Chemspy chemistry news, views and videos http://www.chemspy.com Resources for chemistry and chemical engineering Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Chemspy-Chemical-Searchinghttp://feedburner.google.com The quest for sugars involved in origin of life http://www.chemspy.com/the-quest-for-sugars-involved-in-origin-of-life.html http://www.chemspy.com/the-quest-for-sugars-involved-in-origin-of-life.html#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/the-quest-for-sugars-involved-in-origin-of-life.html The quest for sugars involved in origin of life - A team from University of the Basque Country have managed to isolate a sugar -- a ribose -- in the gas phase, and to characterize a number of its structures. The article has been published by the Angewandte Chemie International Edition. ]]> The quest for sugars involved in origin of life - A team from University of the Basque Country have managed to isolate a sugar -- a ribose -- in the gas phase, and to characterize a number of its structures. The article has been published by the Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/the-quest-for-sugars-involved-in-origin-of-life.html/feed 0 Mini-cellulose molecule could boost biofuels http://www.chemspy.com/umass-amherst-chemical-engineers-discover-mini-cellulose-molecule-that-may-be-key-to-maximizing-biofuel-production.html http://www.chemspy.com/umass-amherst-chemical-engineers-discover-mini-cellulose-molecule-that-may-be-key-to-maximizing-biofuel-production.html#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/umass-amherst-chemical-engineers-discover-mini-cellulose-molecule-that-may-be-key-to-maximizing-biofuel-production.html UMass Amherst Chemical Engineers Discover ‘Mini-Cellulose’ Molecule That May be Key to Maximizing Biofuel Production - Chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this "mini-cellulose" molecule reveals for the first time the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel. The new technical discovery was reported in the January 2012 issue of the journal Energy & Environmental Science and highlighted in Nature Chemistry. ]]> UMass Amherst Chemical Engineers Discover ‘Mini-Cellulose’ Molecule That May be Key to Maximizing Biofuel Production - Chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this "mini-cellulose" molecule reveals for the first time the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel. The new technical discovery was reported in the January 2012 issue of the journal Energy & Environmental Science and highlighted in Nature Chemistry.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/umass-amherst-chemical-engineers-discover-mini-cellulose-molecule-that-may-be-key-to-maximizing-biofuel-production.html/feed 0 How the tiger really earned his stripes http://www.chemspy.com/scientists-prove-turings-tiger-stripe-theory.html http://www.chemspy.com/scientists-prove-turings-tiger-stripe-theory.html#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/scientists-prove-turings-tiger-stripe-theory.html Scientists prove Turing's tiger stripe theory - Researchers from King's College London have provided the first experimental evidence confirming a great British mathematician's theory of how biological patterns such as tiger stripes or leopard spots are formed. ]]> Scientists prove Turing's tiger stripe theory - Researchers from King's College London have provided the first experimental evidence confirming a great British mathematician's theory of how biological patterns such as tiger stripes or leopard spots are formed.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/scientists-prove-turings-tiger-stripe-theory.html/feed 0 Drugs for preventing childhood ‘absence seizures’ http://www.chemspy.com/new-drugs-show-promise-for-preventing-absence-seizures-in-children.html http://www.chemspy.com/new-drugs-show-promise-for-preventing-absence-seizures-in-children.html#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/new-drugs-show-promise-for-preventing-absence-seizures-in-children.html New drugs show promise for preventing 'absence seizures' in children - A team led by a University of British Columbia professor has developed a new class of drugs that completely suppress absence seizures – a brief, sudden loss of consciousness – in rats, and which are now being tested in humans. ]]> New drugs show promise for preventing 'absence seizures' in children - A team led by a University of British Columbia professor has developed a new class of drugs that completely suppress absence seizures – a brief, sudden loss of consciousness – in rats, and which are now being tested in humans.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/new-drugs-show-promise-for-preventing-absence-seizures-in-children.html/feed 0 Consistent Avogadro number a step nearer http://www.chemspy.com/consistent-avogadro-number-a-step-nearer.html http://www.chemspy.com/consistent-avogadro-number-a-step-nearer.html#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/consistent-avogadro-number-a-step-nearer.html Consistent Avogadro number a step nearer - Chemical metrologists in Canada have made the most accurate measurement of silicon's molecular weight to date in a bid to derive a consistent and internationally acceptable figure for the Avogadro constant. The work forms a key part of the redefinition of the kilogram, agreed last year by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. ]]> Consistent Avogadro number a step nearer - Chemical metrologists in Canada have made the most accurate measurement of silicon's molecular weight to date in a bid to derive a consistent and internationally acceptable figure for the Avogadro constant. The work forms a key part of the redefinition of the kilogram, agreed last year by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/consistent-avogadro-number-a-step-nearer.html/feed 0 Potty about tobacco http://www.chemspy.com/potty-about-tobacco-nicotine-traces-in-a-mayan-pot-confirm-its-use-for-storing-tobacco.html http://www.chemspy.com/potty-about-tobacco-nicotine-traces-in-a-mayan-pot-confirm-its-use-for-storing-tobacco.html#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/potty-about-tobacco-nicotine-traces-in-a-mayan-pot-confirm-its-use-for-storing-tobacco.html Potty about tobacco: Nicotine traces in a Mayan pot confirm its use for storing tobacco - The Kislak Collection housed at the US Library of Congress rose from relative anonymity in the scientific world to hit the headlines in January