Chemistry News - March 2009 Archives

Microbes turn electricity directly to methane without hydrogen generation (3/31/2009)

A tiny microbe can take electricity and directly convert carbon dioxide and water to methane, producing a portable energy source with a potentially neutral carbon footprint, according to a team of Penn State engineers. ...> Full Article

'First economical process' for making biodiesel fuel from algae (3/28/2009)

Chemists are reporting development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel -- a discovery they predict could one day lead to US independence from petroleum as a fuel. The study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. ...> Full Article

New possibilities for hydrogen-producing algae (3/27/2009)

Photosynthesis produces the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe -- could it also help satisfy our future energy needs by producing clean-burning hydrogen? Researchers studying a hydrogen-producing, single-celled green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, have unmasked a previously unknown fermentation pathway that may open up possibilities for increasing hydrogen production. ...> Full Article

Researchers create catalysts for use in hydrogen storage materials (3/27/2009)

A team of scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and the Savannah River National Laboratory have identified that carbon nanostructures can be used as catalysts to store and release hydrogen, a finding that may point researchers toward developing the right material for hydrogen storage for use in cars. ...> Full Article

Plastic protein protects bacteria from stomach acid's unfolding power (3/26/2009)

A tiny protein helps protect disease-causing bacteria from the ravaging effects of stomach acid, researchers at the University of Michigan and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered. ...> Full Article

Scientists create new enzymes for biofuel production (3/25/2009)

Enzymes are important step toward cheaper biofuels ...> Full Article

Water acts as catalyst in explosives (3/24/2009)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have shown that water, in hot dense environments, plays an unexpected role in catalyzing complex explosive reactions. A catalyst is a compound that speeds chemical reactions without being consumed. Platinum and enzymes are common catalysts. But water rarely, if ever, acts as a catalyst under ordinary conditions. ...> Full Article

Chemists create more efficient palladium fuel cell catalysts (3/23/2009)

Two Brown University chemists have overcome a challenge to fuel cell reactions using palladium catalysts. The scientists produced palladium nanoparticles with about 40 percent greater active surface area than commercially available palladium particles, and the nanoparticles remain intact four times longer. Results appear in the online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop biodegradable substitutes for wood, plastic bottles and other materials (3/23/2009)

Stanford University researchers have developed a synthetic wood substitute that may one day save trees, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink landfills. The faux lumber is made from a new biodegradable plastic that could be used in a variety of building materials and perhaps replace the petrochemical plastics now used in billions of disposable water bottles. ...> Full Article

Zinc oxide gives green shine to new photoconductors (3/22/2009)

Northwestern University researchers have designed a high-performing photoconducting material that uses zinc oxide -- an environmentally friendly inorganic compound found in baby powder and suntan lotion -- instead of lead sulfide. The best performing photoconductor is based on lead sulfide nanoparticles. The new material converts light into electricity but, unlike conventional materials, also features a novel combination of attractive attributes: environmentally benign chemistry, low-cost production, a high level of detectivity, mechanical flexibility and wavelength tunability. ...> Full Article

Researchers report a forceful new method to sensitively detect proteins (3/21/2009)

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory recently reported the detection of toxins with unprecedented speed, sensitivity and simplicity. The approach can sense as few as a few hundred molecules in a drop of blood in less than 10 minutes, with only four simple steps from sample to answer. ...> Full Article

Microscope reveals how bacteria 'breathe' toxic metals (3/20/2009)

Researchers are studying some common soil bacteria that "inhale" toxic metals and "exhale" them in a non-toxic form. The bacteria might one day be used to clean up toxic chemicals left over from nuclear weapons production decades ago. ...> Full Article

Paper electrified by copper particles (3/19/2009)

The Polymer Chemistry Research Group at the University of Helsinki, Finland, has succeeded in producing nano-sized metallic copper particles. The research result is interesting in that polymer-protected metal particles can also be used in various electronics applications. ...> Full Article

Dancing 'adatoms' help chemists understand how water molecules split (3/19/2009)

The result might help understand chemical processes in energy generation or pollution cleanup ...> Full Article

Stainless steel replaces platinum in hydrogen producing microbial electrolysis cells (3/18/2009)

Platinum is highly desired in jewelry and as a catalyst, but in both cases it is expensive. Now, Penn State researchers have found a way to replace the platinum catalyst in their hydrogen generating microbial electrolysis cells with stainless steel brushes without losing efficiency. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover new platinum catalysts for the dehydrogenation of propane (3/17/2009)

Discovery may lead to new strategies for industrial catalysts ...> Full Article

Engineers crack ceramics production obstacle (3/16/2009)

New computer-aided 'predictive technology' has potential to save industry time, money and reduce wastage ...> Full Article

