Chemistry News - March 2008 Archives

Researchers test find near-zero emissions for BMW Hydrogen 7 (3/31/2008)

Independent tests conducted by engineers on the mono-fueled version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 prototype have found that the car's hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level, the most stringent emissions performance standard to date. ...> Full Article

Scientists launch first comprehensive database of human oral microbiome (3/30/2008)

Scientists know more today than ever before about the microbes that inhabit our mouths. They know so much, in fact, that gathering all of the relevant bits of information into one place when designing experiments can be a job in itself. Now, grantees of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their international colleagues intend to solve this problem with the launch of the first comprehensive database of the oral microbiome, or the approximately 600 distinct microorganisms currently known to live in the mouth. ...> Full Article

Femtogram-level chemical measurements now possible (3/29/2008)

Finding a simple and convenient technique that combines nanoscale structural measurements and chemical identification has been an elusive goal. With current analytical instruments, spatial resolution is too low, signal-to-noise ratio too poor, sample preparation too complex or sample size too large to be of good service. ...> Full Article

Statistics are insufficient for study of proteins' signal system (3/28/2008)

Ten years ago great attention was attracted by the discovery that it was possible to demonstrate signal transfer in proteins using statistical methods. ...> Full Article

Scientists succeed in designing artificial enzymes that also undergo 'evolution in a test tube' (3/27/2008)

>Mankind triumphed in a recent 'competition' against nature when scientists succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry. ...> Full Article

Artificial Photosynthesis Moves a Step Closer (3/27/2008)

Scientists synthesise stable catalyst for water oxidation ...> Full Article

Researchers unravel the secrets of spider silk's strength (3/26/2008)

The strength of a biological material like spider silk lies in the specific geometric configuration of structural proteins, which have small clusters of weak hydrogen bonds that work cooperatively to resist force and dissipate energy ...> Full Article

Researchers Sharpen Search for New Marine Medicines with Novel Techniques (3/24/2008)

Scientists develop new 'map' within sea creatures to help pinpoint source of potent compounds promising to treat diseases ...> Full Article

Chemists Find Important Contributor to Smog (3/23/2008)

Chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere above major cities long assumed to be unimportant in urban air pollution is in fact a significant contributor to urban ozone-the main component of smog. ...> Full Article

'Designer enzymes' created by chemists (3/22/2008)

Chemists have succeeded in creating "designer enzymes," a major milestone in computational chemistry and protein engineering. ...> Full Article

Findings Could Improve Fuel Cell Efficiency (3/21/2008)

Researchers have developed a membrane that allows fuel cells to operate at low humidity and theoretically at higher temperatures. ...> Full Article

Scientists Develop Sensor for Homemade Bombs (3/20/2008)

A team of chemists and physicists have developed a tiny, inexpensive sensor chip capable of detecting trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used in the most common form of homemade explosives. ...> Full Article

Boron chemistry pays off (3/19/2008)

A University of Alberta organic chemist has won one of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships for his work into making more efficient synthetic chemistry. ...> Full Article

Human Proteinpedia, a portal to share human protein data among the scientific community (3/18/2008)

Storage and integration of information on human protein sequences ...> Full Article

Marine bacteria's mealtime dash is a swimming success (3/18/2008)

Goldfish in an aquarium are able to dash after food flakes at mealtime, reaching them before they sink or are eaten by other fish. Researchers at MIT recently proved that marine bacteria, the smallest creatures in the ocean, behave in a similar fashion at mealtime, using their swimming skills to reach tiny food patches that appear randomly in the ocean blue. ...> Full Article

X-rays shed light on magnetic bacteria to improve cancer therapy (3/17/2008)

Scientists have identified that certain naturally occurring bacteria are able to create tiny magnets that could be intensified and developed for use in cancer treatments. ...> Full Article

Researchers devise new cell-sorting system (3/17/2008)

Process could yield low-cost tool for diagnosing cancer, other diseases ...> Full Article

Quasicrystal mystery unraveled with computer simulation (3/16/2008)

The method to the madness of quasicrystals has been a mystery to scientists. Quasicrystals are solids whose atoms aren't arranged in a repeating pattern, as they are in ordinary crystals. Yet they form intricate patterns that are technologically useful. ...> Full Article

Microorganisms used to cut toxins in groundwater (3/16/2008)

Scientist invents a treatment system, called the membrane biofilm reactor, which uses naturally occurring microorganisms to remove contaminants from water ...> Full Article

A common genetic mechanism discovered in nitrogen-fixing plants (3/15/2008)

Some soil microorganisms are capable of forging associations with plant roots in the form of symbioses. ...> Full Article

Chemical in bug spray works by masking human odors (3/15/2008)

Scientists say DEET, long a mystery, inhibits the receptors that allow insects to smell their human prey ...> Full Article

PANTHER sensor quickly detects pathogens (3/14/2008)

Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a powerful sensor that can detect airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox in less than three minutes. ...> Full Article

Studies show trace pharmaceuticals in water (3/14/2008)

Though multiple studies show trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in some Montana water, activated charcoal drinking water filters and reverse osmosis systems are able to remove most of them ...> Full Article

Structure Reveals How Cells 'Sugar-Coat' Proteins (3/13/2008)

Process essential to many proteins' functions can lead to disease when gone awry ...> Full Article

