Chemistry News Archives Page 6

Researchers Look at Turning Plant Waste Into Biofuels (1/9/2008)

The growing demand for ethanol has Canadian farmers harvesting corn kernels at a rapid pace, but the rest of the plant has been going to waste - until now. ...> Full Article

Ceramic Hybrid Needles Take the Sting Out of Shots (1/8/2008)

New polymerization technology may one day take the pain out of injections and blood draws. A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina and Laser Zentrum Hannover have recently used two-photon polymerization to create hollow needles so fine patients wouldn't feel them piercing their skin. Clustered together on a patch, these microneedles can deliver drugs or draw blood efficiently as standard hypodermic needles. These findings are reported in the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology. ...> Full Article

Researchers obtain a snapshot clarifying how materials enter cells (1/8/2008)

A group of researchers has captured a key step in the metabolic process that allows materials, such as nutrients and drug treatments, to move in and out of cells. ...> Full Article

Helium supplies endangered, threatening science and technology (1/7/2008)

Second fiddle to oil, natural gas production ...> Full Article

Researcher finds renewed interest in turning algae into fuel (1/6/2008)

The same brown algae that cover rocks and cause anglers to slip while fly fishing contain oil that can be turned into diesel fuel ...> Full Article

Scientists Highlight Environmental Impacts of Biofuels (1/5/2008)

Biofuels reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels. In the Jan. 4 issue of the journal Science, Smithsonian researchers highlight a new study that factors in environmental costs of biofuel production. Corn, soy and sugarcane come up short. The authors urge governments to be far more selective about which biofuels they support, as not all are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. ...> Full Article

Strange-behaving cystals could have impact on research, technology (1/4/2008)

All of us break the rules from time to time -- even crystals. ...> Full Article

A breakthrough in advancing coal gasification technology (1/3/2008)

Researchers have successfully carried out a 1.0MPa, long period (up to 72 hours) high pressure testing on a semi-industrial platform of pressurized ash agglomerating fluidized bed (AFB) coal gasification, which was jointly developed by the CAS Institute of Coal Chemistry (ICC) and Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group, both being in north China's Shanxi Province. ...> Full Article

New smart tire senses damage, increases safety (1/2/2008)

A new type of "smart" tire developed by a Purdue University professor is able to sense damage when a tire goes flat or loses treads, making it safer for road travel. ...> Full Article

Toward A Rosetta Stone For Microbes' Secret Language (1/1/2008)

Scientists are on the verge of decoding the special chemical language that bacteria use to "talk" to each other, British researchers report. That achievement could lead to new treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including so-called superbugs that infect more than 90,000 people in the United States each year, they note. ...> Full Article

Active mechanism locks in the size of a cell's nucleus (12/26/2007)

Cells know that size matters, especially when it comes to the nucleus. In the early 1900s, German scientists first proposed that the size of a nucleus is always proportional to the size of its cell. Now, more than a century later, researchers at Rockefeller University show that an active mechanism controls this process. This mechanism, however, doesn't reside within the nucleus as many once thought, but instead comes from the cell's cytoplasm. ...> Full Article

Chemist reinvents the wheel (12/25/2007)

Dr. Vera Thoss, an environmental chemist from Bangor University's School of Chemistry, has been partnering with Welsh Company UTD Research Ltd to produce novel products from used tyres. ...> Full Article

Scientists Find Good News About Methane Bubbling Up From the Ocean Floor (12/24/2007)

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted in great quantities as bubbles from seeps on the ocean floor near Santa Barbara. About half of these bubbles dissolve into the ocean, but the fate of this dissolved methane remains uncertain. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that only one percent of this dissolved methane escapes into the air -- good news for the Earth's atmosphere. ...> Full Article

Nylon reveals its antibiotic powers (12/23/2007)

Nylon, we know, is incredibly versatile, strong and resilient. Now, it may be possible to add antibiotic powers to the list of qualities for the wonder synthetic material. ...> Full Article

Researchers Investigate Supercritical Method of Converting Chicken Fat and Tall Oil into Biodiesel (12/22/2007)

