Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions

Our sustainable future: First mobile app green chemistry fosters sustainable manufacturing of medicines

Monday, 13, May 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode describes the first mobile application to foster wider use of the environmentally friendly and sustainable principles of green chemistry. It is the topic of a report in ACS’ new journal, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. The report on the pigment appears in ACS' Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: Ancient “Egyptian blue” pigment points to new telecommunications, security ink technology

Monday, 22, April 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is an ancient Egyptian blue pigment used 5,000 years ago. The pigment is giving modern scientists clues toward the development of new nanomaterials that could have uses in medical imaging devices, remote controls, security ink and other technologies. The report on the pigment appears in ACS' Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: Toward a better cyanide antidote for terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events

Monday, 11, March 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a promising substance that could be the basis for the development of a better antidote for cyanide poisoning. This is an advance toward closing a major gap in defenses against terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events. The report, which describes a potential antidote that could be self-administered — much like the medication delivered by allergy injection pens — appears in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Providing nutritious foods: A new, super-nutritious puffed rice for breakfast cereals and snacks

Monday, 25, February 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode describes a new process for blowing up grains of rice to produce a super-nutritious form of puffed rice. The new rice has three times more protein and a rich endowment of other nutrients that make it ideal for breakfast cereals, snack foods and nutrient bars for school lunch programs. The study is the topic of a report in ACS’ the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Our Sustainable Future: New twist on using biomass for cosmetic, personal care and antioxidant-containing products

Monday, 11, February 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a new approach for tapping biomass as a sustainable raw material for ingredients in sunscreens, perfumes and other personal care products. The approach could open up new economic opportunities for tropical countries that grow such plants. A report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: Boosting the sensitivity of airport security screening

Monday, 28, January 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a simple way to improve the sensitivity of the test often used to detect traces of explosives on the hands, carry-ons and other possessions of passengers at airport security screening stations. A group of scientists reported their innovation in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Combating Disease: Leaves of carob tree, source of chocolate substitute, fight virulent food-poisoning bacteria

Monday, 14, January 2013 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is an antibacterial extract from the leaves of the carob tree (the source of a popular chocolate substitute) that could fight the microbe responsible for the serious form of food poisoning called listeriosis. The research appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Confronting Climate Change: Stop-Gap Measures to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Speed limits on cargo ships could reduce their pollutants by more than half

Monday, 10, December 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s report concludes that putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their emission of air pollutants by up to 70 percent. That would reduce the impact of marine shipping on Earth’s climate and on human health, the scientists say. Their evaluation of the impact of vessel speed reduction policies appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Supplying Safe Drinking Water: New analysis of drinking water-related gastrointestinal illness

Monday, 26, November 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode describes a study finding that the distribution system piping in U.S. public water systems that rely on non-disinfected well water or “ground water” may be a largely unrecognized cause of up to 1.1 million annual cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI). That illness involves nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The study is the topic of a report in the journal, Environmental Science and Technology.

Our Sustainable Future: White rot fungus boosts ethanol production from corn stalks, cobs and leaves

Monday, 12, November 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a fungus that shows promise in the search for a way to use waste corn stalks, cobs and leaves – rather than corn itself – to produce ethanol to extend supplies of gasoline. The research appears in the ACS’ journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research.

Supplying Safe Drinking Water: Leveraging bacteria in drinking water to benefit consumers

Monday, 22, OCtober 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s report concludes that contrary to popular belief, purified drinking water from home faucets still contains bacteria. And scientists are reporting discovery of a plausible way to manipulate those populations of mostly beneficial microbes to potentially benefit consumers.

New fuels: The sun and more: Transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricity

Monday, 8, OCtober 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode describes development of a new transparent solar cell, an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside.

New Fuels: The Sun and More: Toward super-size wind turbines: Bigger wind turbines do make greener electricity

Monday, 24, September 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s study could solidify the trend toward construction of gigantic windmills. In a report in ACS’ journal Environmental Science and Technology, scientists have concluded that the larger the wind turbine, the greener the electricity it produces.