of this year when news was released of a fascinating find. A clay pot was excavated from a burial site in southern Campeche, Mexico, and was one of a series of about 150 Mayan pots housed at the Library of Congress. They could each fit easily into the hand and were embellished with various motifs on the outside, many associated with tobacco. The pot in question dated to around 700 AD and was the only one that said "tobacco" on the side, in an inscription that read yo-'OTOT-ti 'u-MAY, which has been translated as "the home of his (or her or its) tobacco." It was this unique motif that prompted a pair of scientists in the US to take a further look. ]]> Potty about tobacco: Nicotine traces in a Mayan pot confirm its use for storing tobacco - The Kislak Collection housed at the US Library of Congress rose from relative anonymity in the scientific world to hit the headlines in January of this year when news was released of a fascinating find. A clay pot was excavated from a burial site in southern Campeche, Mexico, and was one of a series of about 150 Mayan pots housed at the Library of Congress. They could each fit easily into the hand and were embellished with various motifs on the outside, many associated with tobacco. The pot in question dated to around 700 AD and was the only one that said "tobacco" on the side, in an inscription that read yo-'OTOT-ti 'u-MAY, which has been translated as "the home of his (or her or its) tobacco." It was this unique motif that prompted a pair of scientists in the US to take a further look.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/potty-about-tobacco-nicotine-traces-in-a-mayan-pot-confirm-its-use-for-storing-tobacco.html/feed 0 Entangle DNA to treat HIV and genetic disease http://www.chemspy.com/new-molecule-has-potential-to-help-treat-genetic-diseases-and-hiv-by-tangling-up-dna.html http://www.chemspy.com/new-molecule-has-potential-to-help-treat-genetic-diseases-and-hiv-by-tangling-up-dna.html#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/new-molecule-has-potential-to-help-treat-genetic-diseases-and-hiv-by-tangling-up-dna.html New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV by tangling up DNA - Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported. It's an important step along the path to someday creating drugs that can go after rogue DNA directly. Such drugs would be revolutionary in the treatment of genetic diseases, cancer or retroviruses such as HIV, which incorporate viral DNA directly into the body's DNA. ]]> New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV by tangling up DNA - Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported. It's an important step along the path to someday creating drugs that can go after rogue DNA directly. Such drugs would be revolutionary in the treatment of genetic diseases, cancer or retroviruses such as HIV, which incorporate viral DNA directly into the body's DNA.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/new-molecule-has-potential-to-help-treat-genetic-diseases-and-hiv-by-tangling-up-dna.html/feed 0 2D polymer first http://www.chemspy.com/ordered-two-dimensional-polymers-created-for-the-first-time.html http://www.chemspy.com/ordered-two-dimensional-polymers-created-for-the-first-time.html#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/ordered-two-dimensional-polymers-created-for-the-first-time.html Ordered two-dimensional polymers created for the first time - Swiss scientists have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. The team of scientists from ETH Zurich and Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form a kind of 'molecular carpet' on a nanometer scale. ]]> Ordered two-dimensional polymers created for the first time - Swiss scientists have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. The team of scientists from ETH Zurich and Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form a kind of 'molecular carpet' on a nanometer scale.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/ordered-two-dimensional-polymers-created-for-the-first-time.html/feed 0 Google molecules http://www.chemspy.com/wsu-chemist-applies-google-software-to-webs-of-the-molecular-world.html http://www.chemspy.com/wsu-chemist-applies-google-software-to-webs-of-the-molecular-world.html#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/wsu-chemist-applies-google-software-to-webs-of-the-molecular-world.html WSU chemist applies Google software to webs of the molecular world - The technology that Google uses to analyze trillions of Web pages is being brought to bear on the way molecules are shaped and organized. Aurora Clark, an associate professor of chemistry at Washington State University, has adapted Google's PageRank software to create moleculaRnetworks, which scientists can use to determine molecular shapes and chemical reactions without the expense, logistics and occasional danger of lab experiments. ]]> WSU chemist applies Google software to webs of the molecular world - The technology that Google uses to analyze trillions of Web pages is being brought to bear on the way molecules are shaped and organized. Aurora Clark, an associate professor of chemistry at Washington State University, has adapted Google's PageRank software to create moleculaRnetworks, which scientists can use to determine molecular shapes and chemical reactions without the expense, logistics and occasional danger of lab experiments.
]]> http://www.chemspy.com/wsu-chemist-applies-google-software-to-webs-of-the-molecular-world.html/feed 0 Instant ecstasy detector http://www.chemspy.com/instant-ecstasy-detector.html http://www.chemspy.com/instant-ecstasy-detector.html#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000 Robert Slinn http://www.chemspy.com/instant-ecstasy-detector.html Instant ecstasy detector - An on the spot detector for ecstasy tablets has been made by scientists in Spain. The probe has been designed to detect the active ingredient in ecstasy - MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) - even when it is mixed with other common additives, which has been a challenge. ]]> Instant ecstasy detector - An on the spot detector for ecstasy tablets has been made by scientists in Spain. The probe has been designed to detect the active ingredient in ecstasy - MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) - even when it is mixed with other common additives, which has been a challenge.
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