Chemistry News - May 2008 Archives

Invasion Strategy of the World's Largest Virus (5/30/2008)

Scientists reveal the invasion strategy of the world's largest virus ...> Full Article

Green highways: Research targets environmentally friendly asphalts (5/29/2008)

As part of a new national research program called the Asphalt Research Consortium (ARC), researcher is now using $5 million in funding to study ways of making asphalt more environmentally sustainable ...> Full Article

Important Plant Enzymes Identified (5/28/2008)

Could be used to improve disease resistance and/or tailor plants for the production of biofuels or other useful chemical feedstocks ...> Full Article

Researchers use fungus to improve corn-to-ethanol process (5/28/2008)

Growing a fungus in some of the leftovers from ethanol production can save energy, recycle more water and improve the livestock feed that's a co-product of fuel production ...> Full Article

Glowing Films Reveal Traces of Explosives (5/26/2008)

New spray-on films will be the basis of portable devices that can quickly reveal trace amounts of nitrogen-based explosives. ...> Full Article

Sticky business: Researchers devise new way of mapping the viscosity of cells (5/25/2008)

A fluorescent dye can be used to map how viscous, or 'gloopy', different parts of a cell are ...> Full Article

Halting methane squanderlust (5/24/2008)

Researchers determine structure of catalyst that converts methane to more useful compounds ...> Full Article

Scientists characterize protein structure of environmentally friendly bacteria (5/23/2008)

Scientists have determined the structure of a key protein domain in a bacterium that could help with bioremediation of uranium-contaminated land sites. ...> Full Article

New titanium manufacturing process saves energy, helps protect troops (5/22/2008)

The new non-melt processing technique could reduce the amount of energy required and the cost to make titanium parts from powders by up to 50 percent, making it feasible to use titanium alloys for brake rotors, artificial joint replacements and, of significant interest now, armor for military vehicles. ...> Full Article

Energy crops take a roasting (5/21/2008)

A process used to roast coffee beans could give Britain's biomass a power boost, increasing the energy content of some of the UK's leading energy crops by up to 20 per cent. ...> Full Article

By Adding Graphene, Researchers Create Superior Polymer (5/20/2008)

Researchers have created a new kind of polymer that, because of its extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties, could be used in everything from airplanes to solar cells. ...> Full Article

Improved ion mobility is key to new hydrogen storage compound (5/19/2008)

A materials scientist has deciphered the structure of a new class of materials that can store relatively large quantities of hydrogen within its crystal structure for later release ...> Full Article

A fungus that produces biofuels from plants (5/18/2008)

Only a few genes are responsible for the fungus's enzymatic activity ...> Full Article

Pain Free without Numbness - Substance Combination with Chili Peppers (5/17/2008)

Researchers have developed a combination of two agents which is able to specifically block pain without producing numbness or motor paralysis ...> Full Article

Researchers synthesize molecule with self-control (5/16/2008)

Damage to plants seems to regulate its ability to trap energy from sunlight ...> Full Article

Researchers create new material for fuel cells (5/16/2008)

Increases power output by more than 50 percent ...> Full Article

Researchers discover architecture for fundamental processes of life (5/15/2008)

A team of Canadian researchers has completed a massive survey of the network of protein complexes that orchestrate the fundamental processes of life ...> Full Article

Beyond Nutrition - Plants Deliver: Biofuels, Medicines, Bioplastics, Flavours, Pigments (5/14/2008)

The need for a renewable and affordable source of carbon that can sustain future economic development without negatively impacting the environment is now widely recognised. It is also apparent that the increasingly high demand for fossil carbon will eventually deplete existing stocks. ...> Full Article

Magnet Lab Researchers Make Observing Cell Functions Easier (5/13/2008)

Now that the genome (DNA) of humans and many other organisms have been sequenced, biologists are turning their attention to discovering how the many thousands of structural and control genes -- the "worker bees" of living cells that can turn genes on and off -- function. ...> Full Article