Promoting Public Health: Green plants reduce pollution on city streets up to eight times more than previously believed

Monday, 10, September 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s report concludes that trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed. A report on the research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Combating Disease: A non-antibiotic approach for treating urinary tract infections

Monday, 13, August 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode describes a potential new approach for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) without traditional antibiotics.

Our Sustainable Future: Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as electricity source

Monday, 23, July 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a new genre of electric power-generating stations that could supply electricity for more than a half billion people by tapping just one-tenth of the global potential of a little-known energy source that exists where rivers flow into the ocean.

Promoting Public Health: New, inexpensive paper-based diabetes test ideal for developing countries

Monday, 9, July 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s development is an inexpensive and easy-to-use urine test for Type 2 diabetes ideally suited for rural India, China and other areas of the world where poverty limits the availability of health care. The report describing the paper-based device, which also could be adapted for the diagnosis and monitoring of other conditions and the environment, appears in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry.

Our Sustainable Future: Ancient effect harnessed to produce electricity from waste heat

Monday, 25, June 2012 10:00:04 -0400

A phenomenon first observed by an ancient Greek philosopher 2,300 years ago has become the basis for a new device designed to harvest the enormous amounts of energy wasted as heat each year to produce electricity. The first-of-its-kind “pyroelectric nanogenerator” is the topic of a report in ACS’ journal Nano Letters.

New Fuels - Biofuels: Real-life scientific tail of the first “electrified snail”

Monday, 11, June 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s episode announces that the world’s first “electrified snail” implanted with biofuel cells that generate electricity from natural sugar in their bodies. Scientists are describing how these biofuel cells could someday serve as energy for many electronics devices in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

New Fuels - Biofuels: Meeting biofuel production targets could change agricultural landscape

Tuesday, 29, May 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Almost 80 percent of current farmland in the U.S. would have to be devoted to raising corn for ethanol production in order to meet current biofuel production targets with existing technology, a new study has found. An alternative, according to a study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science and Technology, would be to convert 60 percent of existing rangeland to biofuels.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: Killer silk - Making silk fibers that kill anthrax and other microbes in minutes

Monday, 21, May 2012 10:00:04 -0400

A simple, inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria — even the armor-coated spores of microbes like anthrax — in minutes, protect homes and other buildings in the event of a terrorist attack with anthrax, scientists are reporting in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Providing Nutritious Foods: Strong scientific evidence that eating berries benefits the brain

Monday, 7, May 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s finding suggests that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes.

Combating Disease: Adapting personal glucose monitors to detect DNA

Monday, 30, April 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution addresses the development of an inexpensive device used by millions of people with diabetes that could be adapted into a home detector for many diseases.

Providing Safe Food: Children may have highest exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Monday, 16, April 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s finding warns that children may be receiving the highest exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide in candy, which they eat in amounts much larger than adults.

New Fuels: Biofuels - Biofuel cell generates electricity when implanted in False Death’s Head Cockroach

Thursday, 22, March 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists have developed and implanted into a living insect — the False Death's Head Cockroach — a miniature fuel cell that converts naturally occurring sugar in the insect and oxygen from the air into electricity. They term it an advance toward a source of electricity that could, in principle, be collected, stored and used to power sensors, cameras, microphones and a variety of other microdevices attached to the insects in a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: New test could help track down and prosecute terrorists who use nerve gas and other agents

Monday, 12, March 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution addresses the development of a new test that could help track down and prosecute terrorists who use chemical agents.

Supplying Safe Drinking Water: “Miracle tree” substance produces clean drinking water inexpensively and sustainably

Monday, 27, February 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution uses the seeds of the miracle tree to produce clean drinking water. The water-treatment process requiring only tree seeds and sand could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, scientists report.

