American Chemical Society, Pacifier biosensor could help monitor newborn health
Wearable biosensors that non-invasively monitor health and fitness are growing in popularity among adults. But adapting this technology for use with babies is difficult because the devices are often bulky or have rigid surfaces that could harm infants’ delicate skin. Now researchers reporting in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry say they have developed a pacifier-based biosensor that tracks real-time glucose levels in saliva. It could ultimately help diagnose and treat diabetes in the smallest of patients.
- Sunday, October 27, 2019
Production of hazardous waste during drug manufacturing is a serious concern for the pharmaceutical industry. Typically, large amounts of flammable solvents are used during these processes, which usually require several steps to make structurally complex drugs. Researchers now report in the journal ACS Central Science a method to produce pharmaceutically relevant compounds in just two or three steps, with water as the only waste product, using renewable woodchips as starting material.
Native to South America, imported fire ants have now spread to parts of North America and elsewhere around the world. These invasive pests have painful stings that, in some cases, can cause serious medical problems, such as hypersensitivity reactions, infections and even kidney failure. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have identified pyridine alkaloids that, along with other venom components, could contribute to these conditions.
Despite humanity’s best efforts to eradicate malaria, the disease struck more than 200 million people in 2017, according to the World Health Organization. Worse yet, the parasite that causes malaria is developing resistance to many antimalarial drugs, including the mainstay, chloroquine. Researchers are actively searching for new treatments, and now, a group reporting in ACS Omega have found that aҫaí berry extracts can reduce parasites in the blood and prolong the survival of infected mice.
In what sounds like a scene from a science fiction movie, researchers in 2005 stitched together old and young mice so they shared a circulatory system. Youthful blood seemingly rejuvenated many tissues of the elderly rodents, boosting their cognitive and physical performance. Now, scientists are examining whether certain molecules in young blood could help treat age-related diseases, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.
Drug addiction is a vicious cycle of reward and withdrawal. Chronic users often relapse because of the unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms they experience when they stop taking the drug. Now, researchers report in the Journal of Proteome Research metabolic changes in the brains of rats during methamphetamine self-administration and withdrawal that could help identify biomarkers and treatments for addiction.
Polystyrene persists in the environment for millennia, according to some international governmental agencies. This estimate is based on the amount of time required for microbes to break down the plastic. But now researchers have challenged this common assumption with the finding that sunlight can break down polystyrene over a much shorter time scale, from decades to centuries. They report their results in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
WASHINGTON--This week on Reactions, we head to Portland, Oregon, to learn how blacksmithing is just as much chemistry as it is an art form:
WASHINGTON — This week on Reactions, we explore the chemistry of slime. Check it out to learn how you, too, can use easy-to-get items to make magnetic and colored slime:
Twenty years ago, scientists and investors were giddy over the promise of gene therapy to cure a host of deadly diseases. But the tragic death of a young man from an experimental treatment in 1999 nearly ended a scientist’s career and the entire field. Now, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, both the scientist and gene therapy are experiencing a resurgence.
Nature has evolved a dazzling array of materials that help organisms thrive in diverse habitats. Sometimes, scientists can exploit these designs to develop useful materials with similar or completely new functions. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made a durable and flexible super-water-repelling material inspired by spiky porcupinefish skin.
It sounds like science fiction: controlling electronic devices with brain waves. But researchers have developed a new type of electroencephalogram (EEG) electrode that can do just that, without the sticky gel required for conventional electrodes. Even better, the devices work through a full head of hair. The researchers report the flexible electrodes, which could someday be used in brain-computer interfaces to drive cars or move artificial limbs, in the ACS journal Nano Letters.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are building up in the environment, and scientists are becoming concerned. These substances, ubiquitous as water-repellent or nonstick additives in many consumer products, are persistent and have been accumulating in organisms throughout the food chain over many years. Now, researchers reporting in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology have identified bacteria from a New Jersey wetland that, surprisingly, can break carbon-fluorine bonds and degrade PFAS.
The carbon-fluorine (C-F) covalent bond is the strongest in organic chemistry, and until now, no organism was known to be capable of breaking it. In previous work, Shan Huang and Peter Jaffé isolated a bacterium, called Acidimicrobiaceae sp. A6 (A6), from the soil of New Jersey wetlands that could perform an unusual chemical reaction: using iron in the soil to help break down ammonium, a pollutant found in sewage and fertilizer runoff, without any oxygen. Huang and Jaffé wondered if this reaction, called Feammox, could also help break down PFAS.
Plants emit gases, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that enter the atmosphere, where they can interact with other natural and human-made molecules to form secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). These tiny, suspended particles influence atmospheric processes, such as cloud formation and sunlight scattering. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry have shown that aphid-infested Scots pine trees produce a different mixture of VOCs than healthy plants, which then leads to different SOAs.
The frigid waters of the Antarctic may yield a treatment for a deadly disease that affects populations in some of the hottest places on earth. Current medications for that scourge — malaria — are becoming less effective as drug resistance spreads. But researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Natural Products that a peptide they isolated from an Antarctic sponge shows promise as a lead for new therapies.
Some creatures, such as chameleons and neon tetra fish, can alter their colors to camouflage themselves, attract a mate or intimidate predators. Scientists have tried to replicate these abilities to make artificial “smart skins,” but so far the materials haven’t been robust. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have taken a page from the chameleon’s playbook to develop a flexible smart skin that changes its color in response to heat and sunlight.
The hues of chameleon skin rely not on dyes or pigments as most colors do, but instead on arrays of tiny structures known as photonic crystals. Light reflects from these microscopic surfaces and interferes with other beams of reflected light, producing a color. The hue changes when the distance between photonic crystals varies –– for example, when a chameleon tenses or relaxes its skin.
In 2002, the discovery of acrylamide in certain snacks rattled consumers and the food industry. Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, forms by a chemical reaction during baking or frying. Although experts say it’s impossible to completely eliminate acrylamide from crackers, cookies and potato chips, food manufacturers are working to reduce the compound’s levels, according to an article in Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
WASHINGTON — You’ve probably heard stories about mothers lifting cars to save their babies trapped underneath –– but are those just urban myths? This week on Reactions, we talk about “superhero strength” and the chemistry behind what’s possible:
WASHINGTON-- Imagine 300 midsize cars floating above your head –– that’s how much your average fluffy cloud weighs. So why doesn’t it come crashing down on you? This week on Reactions, we explore the chemistry behind how a cloud stays aloft in the sky, and how it got there in the first place:
To analyze tiny amounts of liquids, scientists often use devices called microfluidic chips, which are small pieces of plastic that are etched or molded with miniscule channels. Although these single-use chips are small, their widespread use in labs, hospitals and point-of-care situations adds up to a lot of plastic pollution. Therefore, researchers reporting in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry have developed versatile microfluidic chips made of a renewable, biodegradable and inexpensive resource –– wood.