New Clues to How Proteins Dissolve and Crystallize (5/13/2008)

Fresh evidence for the "Law of Matching Water Affinities" ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Photosynthetic Dimmer Switch (5/12/2008)

In a study of the molecular mechanisms by which plants protect themselves from oxidation damage should they absorb too much sunlight during photosynthesis, a team of researchers has discovered a molecular "dimmer switch" that helps control the flow of solar energy moving through the system of light harvesting proteins. This discovery holds important implications for the future design of artificial photosynthesis systems that could provide the world with a sustainable and secure source of energy. ...> Full Article

Made-to-order isotopes hold promise on science's frontier (5/11/2008)

Designer labels have a lot of cachet - a principle that's equally true in fashion and physics. ...> Full Article

OPX Biotechnologies Inc. Licenses CU-Boulder Biofuels Technology (5/11/2008)

A Boulder high-tech company spun off from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007 has been granted an exclusive license by the university for a novel microbial technology to produce new biorefining fuels and related chemical products. ...> Full Article

New cell-based sensors sniff out danger like bloodhounds (5/10/2008)

Collaborating across engineering disciplines to make advanced 'cell-based sensors-on-a-chip' technology possible ...> Full Article

Researchers Tackling Unsolved Questions About Protein Structures (5/9/2008)

Researchers are exploring the evolutionary origins of protein structures. Their findings will help people better understand how proteins evolved to carry out the instructions encoded in the genes of every living thing. ...> Full Article

Researchers Launch Online Protein Folding Game (5/9/2008)

Researchers are bringing the arcane world of protein folding to the online gaming arena with the launch of "Foldit," a free game in which players around the world compete to design proteins. ...> Full Article

Turning fungus into fuel (5/8/2008)

Organism with a taste for olive drab shows promise for greener energy ...> Full Article

Japanese Mushroom Leads To Breakthrough In Protein Research (5/8/2008)

Using an enzyme of the Japanese mushroom, proteins can be identified without knowing the organism's genetic composition ...> Full Article

A study reveals how cells communicate to activate the cell division machinery (5/7/2008)

The finding made in the fruit fly may provide clues to address problems such as the proliferation of malignant cells and tumour growth in humans ...> Full Article

Technique Accelerates Biological Image Analysis (5/7/2008)

Will Improve Automated High-Throughput Screening Techniques ...> Full Article

Researcher devises fuel that are more efficient cells, thanks to a new catalyst (5/6/2008)

Researcher has developed new materials that enable the manufacture of cheaper and more efficient methanol fuel cells ...> Full Article

Fungi have a hand in depleted uranium's environmental fate (5/6/2008)

Fungi may have an important role to play in the fate of potentially dangerous depleted uranium left in the environment after recent war campaigns ...> Full Article

Lean and mean biomass-degrading fungus reveals capabilities for improved biofuel production (5/5/2008)

The genome analysis of a champion biomass-degrading fungus has revealed a surprisingly minimal repertoire of genes that it employs to break down plant cell walls, highlighting opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels production. ...> Full Article

Glowing sugars light up zebrafish (5/5/2008)

Using artificial sugar and some clever chemistry, researchers have made glow-in-the-dark fish whose internal light comes from the sugar coating on their cells. ...> Full Article

New 3-D Test Method for Biomaterials 'Flat Out' Faster (5/4/2008)

A novel, three-dimensional (3-D) screening method for analyzing interactions between cells and new biomaterials could cut initial search times by more than half ...> Full Article

New oilsands extraction method could eliminate tailings ponds (5/4/2008)

New method of extracting bitumen from oilsands that uses almost no water and would solve the industry's toxic tailings ponds dilemma ...> Full Article

Microbes could boost world energy supply (5/1/2008)

Scientists expect to begin trials next month to find out whether microbes can unlock the vast amount of energy trapped in the world's unrecoverable heavy oil deposits ...> Full Article