Chemistry News - July 2008 Archives

Killer pulses help characterize special surfaces (7/31/2008)

Researchers have devised a method to evaluate substrate surfaces by using a series of killer laser pulses ...> Full Article

Chemist Goes Nano with CoQ10 (7/30/2008)

You may soon be buying bottles of water brimming with the life-sustaining coenzyme CoQ10 at your local Costco. ...> Full Article

Toxic chemicals found in common scented laundry products, air fresheners (7/29/2008)

Study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels. ...> Full Article

Modified proteins add color to research (7/28/2008)

Chemist has helped improve the colors of fluorescent proteins used by life science researchers to explore everything from cancer tumors to brain activity ...> Full Article

Material May Help Autos Turn Heat Into Electricity (7/28/2008)

Researchers have invented a new material that will make cars even more efficient, by converting heat wasted through engine exhaust into electricity. ...> Full Article

Controlling nitrogen pollution will not stop toxic algae blooms, says research (7/27/2008)

Research has confirmed that algae blooms, which can poison lakes and kill fish, can be controlled by limiting phosphorus. ...> Full Article

Cow power could generate electricity for millions (7/27/2008)

Converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel source could generate enough electricity to meet up to three per cent of North America's entire consumption needs and lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions ...> Full Article

Plant Steroids Offer New Paradigm for How Hormones Work (7/26/2008)

Steroids bulk up plants just as they do human athletes, but the playbook of molecular signals that tell the genes to boost growth and development in plant cells is far more complicated than in human and animal cells ...> Full Article

New Chlorine-Tolerant, Desalination Membrane Hopes to Boost Access to Clean Water (7/26/2008)

A chemical engineering team has developed a chlorine-tolerant membrane that should simplify the water desalination process, increasing access to fresh water and possibly reducing greenhouse gases. ...> Full Article

Biofilms use chemical weapons (7/25/2008)

Researcher discovers defense strategies used by biofilm bacteria ...> Full Article

Slippery customer: A greener antiwear additive for engine oils (7/24/2008)

Enhancement of engine oil wear and friction control performance through titanium additive chemistry ...> Full Article

A dash of lime a new twist that may cut CO2 levels back to pre-industrial levels (7/22/2008)

Adding lime to seawater to reverse CO2 in the atmosphere ...> Full Article

Researcher uses grant to study little-known but largely useful microbes (7/21/2008)

Researcher spends his days trying to understand how interactions on a microscopic scale could change how we think of energy production, climate change and even soil contamination. ...> Full Article

Researchers pursue switchgrass as Earth-friendly biofuel (7/20/2008)

Experimental facility examining the sustainability of different perennial bioenergy crops – plants that could be turned into energy either by being burned directly or by being converted into cellulosic ethanol ...> Full Article

Researchers generate hydrogen without the carbon footprint (7/16/2008)

A greener, less expensive method to produce hydrogen for fuel may eventually be possible with the help of water, solar energy and nanotube diodes that use the entire spectrum of the sun's energy ...> Full Article

Researchers catch ion channels in their opening act (7/13/2008)

A new study measures movements smaller than one-billionth of a meter in ion channels. This movement is critical to how these tiny pores in the cell membrane open and close in response to changes in voltage across the membrane. ...> Full Article

Researchers run rings round cell division (7/12/2008)

Team shows that a protein ring is used to hold two sister copies of each DNA molecule together physically until they are ready to be segregated into each daughter cell after division. ...> Full Article

Lights, camera, action! 'Molecular movies' to reveal the dynamic lives of proteins (7/11/2008)

Capturing moving images of tiny protein molecules is the aim of a new research project ...> Full Article

New Method Expands Tool Kit for Monitoring Body Chemistry, Disease (7/10/2008)

Researchers have devised a simple, fast method for adding a radioactive "tag" to formaldehyde, a common organic chemical ...> Full Article

Team Developing an Electronic Nose for Quick Detection of Explosives (7/8/2008)

The sensor will be useful in airports and other high-risk areas ...> Full Article

'Smart' materials get smarter with ability to better control shape and size (7/7/2008)

A dynamic way to alter the shape and size of microscopic three-dimensional structures built out of proteins ...> Full Article

Dividing cells find their middle by following a protein 'contour map' (7/6/2008)

Self-organization keeps schools of fish, flocks of birds and colonies of termites in sync. It's also, according to new research, the way cells regulate the final stage of cell division ...> Full Article

Ethanol byproduct produces green results (7/5/2008)

DDGS could reduce costs to commercial nursery growers ...> Full Article

Synthetic Molecules Emulate Enzyme Behavior For The First Time (7/4/2008)

Chemists have created a synthetic catalyst that can fold its molecular structure into a specific shape for a specific job, similar to natural catalysts. ...> Full Article

Do the hyper-coordinate planar transition metal atoms exist? (7/4/2008)

Wheel-shaped structures with octa- and enneacoordinate planar cobalt, iron and nickel centered in perfect octagonal and enneagonal boron rings, are stable on corresponding potential hyper-surfaces ...> Full Article

Atomic tug of war (7/3/2008)

A new form of energy-transfer may have implications for the study of reactions going on in the atmosphere, and even for those occurring in the body. ...> Full Article

Using a light touch to measure protein bonds (7/3/2008)

Researchers tug at molecules with optical tweezers ...> Full Article

Researchers are first to simulate the binding of molecules to a protein (7/2/2008)

Researchers have identified a key step in the cellular recycling of ATP that allows your body to produce enough of it to survive ...> Full Article

Research yields pricey chemicals from biodiesel waste (7/1/2008)

Engineers ID 'green' methods to make valuable organic acids ...> Full Article