Our Sustainable Future: Peatland carbon storage is stabilized against catastrophic release of carbon

Monday, 30, January 2012 10:00:04 -0400

Concerns that global warming may have a domino effect —unleashing 600 billion tons of carbon in vast expanses of peat in the Northern hemisphere and accelerating warming to disastrous proportions — may be less justified than previously thought. That’s the conclusion of a new study on the topic in ACS’ journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Combating Disease: Turning up the heat to kill cancer cells: “The Lance Armstrong effect”

Monday, 17, January 2012 10:00:04 -0400

The “Lance Armstrong effect” could become a powerful new weapon to fight cancer cells that develop resistance to chemotherapy, radiation and other treatments, scientists say in a report in the ACS journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Promoting Public Health: Household washing machines are a source of potentially harmful ocean “microplastic” pollution

Monday, 19, December 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution warns that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called “microplastic” pollution — bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin — that scientists now have detected on shorelines worldwide.

Promoting Public Health: Recycling thermal cash register receipts contaminates paper products with BPA

Monday, 5, December 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Bisphenol A (BPA) — a substance that may have harmful health effects — occurs in 94 percent of thermal cash register receipts, scientists are reporting. The recycling of those receipts, they add, is a source of BPA contamination of paper napkins, toilet paper, food packaging and other paper products. The report, which could have special implications for cashiers and other people who routinely handle thermal paper receipts, appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Developing New Sources of Energy: New type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods

Monday, 28, November 2011 10:00:04 -0400

In this episode, we will addresses the development of a new type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods.

Combating Disease: Genetically-engineered spider silk for gene therapy

Monday, 14, November 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Genetically engineered spider silk could help overcome a major barrier to the use of gene therapy in everyday medicine, according to a new study that reported development and successful initial laboratory tests of such a material. It appears in ACS’ journal Bioconjugate Chemistry.

New Fuels Biofuels: Alligator fat as a new source of biodiesel fuel

Monday, 24, October 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution addresses the development of a unique form of biodiesel fuel using alligator fat.

Providing Safe Foods: Flooding of farmland does not increase levels of potentially harmful flame retardants in milk

Monday, 10, October 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution provides a reassuring message—although potentially harmful flame retardants build up in flooded rivers, that doesn’t translate to harmful levels in milk from cows that consume the grass in these flood-prone areas.

Confronting Climate Change: Using the energy in oil shale without releasing carbon dioxide in a greenhouse world

Monday, 26, September 2011 10:00:04 -0400

New technology that combines production of electricity with capture of carbon dioxide could make billions of barrels of oil shale — now regarded as off-limits because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide released in its production — available as an energy source. That’s the conclusion of a report on electricity production with in situ carbon capture EPICC in ACS’ journal Energy and Fuels.

Promoting Public health: Toward a vaccine for methamphetamine abuse

Mon, 11 Sep 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution addresses the development of a potential vaccine to fight methamphetamine abuse. Methamphetamine abuse costs the United States more than 23 billion annually in medical expenses, law enforcement costs, and lost productivity.

Providing Safe Foods: Safety of nanoparticles in food crops is still unclear

Wed, 22 Aug 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution sounds a warning bell about the much-anticipated new era of nanoagriculture — using nanotechnology to boost the productivity of plants for food, fuel, and other uses.

Developing New Materials: Using banana peels to purify water

Wed, 8 Aug 2011 10:00:04 -0400

A study in the American Chemical Society’s journal, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, reports that minced banana peel performs better than an array of other water purification materials and can do so in a sustainable way.

Our Sustainable Future: A “green grid” for delivering solar and wind-based electricity

Monday, July 25 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution addresses the development of a “green grid” to more efficiently deliver solar and wind-based electricity.

Promoting Public Health: Toward new medication for chronic brain diseases

Monday, July 11 2011 10:00:04 -0400

A needle-in-the-haystack search through nearly 390,000 chemical compounds has led scientists to a substance that can sneak through the protective barrier surrounding the brain with effects promising for new drugs for Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. They report on the substance, which blocks formation of cholesterol in the brain, in the journal, ACS Chemical Biology.

