American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- Aug. 8, 2007
...r to detect food spoilage Organic Letters Amid growing concern about outbreaks of food poisoning, researchers in South Carolina are reporting development of a new food freshness sensor, for fast, accurate detection of food spoilage. Their study is scheduled for the Aug. 16 issue of ACS Organic Letters ...Pollution causes 40 percent of deaths worldwide, study finds
... Nile virus and Lyme disease -- have developed. "A growing number of people lack basic needs, like pure water and ample food. They become more susceptible to diseases driven by malnourishment, and air, water and soil pollutants," Pimentel concludes. He and his co-authors call for comprehensive and fair popul...Newly created cancer stem cells could aid breast cancer research
...uman breast tissue sample, splitting it in two and growing the cells in the two culture mediums, which select for different cells. Next, he transformed the two populations with the same tumor-initiating genes, injected them in mice and watched the result. The cells that were grown in the new culture medium w...UK scientists working to help cut ID theft
... users and developers, building confidence in this growing industry. Biometric recognition systems measure unique behavioural or physical traits to recognise people. These can be as varied as iris images, fingerprints, the structure of veins in the hand, or even an individuals typing rhythm. Currently they...ESF EURYI award winner aims to stop cancer cells reading their own DNA
...cer cells would then prevent the cancer cells from growing into a larger tumor, said Dekker. This molecular copying machinery, constructed mostly out of proteins, in effect walks along the DNA double helix reading the genetic code so that it can be copied accurately into new DNA during division. Other compon...Gilbert Foundation and American Fed for Aging Research award grants on Alzheimer's disease
...for every five-year age group beyond 65. With the growing aging population, Alzheimers will have an enormous health, societal and cost impact. We are very pleased that The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation has made an investment in research that will add to our knowledge about the aging brain and ho...Conventional plowing is 'skinning our agricultural fields'
...gricultural methods and the need to feed a rapidly growing world population are combining to deplete the Earth's soil supply, a new study confirms. In fact, long-established practices appear to increase soil erosion to the point that it is not offset by soil creation, said David Montgomery, a University o...Grapes, soy and kudzu blunt some menopausal side effects
... The UAB researchers have examined kudzu, a vine growing in the southeast United States. Their research, and others, shows kudzu root extract blunts a significant percent of the blood pressure rise that occurs in rats placed on a high salt diet. Kudzu has also been shown to reduce blood glucose, insulin an...Ecologists work to link kids with nature
...ke! Richard Louv notes in his book that children growing up over the last 20 years have increasingly limited experience of the outdoors, which is contributing to decreased understanding and appreciation of the environment on which humanity depends. National statistics show that visits to national and stat...Experiment suggests limitations to carbon dioxide 'tree banking'
... how it has changed carbon accumulations in plants growing there. The Department of Energy-funded FACE site consists of four forest plots receiving extra CO2 from computer-controlled valves mounted on rings of towers, and four other matched plots receiving no extra gas. Trees in the loblolly pine-dominat...In limiting life span, study finds booming bacteria innocent
...rgy] to controlling bacteria, preventing them from growing to a toxic level, then that energy isnt available to maintain tissues and organs. However, we found no effect on the animals longevity even when their bacteria are taken from one extreme to the other. Nevertheless, he added, the bacterial infestati......tely can lead to land that is rendered useless for growing crops. Elena Bennett (McGill University), organi...n may have inadvertently decreased suitability for growing crops. Brandon Bestelmeyer (USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range) will examine tipping points in ra......ides drinkable water for nearly all of the rapidly growing population. Agricultural practices that impair water quality may also stunt a massive project intended to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem. Many investigations have shown that cover crops can reduce herbicide leaching; however groundwater qua...In a first, Einstein scientists discover the dynamics of transcription in living mammalian cells
...sponsible for transcription. During transcription, growing numbers of RNA polymerase II molecules assemble on...). The possible reason: The lead polymerase on the growing polymerase II enzyme sometimes paused for long periods, retarding transcription in the same way that...Defects in critical gene lead to accelerated lung tumor growth
...cognize these malignant events and keep cells from growing out of control. Only a few of these genes called tumor suppressors are currently known. Now scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have added to the list another powerful tumor ...Beyond Mesopotamia: A radical new view of human civilization reported in Science
...y believed to be the cradle of civilization, but a growing body of evidence suggests that in addition to Mesopotamia, many civilized urban areas existed at the same time about 5,000 years ago in an arc that extended from Mesopotamia east for thousands of kilometers across to the areas of modern India and P......acteria transform from dormant spores into active, growing organisms. That chance exists for a few hours when the invaders are inside immune cells in the lung and then pass from the lungs to the lymph nodes. Once the bacteria reach the bloodstream, they become unrecognizable to immune cells there. At this...Einstein researchers' prototype vaccine could provide improved protection against tuberculosis
...ilable. In this era of multi-drug resistant TB and growing numbers of people with active TB due to coinfection with HIV, the advance could herald a needed breakthrough against one of the worlds leading killers. Their study appears in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. TB is caused ...Native fruits bear sweet antioxidants
...ate native fruits, we are also contributing to the growing need to ensure agriculture becomes more sustainable. Co-author Dr Michael Netzel a post-doctoral researcher at Food Science Australia supported by Germanys Alexander von Humboldt Foundation says the native fruits were shown to be rich sources of ...Progesterone therapy and preterm birth: More evidence helps identify women who can benefit
...among women carrying twins. Premature birth is a growing problem in the United States and a leading killer of newborns, said Michael Katz, senior vice president for Research and Global Programs of the March of Dimes. With this new information, physicians will have a better idea of how to identify those wo...