Chemistry News - August 2008 Archives

Promising lithium batteries for electric cars (8/31/2008)

Why does lithium iron phosphate, a candidate for use in future lithium batteries, conduct electricity despite being an insulating material? ...> Full Article

Researcher shows proteins have controlled motions (8/30/2008)

Researcher believes that his research shows proteins have controlled motions ...> Full Article

Ceramic material revs up microwaving (8/29/2008)

Quicker microwave meals that use less energy may soon be possible with new ceramic microwave dishes and, according to the material scientists responsible, this same material could help with organic waste remediation. ...> Full Article

Fingerprint analysis technique could be used to indentify bombmakers (8/28/2008)

Police research has military application ...> Full Article

New process extracts pure hydrogen from contaminant in unrefined oil (8/27/2008)

A commercial-scale process to extract and reuse pure hydrogen from the hydrogen sulfide that naturally contaminates unrefined oil, including oil sands, is one step closer to reality ...> Full Article

Researcher converts biodiesel byproduct into omega-3 fatty acids (8/27/2008)

Researcher has found a way to grow omega-3 fatty acids using a byproduct of the emerging biodiesel industry ...> Full Article

Candy-coating keeps proteins sweet (8/26/2008)

Researchers have developed a fast, inexpensive and effective method for evaluating the sugars pharmaceutical companies use to stabilize protein-drugs for storage at room temperature. ...> Full Article

Polymer electric storage, flexible and adaptable (8/25/2008)

materials scientists is developing ferroelectric polymer-based capacitors that can deliver power more rapidly and are much lighter than conventional batteries. ...> Full Article

Biofilms research helps set standards for everyday products (8/24/2008)

Biofilms researcher hoping to find ways to control biofilm proliferation ...> Full Article

Groundbreaking Research Shows DEET Not Sweet to Mosquitoes (8/24/2008)

Mosquitoes flee because of their intense dislike for the smell of the chemical repellent and not because DEET jams their sense of smell ...> Full Article

Chips are down as scientists make protein scanning breakthrough (8/23/2008)

Scientists have developed a new and fast method for making biological 'chips' - technology that could lead to quick testing for serious diseases, fast detection of MRSA infections and rapid discovery of new drugs. ...> Full Article

Chemists make beds with soft landings (8/23/2008)

Researchers create stable, highly pure helical peptide arrays ...> Full Article

Team learns from nature to split water (8/22/2008)

Researchers have used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. ...> Full Article

Sweet Potato Out-Yields Corn in Ethanol Production Study (8/22/2008)

sweet potatoes grown in Maryland and Alabama yielded two to three times as much carbohydrate for fuel ethanol production as field corn ...> Full Article

Researchers isolate microorganisms that convert hydrocarbons to natural gas (8/21/2008)

Method can stimulate methane gas production from older, more mature oil reservoirs ...> Full Article

A Better Way To Make Hydrogen From Biofuels (8/21/2008)

Researchers here have found a way to convert ethanol and other biofuels into hydrogen very efficiently ...> Full Article

Green catalysts provide promise for cleaning toxins and pollutants (8/20/2008)

Small-molecule catalysts have the potential to be even more effective ...> Full Article

Chemist designs new 'catch-and-tell' molecules (8/20/2008)

'Catch and tell' sensor molecules send out light signals when they catch chemicals in blood. ...> Full Article

Improved technique determines structure in membrane proteins (8/19/2008)

Understanding the form and function of certain proteins in the human body is becoming faster and easier ...> Full Article

Engineers build mini drug-producing biofactories in yeast (8/18/2008)

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a novel way to churn out large quantities of drugs, including antiplaque toothpaste additives, antibiotics, nicotine, and even morphine, using mini biofactories--in yeast. ...> Full Article

Light Receptors in Eye Play Key Role in Setting Biological Clock, Study Shows (8/17/2008)

Biologists have discovered a switching mechanism in the eye that plays a key role in regulating the sleep/wake cycles in mammals. ...> Full Article

Building microchips from the bottom up (8/16/2008)