Developing New Sources of Energy: Self-powered nanogenerator uses body movements to generate electricity, transmit data wirelessly

Monday, June 27 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is A first-of-its-kind nanogenerator that can produce electricity using energy from a gentle breeze, movements of a person walking and other sources and power wireless data transmissions.

Our Sustainable Future: “Green” cars made from pineapples and bananas

Monday, June 13 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution explains how manufacturers building hybrids that have excellent gas mileage, can create stronger, lighter, and more sustainable materials for cars and other products, made, in part, out of bananas or pineapples.

Combating Disease: New rapid diagnostic test for MRSA Superbugs

Monday, May 23 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a new blood test that can quickly tell whether patients are infected with an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that’s become a global plague. This superbug is called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or simply MRSA.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: New nanomaterial detects and neutralizes explosives

Monday, 09, May 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s solution is a new nanomaterial that could make the world a little safer by detecting and neutralizing explosives.

Our Sustainable Future: A greener process for a key ingredient used to make paint, diapers, and other products

Monday, April 25 2011 10:00:04 -0400

A study published in the American Chemical Society’s journal, ACS Catalysis, reports that scientists have developed a new catalyst that provides an environmentally way to make acrylic acid without using petroleum.

Promoting Public Health: High vitamin-D bread could help solve widespread insufficiency problem

Wednesday, 13, April 2011 10:00:04 -0400

With most people unable to get enough vitamin D from sunlight or foods, scientists are suggesting that a new vitamin D-fortified food bread made with high-vitamin D yeast could fill that gap.

Supplying Safe Drinking Water: Don’t blame The Pill for estrogen in drinking water

Wednesday, 16, February 2011 10:00:04 -0400

Contrary to popular belief, The Pill accounts for less than 1 percent of the estrogens found in the nation’s drinking water supplies, according to a recent analysis. The report in ACS’ biweekly journal Environmental Science and Technology suggests that most of the estrogens enter drinking water supplies from other sources.

Future Cities: The right choices on transportation can shrink your own personal carbon footprint

Tuesday, 25, January 2011 10:00:04 -0400

A study published in the American Chemical Society’s journal, Environmental Science and Technology, offers new insights into how people can shrink their own personal carbon footprints by selecting specific modes of transportation.

Our Sustainable Future: Biodegradable plastic from milk and clay

Wednesday, 12 January 2011 10:00:04 -0400

With continuing concern about plastic waste accumulating in municipal landfills, and reliance on imported oil to make plastics, scientists have created an ultra-light biodegradable foam plastic material made from two unlikely ingredients.

Promoting Public Health: Black rice bran may fight inflammation

Thu, 22 Nov 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are reporting evidence that black rice — a little-known variety of the grain that is the staple food for one-third of the world population — may help soothe the inflammation involved in allergies, asthma, and other diseases.

Supplying Safe Drinking Water: Electrified nano filter promises to cut costs for clean drinking water

Thu, 15 Nov 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial tests of an inexpensive new filtering technology that kills up to 98 percent of disease-causing bacteria in water in just seconds without clogging.

Our Sustainable Future: Saving energy by reducing food waste

Thu, 27 Oct 2010 10:00:04 -0400

A new study published in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology journal provides a compelling new reason not to waste food. It saves energy, lots of money at home and fights global hunger.

In the green of health: Just five minutes of green exercise optimal for good mental health

Thu, 20 Oct 2010 10:00:04 -0400

New research suggests that just five minutes of outdoor activities, such as exercising in a park, working in a backyard garden or walking on a nature trail, will benefit mental health.

Future Cities: Nanotechnology promises more sustainable buildings, bridges, and other structures

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Bricks, blocks, and steel I-beams — step aside. That’s because scientists are reporting that a new genre of construction materials, made from stuff barely 1/50,000th the width of a human hair, is about to debut in the building of homes, offices, bridges, and other structures. The new report highlights both the potential benefits of these nanomaterials in improving construction materials and the need for guidelines to regulate their use and disposal. The report appears in the monthly journal ACS Nano.