Researchers develop a new technique to date forensic death based on corpse microorganisms (3/16/2009)

This system, related to thermo-microbiology, will permit to determine more accurately the time of a death which has not occurred under controlled natural conditions or as a consequence of a crime.The purpose of the project was to establish the initial methodological basis to create a protocol of general application and provide new complementary tools to the existing criminalistic techniques. ...> Full Article

Turning sunlight into liquid fuels (3/15/2009)

Berkeley Lab researchers create a nano-sized photocatalyst for artificial photosynthesis ...> Full Article

New method for detecting explosives (3/15/2009)

A group of researchers in Tennessee and Denmark has discovered a way to sensitively detect explosives based on the physical properties of their vapors. Their technology, which is currently being developed into prototype devices for field testing, is described in the latest issue of the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, which is published by the American Institute of Physics. ...> Full Article

Polarizers may enhance remote chemical detection (3/14/2009)

Chemists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a way to lower the cost and enhance the sensitivity of a tool used for stand-off detection in harsh environments like hazardous waste spills, blast furnaces and nuclear reactors. ...> Full Article

Under pressure, atoms make unlikely alloys (3/13/2009)

Ever since the Bronze Age, humans have experimented with combining different metals to create alloys with properties superior to either metal alone. But not all metals readily form alloys -- for some pairs of elements, the atoms are too dissimilar. Now researchers in an international team have discovered that previously impossible alloys can be created by subjecting atoms to high pressure -- opening up possibilities for new materials in the future. ...> Full Article

Battery material could lead to rapid recharging of many devices (3/12/2009)

Beltway for electrical energy solves long-standing problem ...> Full Article

Team finds Yellowstone alga that detoxifies arsenic (3/11/2009)

Montana State University scientist Tim McDermott and his collaborators have found Yellowstone alga that detoxifies arsenic. A paper explaining the discovery is published in an online edition of the scientific journal PNAS. ...> Full Article

Novel electric signals in plants (3/10/2009)

Scientists at the Justus Liebig University of Gießen and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena discovered a new form of electrical signaling in different plant species. This electrical signal -- called "system potential" -- is induced by wounding of the plant tissue and then passed from leaf to leaf. ...> Full Article

Protein structure determined in living cells (3/9/2009)

The function of a protein is determined both by its structure and by its interaction partners in the cell. Until now, proteins had to be isolated for analyzing them. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, an international team of researchers has now, for the first time, solved the structure of a protein within a living cell, the bacterium Escherichia coli. ...> Full Article

Cellulosic biofuel technology will generate low-cost green fuel, says major study (3/8/2009)

Cellulosic biofuels offer similar, if not lower, costs and very large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-derived fuels. That's one of the key take-home messages from a series of expert papers on "The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future" in a special issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. ...> Full Article

Engineers develop technique to help combat nuclear proliferation (3/7/2009)

A form of Americium (Am 241) could 'de-claw' nuclear fuel producers ensuring only peaceful plutonium use ...> Full Article

Cleansing toxic waste with vinegar (3/6/2009)

Engineers and environmental scientists at the University of Leeds are developing methods of helping contaminated water to clean itself by adding simple organic chemicals such as vinegar. ...> Full Article

Fowl soil additive breaks down crude oil (3/5/2009)

It is an unlikely application, but researchers in China have discovered that chicken manure can be used to biodegrade crude oil in contaminated soil. Writing in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution the team explains how bacteria in chicken manure break down 50 percent more crude oil than soil lacking the guano. ...> Full Article

Scientists invent world's smallest periscopes (3/4/2009)

A team of Vanderbilt scientists have invented the world's smallest version of the periscope and are using it to look at cells and other microorganisms from several sides at once. ...> Full Article

Tiny 'lab-on-a-chip' detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons (3/3/2009)

Tel Aviv University scientists develop highly accurate nano-scale biomonitoring solution ...> Full Article

An impossible alloy now possible (3/2/2009)

What has been impossible has now been shown to be possible -- an alloy between two incompatible elements. The findings are being published in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. ...> Full Article

Scientists eavesdrop on the exciting conversations within cells (3/1/2009)

Scientists have discovered the secrets of a sophisticated molecule that plays a role in many aspects of human health from fertility to blood pressure; digestion to mental health. This has opened up the potential for discovery of new drugs to treat an enormous variety of conditions. The team shows how the IP3 receptor arranges itself into clusters to help broadcast vital chemical messages around cells in the form of calcium. ...> Full Article

Discovering the secret code behind photosynthesis (3/1/2009)

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London, have discovered that an ancient system of communication found in primitive bacteria, may also explain how plants and algae control the process of photosynthesis. ...> Full Article