American Chemical Society

Duckweed as a cost-competitive raw material for biofuel production

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research The search for a less-expensive, sustainable source of biomass, or plant material, for producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel has led scientists to duckweed, that fast-growing floating plant that turns ponds and lakes green. That’s the topic of a report in ACS’ journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

New evidence on how fluoride fights tooth decay

Langumir In an advance toward solving a 50-year-old mystery, scientists are reporting new evidence on how the fluoride in drinking water, toothpastes, mouth rinses and other oral-care products prevents tooth decay. Their report appears in the ACS journal Langumir.

Progress in introducing cleaner cook stoves for billions of people worldwide

Environmental Science & Technology It may be the 21st century, but nearly half the world’s population still cooks and heats with open fires or primitive stoves that burn wood, animal dung, charcoal and other polluting solid fuels. The article in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology describes impressive progress being made to remedy that situation and the obstacles that remain.

Solar-powered nanofilters pump in antibiotics to clean contaminated water

NanoLetters Using the same devious mechanism that enables some bacteria to shrug off powerful antibiotics, scientists have developed solar-powered nanofilters that remove antibiotics from the water in lakes and rivers twice as efficiently as the best existing technology. Their report appears in ACS’ journal NanoLetters.

BRAIN initiative seeks tools to understand human thought, behavior, consciousness

Chemical & Engineering News The newly proposed scientific project to understand the most complicated 3 pounds of material in the world — the human brain — is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

Explaining how extra virgin olive oil protects against Alzheimer’s disease

ACS Chemical Neuroscience The mystery of exactly how consumption of extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may lie in one component of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain, scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

Greener methods for making popular nanoparticle

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Already renowned for its beneficial effects on human health, green tea could have a new role — along with other natural plant-based substances — in a healthier, more sustainable production of the most widely used family of nanoparticles, scientists say. Published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, their Perspective article concludes that greener methods for making silver nanoparticles are becoming available.

Ice tubes in polar seas — “brinicles” or “sea stalactites” — pro

Langmuir Life on Earth may have originated not in warm tropical seas, but with weird tubes of ice — sometimes called “sea stalactites” — that grow downward into cold seawater near the Earth's poles.

Fighting bacteria with a new genre of antibodies

Journal of the American Chemical Society In an advance toward coping with bacteria that shrug off existing antibiotics and sterilization methods, scientists are reporting development of a new family of selective antimicrobial agents that do not rely on traditional antibiotics. Their report on these synthetic colloid particles, which can be custom-designed to recognize the shape of specific kinds of bacteria and inactivate them, appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

From ancient Egypt — new technologies

WASHINGTON, — The latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series describes how a bright blue pigment used 5,000 years ago is giving modern scientists clues toward the development of new nanomaterials. These materials could be used in remote controls for televisions, security inks, state-of-the-art medical imaging devices and other technology.

‘Chemical gardens’ could hold the key to understanding the origins of life on Earth

Six in 10 people worldwide lack access to flush toilets or other adequate sanitation

It may be the 21st century, with all its technological marvels, but 6 out of every 10 people on Earth still do not have access to flush toilets or other adequate sanitation that protects the user and the surrounding community from harmful health effects, a new study has found. The research, published in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, says the number of people without access to improved sanitation is almost double the previous estimate.

Explaining how extra virgin olive oil protects against Alzheimer’s disease

The mystery of exactly how consumption of extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may lie in one component of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain, scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

A milestone for new carbon-dioxide capture/clean coal technology

An innovative new process that releases the energy in coal without burning — while capturing carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas — has passed a milestone on the route to possible commercial use, scientists are reporting. Their study in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels describes results of a successful 200-hour test on a sub-pilot scale version of the technology using two inexpensive but highly polluting forms of coal.

Discovery of first motor with revolution motion in a virus-killing bacteria advances nanotechnology

Scientists have cracked a 35-year-old mystery about the workings of the natural motors that are serving as models for development of a futuristic genre of synthetic nanomotors that pump therapeutic DNA, RNA or drugs into individual diseased cells. Their report revealing the innermost mechanisms of these nanomotors in a bacteria-killing virus — and a new way to move DNA through cells — is being published online today in the journal ACS Nano.

Will natural gas exports raise prices for consumers?

How much of the United States’ newfound bounty of natural gas should stay at home, keeping prices low for domestic customers? How much should be earmarked for export in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), at the risk of making natural gas pricier? Those questions are the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

Opera’s poisons and potions connect students with chemistry

Opera audiences can feel the chemistry in romance-inspired classics like Mimi's aria from La Bohème, Cavaradossi’s remembrance of his beloved while awaiting execution in Tosca and that young lady pining for her man with “O mio babbino caro” in the opera Gianni Schicchi. An article in ACS’ Journal of Chemical Education, however, focuses on the real chemistry — of poisons and potions — that intertwines famous operatic plots.

Paraffin encapsulated in beach sand material as a new way to store heat from the sun

The search for sustainable new materials to store heat captured from the sun for release during the night has led scientists to a high-tech combination of paraffin wax and sand. Their report on the heat-storing capability of this microencapsulated sand appears in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Paving the way for greater use of ancient medical knowledge

Scientists are reporting an advance toward overcoming a major barrier to tapping the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and India’s Ayurvedic medicine in developing new and more effective modern drugs. Their report appears in ACS’ Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

New approaches for controlling pesticide exposure in children

New research on household pesticide contamination emphasizes the need for less reliance on pesticides and more emphasis on neatness, blocking cracks where insects can enter and other so-called "integrated pest management” (IPM) measures, scientists have concluded. Their study appears in the ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.