reducing soot emissions from diesel engines and other sources could slow melting of sea ice in the Arctic faster and more economically than any other quick fix, a scientist reported here today.

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A new saliva test can measure the amount of potential carcinogens stuck to a person’s DNA — interfering with the action of genes involved in health and disease — and could lead to a commercial test to help determine risks for cancer and other diseases, scientists reported here today during the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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The technology in “fire paint” used to protect steel beams in buildings and other structures has found a new life as a first-of-its-kind flame retardant for children’s cotton sleepwear, terrycloth bathrobes and other apparel, according to a report presented here today at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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A new birth control vaccine for white-tailed deer — a growing nuisance in urban areas for gardens and landscaping — eliminates the dangerous reproductive behavior behind the annual autumn surge in automobile-deer collisions.

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Scientists today reported development of much needed new tests to help cope with a wave of deaths, emergency room visits and other problems from a new genre of designer drugs sold legally in stores and online that mimic the effects of cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana.

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The increasingly prevalent notion that expensive organic fruits and vegetables are safer because pesticides — used to protect traditional crops from insects, thus ensuring high crop yields and making them less expensive — are a risk for causing cancer has no good scientific support, an authority on the disease said here today. Such unfounded fears could have the unanticipated consequence of keeping healthful fruits and vegetables from those with low incomes.

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Scientists are expressing confidence that questions about life on Mars, which have captured human imagination for centuries, finally may be answered, thanks in part to new life-detection tools up to 1,000 times more sensitive than previous instruments.

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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.

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Even after many decades of studying ozone and its loss from our atmosphere miles above the Earth, plenty of mysteries and surprises remain, including an unexpected loss of ozone over the Arctic this past winter.

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Scientists are reporting new evidence that a century-old food preservation technology, finding a new life amid 21st century concerns about food safety and nutrition, more than doubles the levels of certain healthful natural antioxidants in fruit.

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Panda poop contains bacteria with potent effects in breaking down plant material in the way needed to tap biomass as a major new source of “biofuels” produced not from corn and other food sources, but from grass, wood chips and crop wastes, scientists reported today at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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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.

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A green thumb and a little flair as a gourmet chef may be among the key skills for the first men and women who travel to the Red Planet later this century, according to a scientist who reported here today on preparations for the first manned missions to Mars.

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With stem cells so fickle and indecisive that they make Shakespeare’s Hamlet pale by comparison, scientists today described an advance in encouraging stem cells to make decisions about their fate. The technology for doing so, reported here at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is an advance toward using stem cells in “regenerative medicine” — to grow from scratch organs for transplants and tissues for treating diseases.

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Using a modern version of open-wide-and-keep-this-under-your-tongue, scientists today reported taking the temperature of individual cells in the human body, and finding for the first time that temperatures inside do not adhere to the familiar 98.6 degree Fahrenheit norm. They presented the research at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week.

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Research on Mt. Everest climbers is adding to the evidence that an amino acid called leucine — found in foods, dietary supplements, energy bars and other products — may help people burn fat during periods of food restriction, such as climbing at high altitude, while keeping their muscle tissue.

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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.

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The first nuclear power plant being considered for production of electricity for manned or unmanned bases on the Moon, Mars and other planets may really look like it came from outer space.

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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.

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A new skin test can determine the age of wild animals while they are still alive, providing information needed to control population explosions among nuisance animals.

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With “sustainability” on the minds and lips of more and more people — determined to use resources today in ways that do not jeopardize the needs of future generations — the American Chemical Society (ACS) today began one of the largest-ever sessions devoted to sustainability and green chemistry.

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Robert S. Langer, Sc.D., the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named winner of the 2012 Priestley Medal by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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The road to a Nobel Prize began for one scientist in elementary school when his father placed a sign on his bedroom door proclaiming him to be a “doctor.” For another Nobel laureate, it was a childhood breakfast with the famous scientist (and Nobelist) Linus Pauling. Another noted researcher went against all expectations of her day to pursue science in school, even though she was a woman. Yet another took inspiration from a yellow sweater knitted by his mother.

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In a finding that could help fight terrorism and improve safety in laboratories working with explosive chemicals, scientists are reporting development of a new material made of nanoparticles that can quickly detect and neutralize explosives. Soldiers, firefighters, lab workers could spray the material onto bombs or suspected explosives to make them no longer harmful, the scientists said. They will describe the new material at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.

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In a scientific advance literally plucked from the waste heap, scientists today described a key step toward using the billions of pounds of waste chicken feathers produced each year to make one of the most important kinds of plastic. They described the new method at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society, being held here this week.

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Soldiers and contractors stationed in Iraq not only face enemy gunfire and the threat of roadside bombs, but every day they breathe air polluted with dust particles carrying lead and other contaminants as much as 10 times above desirable level cited in U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

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In the first report on the uptake and internal processing of triclocarban (TCC) in fish, scientists today reported strong evidence that TCC — the source of environmental health concerns because of its potential endocrine-disrupting effects — has a “strong” tendency to bioaccumulate in fish. They presented the findings here today at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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The next-generation battery, like next-generation TV, may be 3-D, scientists reported at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Anaheim, CA. They described a new fast-recharge lithium-ion (Li-on) battery, already available in a prototype version, with a three-dimensional interior architecture that could be perfect for the electric cars now appearing in auto dealer showrooms

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Scientists have identified ingredients in an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine that show promise as a safer, more effective alternative to current skin-whitening cosmetics, which can cause problems ranging from allergic reactions to skin cancer. The finding could be a boon to women in Asian countries, where skin-whitening is a common beauty practice. Scientists will describe the new method and materials at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.

