Chemistry News - October 2007 Archives
 | New research could offer hope for victims of the most devastating spinal injuries - typically those caused in car crashes. ...> Full Article |
Click chemistry, one of the most exciting and proficient new techniques for labeling biomolecules in vitro, has now been extended to studies in the context of live cells as well. This breakthrough opens the door for applications to live cell imaging of numerous biomolecules, including glycans, proteins and lipids.
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 | Scientists have suggested that climate researchers and policy makers ought to worry less about working out exactly how sensitive Earth's climate will be to a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ...> Full Article |
 | As clocks go back university unveils textile technology that could improve safety of cyclists, joggers and pedestrians on dark winter days ...> Full Article |
If you looked up No. 6,172,181 in the U.S. Patent Office, you'd find a product named 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoyl diphenyl ether compound and fluorine-containing aryl ether ketone polymer.
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 | Certain varieties of common fescue lawn grass come equipped with their own natural broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits the growth of weeds and other plants around them. ...> Full Article |
 | Chemists have come remarkably close to mimicking a type of protein previously thought impossible to imitate. The long-term application of this work could be in the development of new types of glucose sensors for diabetics, or in the production of new biofuels. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers have found a new way to use solid-state NMR equipment to crack the secrets of hydrogen atoms and thus spot unwanted polymorphs in pharmaceuticals. ...> Full Article |
 | By alternating layers of two different polymers - one rigid and glassy, the other soft and easily swollen with liquid or vapor. Researchers report they've created photonic gel crystals that can be tuned to reflect light of many different colors across the visible and near-infrared spectrum. ...> Full Article |
Sugars made by plants are rapidly used by microbes living in their roots, according to new research at the University of York, creating a short cut in the carbon cycle that is vital to life on earth.
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With the aid of more than 150,000 home computer users throughout the world researchers have, for the first time, accurately predicted the three-dimensional structure of a small, naturally occurring globular protein using only its amino acid sequence. The accomplishment was achieved with a newly refined computational method for predicting protein structure, which the researchers say can also improve the detail and accuracy of protein structures generated with experimental techniques.
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 | Forest fires and other blazes in the United States release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources. ...> Full Article |
 | A researcher has helped solve a scientific mystery that stumped chemists for nearly seven decades. In so doing, his team's findings may lead to the development of more-powerful computer memories and lasers. ...> Full Article |
Researchers are harnessing carbon monoxide for beneficial use.
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 | Singlet oxygen, a byproduct of the photosynthetic process by which certain cells convert sunlight into energy, is a highly toxic and reactive substance that tears cells apart. Now scientists have become the first to solve the structure of a protein complex that protects these cells from singlet oxygen. The findings not only advance knowledge of how cells sense the presence of singlet oxygen, but also how they turn on critical genes to defend themselves from its effects. ...> Full Article |
A simple device just a few millimeters across can separate microscopic objects such as DNA or cells in a fraction of a second—thousands of times faster than conventional methods.
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Soil bacteria that consume the powerful greenhouse gas methane could be important in fighting climate change. A team of European scientists is beginning to understand how communities of them work together in real soils.
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 | Discovery is essential step in developing therapies for genetic disorders ...> Full Article |
Research group has successfully developed aluminum alloy which generates hydrogen when in contact with poured room-temperature water.
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 | Researchers have identified the neurotransmitter serotonin as the chemical responsible for inhibiting milk production and secretion in human mammary glands. ...> Full Article |
An important part of the answer to the country's energy woes could be blowing in the prairie wind, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Michael Casler. He has spent the past 10 years breeding switchgrass, an eight-foot-plus native plant that was an integral part of the tall grass prairies that once dominated America's Midwest.
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Researchers have figured out how a bacterial circadian clock ticks away using only three interacting proteins. They have shown that the cellular equivalent of this clock's pendulum and timing gear is so rugged that it can keep precise time for weeks even after its components have been isolated from bacteria and placed in a test tube.
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 | Although plants lack humans' T cells and other immune-function cells to signal and fight infection, scientists have known for more than 100 years that plants still somehow signal that they have been attacked in order to trigger a plantwide resistance. Now, researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) on the Cornell campus have identified the elusive signal in the process: methyl salicylate, an aspirin-like compound that alerts a plant's immune system to shift into high gear. ...> Full Article |
 | Recent research results have challenged conventional understanding of the oxidation of the "radical scavenger", vitamin E. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers have developed a way to convert vegetable oil and other oils from animal fat - even cooking grease and algae - into jet fuel to power airplanes. ...> Full Article |
Scientists have made an important advance in understanding the genetic processes that give flowers, leaves and plants their bright colors. The knowledge could lead to a range of benefits, including better understanding of the cancer-fighting properties of plant pigments and new, natural food colorings.
...> Full Article
 | Scientists create a three-dimensional snapshot of the enzyme basil eugenol synthase frozen in mid-action as it produces eugenol, the molecule responsible for basil's spicy overtones reminiscent of cloves and cinnamon. ...> Full Article |
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Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Juggling enhances connections in the brain
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
Scientists transform polyethylene into a heat-conducting material
Chemicals that eased one environmental problem may worsen another
Helping hydrogen: Student inventor tackles challenge of hydrogen storage
More, better biodiesel
Orange peels, newspapers may lead to cheaper, cleaner ethanol fuel
Researchers envision high-tech applications for 'multiferroic' crystals
Chemists create synthetic 'gene-like' crystals for carbon dioxide capture