Developing new sources of energy: Producing cost-effective biodiesel from sewage sludge

Wed, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Existing technology can produce biodiesel fuel from municipal sewage sludge that is within a few cents a gallon of being competitive with conventional diesel refined from petroleum.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Our Sustainable Future: “Smart” roofs that can save energy

Mon, 26 Aug 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are reporting development of a “smart” roof coating, made from waste cooking oil from fast food restaurants, that can “read” a thermometer and help save energy. Roofs coated with the material would reflect scorching summer sunlight and reduce sticker-shock air-conditioning bills. When chilly weather sets in, the coating would change roles and transmit heat to help warm the interior. Scientists described the sustainable material at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Public Health: Dusting off a hidden challenge

Mon, 19 July 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Where does dust come from? Scientists in Arizona are reporting a surprising answer to that question, which has puzzled and perplexed generations of men and women confronted with layers of dust on furniture and floors.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Public Health: Toward a fast, accurate urine test for pneumonia

Thursday, 24 June 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are reporting the discovery of the potential basis for a urine test to diagnose community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), a difficult-to-diagnose lung disease that is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The test could save lives by allowing doctors to begin the right treatment earlier than they do now. The study appears online in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

New fuels: Biofuels: A more economical process for making ethanol from non-food sources

Thursday, 10 June 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists in Wisconsin are reporting discovery of a way to lower the cost of converting wood, corn stalks and leaves, switch grass, and other non-food biomass materials into ethanol fuel. The process reduces amounts of costly enzymes needed to break down tough fibrous cellulose matter in biomass for fermentation into alcohol.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Our Sustainable Future: Roadmap for preserving the planet

Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:04 -0400

The United States could completely stop emissions of carbon dioxide from coal-fired electric power plants? A crucial step for controlling global warming? Within 20 years by using technology that already exists or could become commercially available within a decade, scientists are reporting. The scientists outline strategies to make the phase-out possible, including the use of renewable energy and advanced nuclear power plants. Their study appears in ACS’ semi-monthly journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Our Sustainable Future: Decomposing BPA-containing plastic using a “fungus among us”

Fri, 14 May 2010 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are reporting discovery of a more sustainable way of disposing of plastics that contain bisphenol A (BPA) — without releasing that potentially harmful substance to the environment. The new method involves exposing polycarbonate plastic waste to ultraviolet light and heat. Just as cooking makes food more digestible for humans, this pretreatment approach makes polycarbonate plastic more digestible for certain fungi, which the scientists used to break down polycarbonate plastic. Their study appears in the ACS’ monthly journal Biomacromolecules.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Combating Disease: Coal from mass extinction era linked to lung cancer mystery

Fri, 23 April 2010 10:00:04 -0400

For years, women in China’s Xuan Wei County in Yunnan Province — women who never smoked cigarettes — have been plagued by lung cancer. The mortality rates among female nonsmokers are the world’s highest — up to 20 times higher than average in China. A new study sheds light on the cancer epidemic and points to an unlikely source: volcanic eruptions occurring millions of years ago.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Providing Safe Foods: Heat forms potentially harmful substance in high-fructose corn syrup

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 10:00:04 -0400

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), that ubiquitous sweetener in soda, fruit drinks and processed foods, may pose another problem besides adding on the pounds. Researchers have found that heating the syrup promotes formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the corn syrup often fed to honey bees.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

New Fuels: An “artificial leaf” for making solar-energy

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists are making progress toward development of an “artificial leaf” that mimics a real leaf’s chemical magic with photosynthesis — but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Public Health: Saving lives with the first dry powder inhalable vaccine for measles