Chemical engineering researchers have investigated supercritical methanol as a method of converting chicken fat into biodiesel fuel. The new study also successfully converted tall oil fatty acid, a major by-product of the wood-pulping process, into biodiesel at a yield of greater than 90 percent, significantly advancing efforts to develop commercially viable fuel out of plentiful, accessible and low-cost feedstocks and other agricultural by-products. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover How Cells Build a 'Machine' for Cell Division (12/21/2007)

Using time-lapse photography and computer modeling, a team of researchers from Columbia, Yale and Lehigh Universities has explained a mystery surrounding the assembly of a cellular structure responsible for cell division, the vital process which enables living creatures to develop from embryo to adult. ...> Full Article

Fundamental Discovery by Researchers Reveals How Fat is Stored in Cells (12/21/2007)

In discovering the genes responsible for storing fat in cells, scientists have answered one of biology's most fundamental questions. Their findings, could lead to new strategies for treating obesity and the diseases associated with it. ...> Full Article

Middle Ground in the Marine Food Chain (12/20/2007)

Antarctic research mission to discover what is eating the algae ...> Full Article

Cold Feeling Traced to Source (12/20/2007)

From shooting pain to shiver, fluorescence study confirms role of gatekeeper protein in sensing cold. ...> Full Article

How Molecular Muscles Help Cells Divide (12/19/2007)

Time-lapse videos and computer simulations provide the first concrete molecular explanation of how a cell flexes tiny muscle-like structures to pinch itself into two daughter cells at the end of each cell division, according to a report in Science Express. ...> Full Article

Biocapture surfaces produced for study of brain chemistry (12/17/2007)

Researchers have developed a novel method for attaching small molecules, such as neurotransmitters, to surfaces, which then are used to capture large biomolecules. By varying the identity and spacing of the tethered molecules, researchers can make the technique applicable to a wide range of bait molecules including drugs, chemical warfare agents and environmental pollutants. Ultimately, the researchers also hope to identify synthetic biomolecules that recognize neurotransmitters so that they can fabricate extremely small biosensors to study neurotransmission in the living brain. ...> Full Article

Cattle Fed Byproducts Of Ethanol Production Harbor Dangerous E. Coli Bacteria (12/14/2007)

Ethanol plants and livestock producers have created a symbiotic relationship. Cattle producers feed their livestock distiller's grains, a byproduct of the ethanol distilling process, giving ethanol producers have an added source of income. ...> Full Article

Promising material for hydrogen storage (12/13/2007)

A Swedish research team led by Professor Rajeev Ahuja has reported a highest hydrogen capacity for the hydrogen storage material called metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5) . These findings are being published in this week's Net edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). ...> Full Article

Laser beam 'fire hose' used to sort cells (12/12/2007)

Could enable new kinds of biological research ...> Full Article

'Hellish' hot springs yield greenhouse gas-eating bug (12/10/2007)

Methane-gobbling bacteria could aid climate change battle, according to U of C biologist ...> Full Article

Researchers find the 'breaking point' of proteins (12/9/2007)

Scientists from Oxford University have discovered the watery secrets of what makes proteins unstable ...> Full Article

The closest look ever at native human tissue (12/9/2007)

Seeing proteins in their natural environment and interactions inside cells has been a longstanding goal. Using an advanced microscopy technique called cryo-electron tomography, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] have visualised proteins responsible for cell-cell contacts for the first time. In this week's issue of Nature they publish the first 3D image of human skin at molecular resolution and reveal the molecular Velcro-like organisation that interlinks cells. ...> Full Article

Study unveils unknown protein motifs (12/8/2007)

Undergrad recognized for work in protein function prediction ...> Full Article

Novel Technology Used To Identify Unexpected Bacteria In Cystic Fibrosis Patients (12/7/2007)

Molecular technology developed by a University of Colorado at Boulder professor to probe extreme life forms in undersea hydrothermal vents has been used to identify unexpected bacteria strains in the lung fluid of Denver children suffering from cystic fibrosis, findings that may lead to more effective therapies. ...> Full Article

How cells keep in shape (12/6/2007)

Scientists elucidate a molecular mechanism that plays a key role in giving a cell its shape ...> Full Article