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In the event of a much-feared bioterror attack involving ricin, food manufacturers may want to reach for the laundry cabinet. That’s because household bleach appears to be an effective, low-cost way to decontaminate the toxin on metal food preparation surfaces, scientists are reporting. They will describe the finding in Anaheim, Calif., during the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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Wrapping antibiotics in nanofibers so tiny they can’t be seen under a microscope, and injecting them into the body, turns bacteria and fungi that cause food poisoning and hospital-acquired infections into ghosts of themselves, potentially overcoming the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.

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Coating concrete destined to rebuild America’s crumbling bridges and roadways with millions of tons of underused flyash waste from burning coal could extend the life of the structures significantly, saving billions of dollars, scientists reported here.

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Gaze upon Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, or one of the great Dutch master’s famous self-portraits. Speaking at the 241st National meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society, an international team of scientists today described use of a new technique to see the paintings under the paintings of Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Rubens, and other 17th Century Old Master painters. The report by scientists in Belgium, The Netherlands and the United States was among almost two dozen studies presented as part of a symposium on chemistry and art titled “Partnerships and New Analytical Methodologies at the Interface of Chemistry and Art.”

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Scientists today reported development of bacteria that serve as mobile pharmaceutical factories, both producing disease-fighting substances and delivering the potentially life-saving cargo to diseased areas of the body. They will describe this new candidate for treating diseases ranging from food poisoning to cancer — termed “bacterial dirigibles” — at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, Calif.

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After tackling the chemistry of coffee, tea, fruit juices, soda pop, beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, why not take on the ultimate challenge, the Mount Everest of cocktails, what may be the most chemically complex cocktail in the world, the Bloody Mary? And in this the International Year of Chemistry (IYC), why not include its global offspring, the International Mary?

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With millions of adults and children avoiding nutritious foods because of the bitter taste, and gagging or vomiting when forced to take bitter liquid medicines, scientists today reported an advance toward a high-tech version of Mary Poppins’ solution. It’s not a spoonful of sugar to help the stuff go down, they reported at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), but a new and improved “bitterness blocker.”

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Scientists are reporting development of the first commercially viable nanogenerator, a flexible chip that can use body movements — a finger pinch now en route to a pulse beat in the future — to generate electricity. Their study will be presented at the American Chemical Society’s 241th National Meeting in Anaheim.

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Ahmed H. Zewail, Ph.D., the 1999 Chemistry Nobel Laureate and the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry & Professor of Physics at California Institute of Technology, has been named the winner of the 2011 Priestley Medal by the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award will recognize Zewail’s development of revolutionary methods to capture “slow-motion” images of ultrafast processes in chemistry, biology, and materials science. The award is the highest honor bestowed by ACS.

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With more and more environmentally conscious consumers choosing “green” products, scientists today reported that the first reality check has revealed that the ingredients in those product may come from a surprising source –– petroleum, rather than natural plant-based sources.

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Taking a lesson from Mother Nature’s genius as a designer, a scientist will describe a whole new menagerie of packets shaped like bubbles, tubes, and disks that could be used to deliver drugs to the body more efficiently and effectively than current materials. His report, scheduled for the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Anaheim, Calif., opens the door to developing a wide range of other materials for improved electronics, drugs, cosmetics, and other applications.

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Scientists are reporting development of a quick, efficient method for recycling automotive waste oil into fuel. The new method could help dispose of the estimated 24 million tons of waste oil produced each year worldwide and provide a supplemental fuel source for an energy-hungry world. Scientists will describe the new method, the first to use microwaves to convert waste oil to fuel, at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.

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In what they described as the opening of a new era in the development of potentially life-saving new drugs, scientists today reported discovery of a way to tone down an overactive gene involved in colon cancer and block a key protein involved in asthma attacks. The scientists will describe their research on these so-called stapled peptides at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.

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Your next car hopefully won’t be a lemon. But it could be a pineapple, banana, or some other tropical fruit. That’s because scientists in Brazil are reporting an advance toward the long-awaited “bio-automobile” …. developed a convenient way to turn fruit fibers into nanoparticles to improve the performance and eco-friendliness of automobile plastics, including bumpers and dashboards. Scientists will describe the new method and materials at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, Calif.

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Producers and writers for several popular medical and science fiction television shows like House, Breaking Bad, and Zula Patrol — major sources of information about science and technology for millions of people — say they do strive for scientific accuracy. They appeared at a special symposium on “Hollywood Chemistry” at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Nobel laureate Harold Kroto said that humanity’s age-old quest to understand what’s going on millions and billions of miles across the galaxy are having enormous and unexpected payoffs here on Earth, including the birth of a new, multibillion-dollar-per-year nanotechnology industry. His talk is part of a special symposium on the chemistry of natural resources during the 241st American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting.

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Scientists are reporting on a new material containing an ingredient used to make bricks that shows promise as a transparent coating for improving the strength and performance of plastic food packaging. Called “nano-bricks,” the coating could help foods and beverages stay fresh and flavorful longer and may replace some foil packaging currently in use, they said. Scientists will describe the new, eco-friendly material at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.

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Those raging fires that destroy homes, ships, planes other structures could be suppressed in faster and more efficiently using technology now in development that uses an unusual source: Blasts of electrical waves. Scientists will describe the promising “flame-tamer” technology at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim.