“Insulin pills could cut the need for needles” Cosmos Magazine — May 2, 2008
A new oral drug delivery system for insulin may herald the end of daily injections for some diabetics, researchers report... Patients suffering from the more severe 'type 1' diabetes typically inject insulin several times a day in order to stabilize their blood sugar levels. But now, a study reports a capsule that could be taken orally, which would decrease the need for injections to once every five or six days. According to researchers behind the study, at the University of Texas in Austin, U.S., insulin currently has to be injected to get it directly into the bloodstream. The hormone is unable to survive the gastric acid and protease enzymes of the human intestinal tract and is also difficult to absorb. The trick, then, said lead researcher and chemical engineer, Nicholas Peppas, was to find a material that could protect the insulin as it goes through the digestive tract, and would release it at a point where it would make it to the blood stream. This gel-like biopolymer was then used to encapsulate the insulin. The technology is detailed in the American Chemical Society journal Biomacromolecules.
“Arizona scientists report on world's fastest nanomotor” Nanowerk — May 1, 2008
In a “major step” toward a practical energy source for powering tomorrow's nanomachines, researchers in Arizona report development of a new generation of sub-microscopic nanomotors that are up to 10 times more powerful than existing motors. Their study is scheduled for the May 27 issue of ACS Nano, a monthly journal. In the new study, Joseph Wang and colleagues point out that existing nanomotors, including so-called “catalytic nanomotors,” are made with gold and platinum nanowires and use hydrogen peroxide fuel for self-propulsion. But these motors are too slow and inefficient for practical use, with top speeds of about 10 micrometers per second, the researchers say. One micrometer is about 1/25,000 of an inch or almost 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
“Secret to absinthe's mind-altering powers solved” FOXNews — May 1, 2008
An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe — the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity — may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects. "Today it seems a substantial minority of consumers want these myths to be true, even if there is no empirical evidence that they are," said researcher Dirk Lachenmeier, a chemist with the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Laboratory of Karlsruhe in Germany. Lachenmeier and his colleagues analyzed 13 samples of absinthe from old, sealed bottles found in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States, all of which dated back to the early 1900s before most of the Western world banned it. After uncorking the bottles, they found relatively small concentrations of thujone in that absinthe, about the same as those in modern varieties. The scientists are set to detail their findings in the May 14 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“Charred Earth examined as carbon-storing option” Discovery News — May 1, 2008
If only we could put all that climate-damaging carbon somewhere other than in the atmosphere. One idea is to make it into dirt. According to new analysis, this approach could be a way to make energy and store carbon at the same time. Biochar could be a useful long-term carbon storage option, especially because it can improve the fertility of the soil and enhance crop yields, according to Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Lehmann proposes that plant residue or crops grown for bioenergy could deliberately be turned into biochar as a way to store carbon, while making energy in the process. Lehmann and colleague John Gaunt calculate that storing biochar produces 30 percent less energy, but avoids two to five times more CO2 emissions than burning biochar for energy. The carbon saved by storing biochar is greater than the fossil fuel carbon that would be saved by using the equivalent amount of biochar to make energy, Lehmann adds. Their findings were published online in Environmental Science & Technology.
“Nuclear's CO2 cost will climb” BBC News — April 30, 2008
The case for nuclear power as a low carbon energy source to replace fossil fuels has been challenged in a new report by Australian academics. It suggests greenhouse emissions from the mining of uranium - on which nuclear power relies - are on the rise. Availability of high-grade uranium ore is set to decline with time, it says, making the fuel less environmentally friendly and more costly to extract. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. A significant proportion of greenhouse emissions from nuclear power stem from the fuel supply stage, which includes uranium mining, milling, enrichment and fuel manufacturing. Others sources of carbon include construction of the plant - including the manufacturing of steel and concrete materials - and decomissioning. The authors based their analysis on historical records, contemporary financial and technical reports, and analyses of CO2 emissions.
“Graphene-based gadgets may be just years away” PhysOrg.com — April 30, 2008
Researchers at The University of Manchester have produced tiny liquid crystal devices with electrodes made from graphene – an exciting development that could lead to computer and TV displays based on this technology. Writing in the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters, Dr. Kostya Novoselov and colleagues from The School of Physics and Astronomy and The School of Computer Science, report on the use of graphene as a transparent conductive coating for electro-optical devices – and show that its high transparency and low resistivity make it ideal for electrodes in liquid crystal devices. Graphene was discovered at The University of Manchester back in 2004, by Professor Andre Geim FRS and Royal Society Research Fellow Dr. Kostya Novoselov. This incredible one-atom-thick gauze of carbon atoms, which resembles chicken wire, has quickly become one of the hottest topics in physics and materials science. “Graphene is only one atom thick, optically transparent, chemically inert, and an excellent conductor,” says Dr. Novoselov, from the Manchester research team.
“Too much technology may be killing beneficial bacteria” Nanotechwire — April 30, 3008
Too much of a good thing could be harmful to the environment. For years, scientists have known about silver's ability to kill harmful bacteria and, recently, have used this knowledge to create consumer products containing silver nanoparticles. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that silver nanoparticles also may destroy benign bacteria that are used to remove ammonia from wastewater treatment systems. The study was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Several products containing silver nanoparticles already are on the market, including socks containing silver nanoparticles designed to inhibit odor-causing bacteria and high-tech, energy-efficient washing machines that disinfect clothes by generating the tiny particles. The positive effects of that technology may be overshadowed by the potential negative environmental impact. The silver nanoparticle research conducted by Hu and his graduate student, Okkyoung Choi, was recently published in Water Research and Environmental Science & Technology.
“Chinese ants show promise in fighting arthritis, other diseases” USA Today — April 25, 2008
Substances found in a type of Chinese ant may provide anti-inflammatory and painkilling benefits against several diseases, a new report says. Chemists analyzing extracts from a Chinese medicinal ant, Polyrhacis lamellidens, found two polyketides, potent natural products that other studies have deemed as promising treatments for arthritis, bacterial infections and many other diseases. Polyketides are also found in plants, fungi and bacteria. The findings, published in the April 25 issue of American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products, support Chinese folk medicine's practice of using ants as a health food or drink ingredient to treat conditions such as joint pain or hepatitis.
“Cherry tomatoes get a seawater boost” New York Times — April 29, 2008
Is there anything better than a ripe tomato, fresh off the vine? Maybe there is. How about a fresh, ripe tomato grown with seawater? Italian researchers report that the nutritional content of tomatoes — cherry tomatoes, in this case — improves when the plants are irrigated with diluted seawater. Cristina Sgherri and colleagues at the University of Pisa grew cherry tomatoes with normal irrigation water and with water diluted with 12 percent seawater. They found that the seawater tomatoes were about 60 percent smaller by weight, on average, than those grown with regular water. But the seawater tomatoes were tastier, with higher acidity and a higher concentration of sugars. Where the seawater tomatoes really stood out, though, was in concentrations of antioxidants, including vitamins C and E and chlorogenic acid. The findings were reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“Silicon nanotubes for hydrogen storage in fuel cell vehicles” Nanotechwire.com — April 21, 2008
After powering the micro-electronics revolution, silicon could carve out an important new role in speeding the debut of ultra-clean fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen, researchers in China suggest. Their calculations show for the first time that silicon nanotubes can store hydrogen more efficiently than their carbon nanotube counterparts. In the study, Dapeng Cao's group used powerful molecular modeling tools to compare the hydrogen storage capacities of newly developed silicon nanotubes to carbon nanotubes. They found that, in theory, silicon nanotubes can absorb hydrogen molecules more efficiently than carbon nanotubes under normal fuel cell operating conditions. The article will appear in the April 24 issue of ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
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