Researchers develop novel self-assembly method that could break size barrier ...> Full Article

Using live fish, new tool a sentinel for environmental contamination (8/15/2008)

Researchers have harnessed the sensitivity of days-old fish embryos to create a tool capable of detecting a range of harmful chemicals. ...> Full Article

Molecular bridge serves as a tether for a cell's nucleus (8/14/2008)

Researchers have discovered a network of molecules in the nuclear membrane that provide the nucleus with rigidity and also facilitate a previously undiscovered form of communication between the cell's nucleus and its cytoplasm. ...> Full Article

Strange molecule in the sky cleans acid rain, scientists discover (8/13/2008)

Researchers have discovered an unusual molecule that is essential to the atmosphere's ability to break down pollutants, especially the compounds that cause acid rain. ...> Full Article

Algae fuel makes splash at international show (8/12/2008)

Researchers display research on the application of algae-based oils for creating biofuels at the Farnborough International Air Show. ...> Full Article

A positive-feedback system ensures that cells divide (8/11/2008)

Research shows that a positive-feedback system ensures that a cell that has made the decision to divide finishes what it has started ...> Full Article

Clean 3-way split observed (8/11/2008)

Study provides first proof of unlikely phenomenon ...> Full Article

Improved Reaction Data Heat Up the Biofuels Harvest (8/10/2008)

Researchers have detailed some of the most fundamental processes involved in extracting sugars from biomass, the first step in producing ethanol by fermentation. Their findings should help engineers to improve their process designs in order to extract the maximum amount of fuel from a given measure of biomass. ...> Full Article

Scientists Manipulate Group Behavior in Bacteria (8/10/2008)

Researchers have shown that bacterial communication can be intercepted and chemically manipulated to control group behavior, such as virulence or the production of a useful products. ...> Full Article

Scientists a step closer to producing fuel from bacteria (8/9/2008)

Using mathematical computer models, researchers have mapped the metabolism of a type of bacteria called Nostoc. ...> Full Article

Fingerprints provide clues to more than just identity (8/8/2008)

Fingerprints can reveal critical evidence, as well as an identity, with the use of a new technology that detects trace amounts of explosives, drugs or other materials left behind in the prints. ...> Full Article

Water is 'designer fluid' that helps proteins change shape, scientists say (8/8/2008)

According to new research, old ideas about water behavior are all wet. ...> Full Article

Hot peppers really do bring the heat (8/7/2008)

Chili peppers can do more than just make you feel hot ...> Full Article

Scientists solve secrets of the water-oil interface (8/5/2008)

When oil and water are poured together they meet each other head-on to form a strong and rigid boundary between each other ...> Full Article

The nature of glass: towards a breakthrough (8/4/2008)

Two Sydney chemists have gone some way towards providing a resolution to one of the most interesting unresolved problems that exist in the field of solid state theory, the theory of the nature of glass and the glass transition. ...> Full Article

Magnet Lab Researchers License Critical Petroleum Data (8/3/2008)

New Software To Help Petroleum Companies Find and Process Oil Faster ...> Full Article

'Major discovery' primed to unleash solar revolution (8/3/2008)

Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system ...> Full Article

Fueling the next generation of hybrid cars (8/2/2008)

Scientists have revolutionised the design of fuel cells used in the latest generation of hybrid cars which could make the vehicles more reliable and cheaper to build. ...> Full Article

Miscanthus can meet U.S. biofuels goal using less land than corn or switchgrass (8/2/2008)

Using Miscanthus as a feedstock for ethanol production in the U.S. could significantly reduce the acreage dedicated to biofuels while meeting government biofuels production goals ...> Full Article

New biomass technology dramatically increases ethanol yield from grasses and yard waste (8/1/2008)

researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrassâ€"and even yard waste. ...> Full Article

Engineer Taps Heat-Loving Bacteria for Hydrogen (8/1/2008)

Learning how heat-loving bacteria called thermotogales produce large amounts of hydrogen with unusually high efficiencies ...> Full Article