Water quality was issue in ancient Rome, says University of Toronto scholar
... in calcium which, over time, created a protective coating inside the lead pipes. "This mineral coating may have protected much of the population from lead poisoning," he says....New Biofilm Research Center will explore the wonderful world of slime
Whether it's the disgusting yellow film coating your teeth or the slippery crud clogging your kitchen sink, slime is something most of us want to eliminate, not cultivate. But for scientists, microbial slime or "biofilm" has become the focus of intense interest. This week, members of the Stanfo...Experiments offer major clue to repairing diseased nerves
...led cuprizone that slowly stripped away the myelin coating on nerves in their brains and then observed myelin regeneration indicative of nerve repair. Normal mice recovered completely, but those lacking the functioning tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene did not, which indicated how critical the protein was to ......n 99% of bacteria sprayed on them, and because the coating is chemically bonded to the surface, it doesn't come off when touched or washed. The surface treatment is potentially long-lasting and capable of being scaled up to commercial production at moderate cost, being applied as a paint or coating. The goal...Smallest silicon particles light way for new sensors, materials
...e surface of porous silicon to create a glass-like coating that disrupts its photoluminescent properties." In 1998 Buriak's research group developed two new routes to protecting the surface from oxidation. The first involved treatment with a Lewis acid and a class of organic molecules. The second outlined pr...Study: nitric oxide-releasing materials might reduce medical implant infections
...al anti-bacterial agent, is slowly released by the coating when placed in watery environments such as blood or tissue and reduces bacterias tendency stick to the implants and form living films that lead to infection. Efforts to reduce infections related to medical implants using conventional antibiotic tre...August media highlights GEOLOGY and GSA TODAY
...h, a dark, shiny, and very thin (<200 microns) coating made up of a cocktail of oxides rich in manganese, iron, and clay minerals, forms on rock surfaces and is ubiquitous in desert regions. It has become the center of a contentious controversy revolving around its use in dating geomorphic surfaces and/o...Identification of genes may tell how plants recognize pollen
... have understood for quite a while that the pollen coating iscritical for launching the process of pollination in a large number ofspecies," said Preuss. "But a comprehensive analysis of all of thepollen protein coat genes in one plant had never been done before, and that'swhere this work is unique. The sea......burgh, Pa.) developed a safer, water-based yttrium coating to replace traditional lead coatings in automobile primers. The coating resists corrosion and provides a smooth surface for painting, while potentially eliminating one mill...'Silent' DNA speaks up for the first time
...uman cell never get expressed due to a shield-like coating of proteins called "chromatin." In many genes, chromatin does not prevent the expression of DNAs genetic codes. But in genes coated with extremely dense "heterochromatin," the DNA stays quarantined from triggers that would otherwise cause transcri...Researchers pioneer techniques to lubricate microdevices
...ey baked a 1-nanometer-thick coating of lubricant onto the surfaces of all ...y found that the solid Z-DOL coating reduced friction by half. These results will appear in detail in one of Bhusha...Clamshells, wheat and burgers - the next fast-food craze?
...ten when wet," Nobes said. "There's probably some coating that may need to be applied," he acknowledged, "but we hope to be able to avoid that." Straw isn't the only fiber the scientists examined. "We've looked at everything from softwood fibers, like you would find in your newspaper, to hardwood f...Chemicals in carpet can linger long after exposure
...whether it has been treated with a stain-resistant coating - likely has little impact on the chemical emissions, he continued....Discovery of armored viruses may inspire new designs for nanotechnology
...cial micro-imaging techniques to analyze the outer coating of a virus called bacteriophage HK97. Bacteriopha...60 hexagons - locked together to form a protective coating that surrounds the virus's DNA. "Its protein rings are cross-linked in a manner similar to the five-...Magnetic fluids offer hope for treatment of retinal detachment
... fluid into the sclera, the outer protective white coating of the eye, and use a magnetized scleral buckle to pull the fluid to a specific site and push the retina back against the underlying choroid, the membrane between the retina and the sclera. Scleral buckles -- narrow, supportive bands that can be plac...UCSD chemists develop portable nerve gas sensor
...wafer, similar to a computer chip, with an optical coating containing the catalyst. The rainbow-colored optic... in intensity of light reflecting from the optical coating on the surface of the silicon chip. "It turns out that if you take a laser that's at the right frequ......much organic material because they pick up a lipid coating from the film of oily molecules on the surface of the ocean. "They look like protocells, with a layer of organic material on the outside," he says. While the droplets are floating in the upper atmosphere, they often fuse with other particles, which ...Fact sheet: the Report on Carcinogens - 9th edition
...th Report. These materials are used in batteries, coating and plating, plastic and synthetic products and alloys, and had been listed as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" since 1980. The Report identifies findings of increased risk of lung cancers in workers exposed to cadmium and cadmium c...Study: Methane cleans nitric oxide from power plant emissions
... and reacts with the catalyst that is coating the interior surfaces." In form and function, the catalyst bed resembles the inside of an automobile catalytic converter. After testing the use of methane over palladium-based catalysts ...