Thu, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:04 -0400

The first dry powder inhalable vaccine for measles is moving toward clinical trials next year in India, where the disease still sickens millions of infants and children and kills almost 200,000 annually.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Providing safe foods: “Killer spices” provide eco-friendly pesticides for organic fruits and veggies

Thu, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Mention rosemary, thyme, clove, and mint and most people think of a delicious meal. These well-known spices are emerging as organic agriculture’s key weapons against insect pests.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Public Health: Sandcastle worm’s secrets could yield new medical adhesive

Thu, 26 Oct 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Scientists have copied the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in an effort to develop a long-sought medical adhesive needed to repair bones shattered in battlefield injuries, car crashes and other accidents.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Confronting Climate Change: “Green” roofs can help fight global warming

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:00:04 -0400

If you live in the city and you like fresh veggies, herbs and flowers, how about planting a garden on your roof? “Green” roofs, those increasingly popular urban rooftops covered with plants, could help fight global climate change.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Confronting Climate Change: Smoke to soak up future oil spills

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Experts estimate that people dump more than 200 million gallons of used oil each year into sewers, streams and backyards, resulting in a problem that has plagued wastewater treatment plants for decades. But an answer might be found in a material sometimes referred to as frozen smoke.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Public Health: Redefining DNA: Darwin from the atom up

Wed, 22 July 2009 10:00:04 -0400

DNA is the blueprint for every organism that ever swam, flew, crawled or walked on earth. Now, four billion years of evolution later, a few bold scientists have created a new genetic blueprint — with some profound applications.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: Targeting Ricin

Wed, 10 June 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s topic is research on new ways to detect and possibly treat poisoning from ricin, a potential bioterrorist agent.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by Halleck, samplecat and acclivity.

Our Sustainable Future: Small generator, big applications

Wed, 20 May 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s topic is research on creating a sustainable future. This discovery could render today’s landfill-bound batteries obsolete. Imagine if all you had to do to charge your iPod or your BlackBerry was to wave your hand, or stretch your arm, or take a walk?

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by crk365, man, rutgermuller, Halleck and ljudman.

Promoting Personal Safety and National Security: New Solutions 2009

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:00:04 -0400

In this episode, scientists from DARPA investigate whether a lethal new kind of explosive threatens America's security.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod. Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by ljudman and anton.

Combating Disease: New Solutions 2009 - Much more than pasta and potatoes

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 10:00:04 -0400

When you think carbohydrates, spaghetti, rice and freshly baked loaves of bread usually come to mind. A group of scientists in Germany led by Peter Seeberger see carbs a bit differently. Much more than just pasta and potatoes, they envision carbohydrates as the basis of revolutionary new vaccines and drugs to battle malaria, HIV, and a bevy of other diseases.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and M12.

Confronting Climate Change: The Quest for Permanent Solutions

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Today’s topic is research on global climate change. This discovery could help control the amount of carbon dioxide — the No. 1 greenhouse gas — entering the atmosphere.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by pushtobreak, sinatra314, acclivity and kjackson.

Providing Safe Foods: New Solutions 2009

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:00:04 -0400

Making grapefruit juice safer for people who take certain prescription drugs

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Episode 12 – Promoting Public Health

Tue, 4 Dec 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Life expectancy in the 20th Century rose by about 30 years. Advances in protecting the public health were responsible for about 25 of those precious years. Vaccination programs. Improved sanitation to better control infectious diseases. The development of antibiotics. Better prenatal care. And much more. Scientists are making strides toward sustaining that progress by fostering continued improvements in the health of the population as a whole.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), DJ Rkod and Neurowaxx; Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by pfly, fogma, jascha, alienbomb, ERH and zerolagtime.

Episode 11 – Providing Safe Food (Part 2 of 2)

Tue, 23 Nov 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Blueberries, raspberries and grapes bursting with flavor. A luscious, silky morsel of chocolate melting into a mouthful’s rush of pure pleasure. Fresh ripe tomatoes. Years ago, people ate for that gratification. Food also provided the calories for people to work, and drove away hunger pangs. Today, people in industrialized countries are selecting food not just for taste and sustenance, but also for its potential effects in promoting good health.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and M12 (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by volivieri, digimusic, thedoctor, Dzork and agent.