Biologists Identify Key Protein in Cell's 'Self-Eating' Function (3/13/2008)

Molecular biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found one piece of the complex puzzle of autophagy, the process of "self-eating" performed by all eukaryotic cells -- cells with a nucleus -- to keep themselves healthy. ...> Full Article

Invention Promises Major Advance in BioFuel Production (3/12/2008)

Research that started with bacteria from the Chesapeake Bay has led to a process that may be able to convert large volumes of all kinds of plant products, from leftover brewer's mash to paper trash, into ethanol and other biofuel alternatives to gasoline. ...> Full Article

Researchers crack code of 3-D structure in key metabolic protein (3/12/2008)

Using X-ray crystallography, researchers have become the first to decipher the three-dimensional structure of a membrane-bound enzyme that plays a crucial role in glycerol metabolism - a discovery that could lead to important advances against obesity, diabetes and a potential host of other diseases ...> Full Article

Nanoscale tool allows scientists to study membrane proteins one at a time (3/11/2008)

In biology, as in construction, it's all about having tools that fit the job. Researchers at Rockefeller University have now created a tiny tool, more than 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, capable of encasing single membrane proteins from living cells. The new system, which resembles a nanoscale sushi roll, will allow investigators to individually stimulate these key proteins with specific molecules and signals in order to precisely define the biological reactions that result. ...> Full Article

Efficient Catalysts for Making Oxygen for 'Artificial Photosynthesis' (3/11/2008)

Research could lead to more efficient, cleaner hydrogen production ...> Full Article

New crystallization method to ease study of protein structures (3/10/2008)

Researchers have developed a new technique for crystallizing proteins that will ease experimentation into protein structures. ...> Full Article

Rock: Electrons run through it (3/10/2008)

Mineral surfaces linked by electrons traveling through mineral's bulk ...> Full Article

Stratospheric ozone chemistry plays an important role for atmospheric airflow patterns (3/9/2008)

Interactions between the stratospheric ozone chemistry and atmospheric air flow lead to significant changes of airflow patterns from the ground up to the stratosphere. This is the result of climate simulations, which have just been published in the journal „Geophysical Research Letters" (Brand et al, Geophys. Res. Lett.). Scientists at the Research Unit Potsdam of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, which is a member of the Helmholtz Association, have investigated a fundamental process for climate interactions in the Arctic. So far it is not known what causes natural variations of atmospheric air flow patterns which have been playing an important role for climate changes in the last decades. This basic knowledge is necessary to improve climate models that still hold much uncertainty. ...> Full Article

Researchers visualize complex pigment mixtures in living cells (3/9/2008)

In a technical advance that could allow researchers to watch cells as they act during the process of photosynthesis, scientists have developed a method that extends the power of fluorescence-mediated bio-imaging to see discrete pigments inside live cells of bacteria. ...> Full Article

Scientists uncover a novel mechanism that regulates carbon dioxide fixation in plants (3/8/2008)

A team of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded scientists at the University of Essex has discovered a new mechanism that slows the process of carbon dioxide fixation in plants. ...> Full Article

Newly defined signaling pathway could mean better biofuel sources (3/8/2008)

A newly defined biochemical pathway in plants may provide the scientific tools to design plants that will yield larger quantities of alternative transportation fuels than currently can be produced ...> Full Article

Scientists Mimic Sea Cucumber Skin to Create Material That Rapidly Changes Rigidity (3/7/2008)

Scientists have long been amazed by the skin of a sea cucumber, which can switch from stiff to floppy, or vice versa, in mere seconds in order to help the animal defend itself against predators. ...> Full Article

Researchers identify key cellular signal that builds endurance in muscles (3/6/2008)

Everyone knows that exercise improves endurance - now Brigham Young University scientists have discovered one reason why, pinpointing the enzyme that kickstarts the process. The finding will be important to future efforts to enhance the beneficial effects of exercise, and to possibly extend those benefits to people suffering from ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. ...> Full Article

Key To Life Before Its Origin On Earth May Have Been Discovered (3/5/2008)

An important discovery has been made with respect to the mystery of "handedness" in biomolecules. Researchers led by Sandra Pizzarello, a research professor at Arizona State University, found that some of the possible abiotic precursors to the origin of life on Earth have been shown to carry "handedness" in a larger number than previously thought. ...> Full Article

Technology uses live cells to detect food-borne pathogens, toxins (3/5/2008)

Researchers have developed a new technology that can simultaneously screen thousands of samples of food or water for several dangerous food-borne pathogens in one to two hours. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover key for converting waste to electricity (3/4/2008)

Researchers studying bacteria capable of generating electricity have discovered that riboflavin (commonly known as vitamin B-2) is responsible for much of the energy produced by these organisms. ...> Full Article

BioBlower Closer to Protecting Soldiers from Biological Attack (3/3/2008)

Patent to issue on technology, which has passed Department of Defense tests ...> Full Article

New Research Suggests Biofuel Blending is Often Inaccurate (3/2/2008)

Study of Retail Biofuel Samples Suggests National Standards May Be Needed ...> Full Article

Mystery of Glowing Antibody Solved by Scientists (3/1/2008)

A chance discovery of a uniquely luminescent monoclonal antibody nearly ten years ago has proven to be far more interesting-and far more tenacious-than anyone might have suspected. ...> Full Article