Episode 10 – Providing Safe Food (Part 1 of 2)

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Every Thanksgiving, family and friends gather to celebrate round dinner tables heaped high with roast turkey and other traditional dishes. There’s praise and thanks for the food, of course. But maybe we should add a word of thanksgiving for the scientific advances that are helping to keep our food supply safe from a host of threats that can really spoil a meal.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and M12 (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by mich3d, galeku, patchen and kokuya.

Episode 9 – New Fuels (Part 2 of 2)

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Join Global Challenges as it investigates a suite of new fuels and energy sources that may help to power society in the years ahead. Scientists are developing these new energy sources to supplement the coal and conventional natural gas we now use to produce electricity for heating, cooling, and lighting. New fuels hold special promise as sustainable energy sources that minimize the release of carbon dioxide and combat global warming.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), vo1k1 and M12 (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by rockdoctor, Percy Duke, Walter Odington, Robinhood76, pcaeldries, jamiedaniel, sinatra314 and Halleck.

Episode 8 – New Fuels (Part 1 of 2)

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Amid growing concern about high gasoline prices, global warming, and limited resources of petroleum, scientists and engineers around the world are on a quest for new fuels — alternatives to conventional petroleum, natural gas, and coal. On their radar screens are new sources of familiar old ethanol that do not strain the food supply and futuristic fuels like “green gasoline” and “designer” hydrocarbons.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Darkroom and M12 (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by LG, Halleck, Han1, Heigh hoo, Gorgee de biere, dkelly99, kjackson and reinsamba.

Episode 7 – Combating Disease

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Despite the revolutionary medical advances in the 20th Century, great challenges lie ahead in our fight against disease. Heart disease, cancer, chronic diseases of aging, infection with the AIDS virus, and antibiotic-resistant microbes are just a few of those challenges. Fortunately, chemists and other scientists are determined to launch new revolutions in medicine — revolutions in the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and M12 (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by cognito_perceptu.

Episode 6 – Promoting Personal Safety and National Security

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:00:04 -0400

How chemistry helps protect personal safety and national security.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Neurowaxx and DJ Rkod (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by martypinso, soundkit03, daveincamas, jollysea, alienbomb, ljudman, ERH and digifishmusic.

Episode 5 – Our Sustainable Future

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:00:04 -0400

How some of the world's leading chemists are meeting the challenge of sustainability.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Pitx and mykleanthony (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by kjackson, julayjb, bansemer, acclivity, TwistedLemon, vibe crc and gallagho.

Episode 4 – Confronting Climate Change (Part 2): The quest for permanent solutions

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Confronting global climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), DJ Rkod, Pitx, mykleanthony, Ben Riordan and oldDog (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by lonemonk, digifishmusic, WIM, acclivity, pushtobreak, dobroide and kjackson.

Episode 3 – Confronting Climate Change (Part 1): Stopgap measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Wed, 23 July 2008 10:00:04 -0400

Confronting global climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Neurowaxx and oldDog (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by ERH, WIM, acclivity, Charel Sytze and Twisted Lemon.

Episode 2 – The Crisis in Clean Water (Part 2): Water Desalination

Mon, 14 July 2008 10:00:04 -0400

How chemists are using desalination to provide a thirsty world with clean drinking water.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by Slanesh, luffy, Megamart, pushtobreak, duckboy80, kjackson and fogma.

Episode 1 – The Crisis in Clean Water (Part 1): Water Purification

Mon, 16 June 2008 10:00:04 -0400

How chemists are providing a thirsty world with clean drinking water.

Intro theme and music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), teru and Neurowaxx (ccmixter.org); Creative Commons licensed audio from freesound.iua.upf.edu includes sounds by Heigh-hoo, acclivity, cdrk365, Slanesh and mystiscool.