American Chemical Society

Why coffee drinking reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes

Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry Why do heavy coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease on the increase around the world that can lead to serious health problems? Scientists are offering a new solution to that long-standing mystery in a report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.

Corn insecticide linked to great die-off of beneficial honeybees

Environmental Science & Technology New research has linked springtime die-offs of honeybees critical for pollinating food crops — part of the mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder — with technology for planting corn coated with insecticides. The study, published in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, appears on the eve of spring planting seasons in some parts of Europe where farmers use the technology and widespread deaths of honeybees have occurred in the past.

Killer silk: Making silk fibers that kill anthrax and other microbes in minutes

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 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, scientists are reporting in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. They describe a range of potential uses for this new killer silk, including make-shift curtains and other protective coatings that protect homes and other buildings in the event of a terrorist attack with anthrax.

New study of pine nuts leaves mystery of “pine mouth” unsolved

Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry A new study of the composition of pine nuts, including those associated with “pine mouth,” leaves unsolved the decade-old mystery of why thousands of people around the world have experienced disturbances in taste after eating pine nuts. The report on pine nuts or pignolia — delicious edible nuts from pine trees enjoyed plain or added to foods ranging from pasta to cookies — appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.

New test could help track down and prosecute terrorists

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2012 — The latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) award-winning “Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions” podcast series describes the development of a new test that could help track down and prosecute terrorists.

New American Chemical Society video showcases the “Periodic Table Table”

WASHINGTON, — Almost everyone has seen the Periodic Table of the Elements, the chart gracing walls of science classrooms that shows relationships between the chemical elements that make up everything on Earth — and beyond. The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, now is offering viewers of its award-winning Bytesize Science series a tour of what may stake a claim to being the world’s first and only Periodic Table table.

Three scientific expeditions seek treasure under the ice in the Frozen Continent

Chemical & Engineering News In a modern iteration of the great age of Antarctic exploration of the 19th and 20th centuries, three teams of scientists are rushing to reach not the South Pole like Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, but lakes deep below the surface of the Frozen Continent believed to hold scientific treasures. That quest by Russian, British and American scientific teams for water samples is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.

New materials remove CO2 from smokestacks, tailpipes and even the air

Journal of the American Chemical Society Scientists are reporting discovery of an improved way to remove carbon dioxide — the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming — from smokestacks and other sources, including the atmosphere. Their report on the process, which achieves some of the highest carbon dioxide removal capacity ever reported for real-world conditions where the air contains moisture, appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Meeting biofuel production targets could change agricultural landscape

Environmental Science & Technology 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 & Technology, would be to convert 60 percent of existing rangeland to biofuels.

Adapting personal glucose monitors to detect DNA

Analytical Chemistry An inexpensive device used by millions of people with diabetes could be adapted into a home DNA detector that enables individuals to perform home tests for viruses and bacteria in human body fluids, in food and in other substances, scientists are reporting in a new study. The report on this adaptation of the ubiquitous personal glucose monitor, typically used to test blood sugar levels, appears in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry.

New hybrid “NOSH aspirin” as possible anti-cancer drug

ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters Scientists have combined two new “designer” forms of aspirin into a hybrid substance that appears more effective than either of its forebears in controlling the growth of several forms of cancer in laboratory tests. Their report on the new NOSH-aspirin, so named because it releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Lessons from an $800-million drug flop may lead to a new genre of anti-cholesterol medicines

Chemical & Engineering News Mindful of lessons from a failed heart drug that cost $800 million to develop, drug companies are taking another shot at new medications that boost levels of so-called “good cholesterol,” which removes cholesterol from the body. A report on how three new versions of medications in the same family as the failed torcetrapib appears in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the news magazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

Dried licorice root fights the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease

Scientists are reporting identification of two substances in licorice — used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine — that kill the major bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, the leading causes of tooth loss in children and adults. In a study in ACS’ Journal of Natural Products, they say that these substances could have a role in treating and preventing tooth decay and gum disease.

“Miracle material” graphene is thinnest known anti-corrosion coating

New research has established the “miracle material” called graphene as the world’s thinnest known coating for protecting metals against corrosion. Their study on this potential new use of graphene appears in ACS Nano.

MOFs special review issue

New analyses of more than 4,000 scientific studies have concluded that a family of “miracle materials” called MOFs have a bright future in products and technologies — ranging from the fuel tanks in hydrogen-powered cars to muting the effects of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide — that are critical for solving some of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. The 18 articles examining 4,283 pieces of research on MOFs published in the past appear in a special edition of the ACS’ journal Chemical Reviews.

New way to tap largest remaining treasure trove of potential new antibiotics

Scientists are reporting use of a new technology for sifting through the world’s largest remaining pool of potential antibiotics to discover two new antibiotics that work against deadly resistant microbes, including the “super bugs” known as MRSA. Their report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

New crime-fighting tools aim to deter and nab terrorists

Chemical & Engineering News Fingerprints, ballistics, DNA analysis and other mainstays of the forensic science toolkit may get a powerful new crime-solving companion as scientists strive to develop technology for “fingerprinting” and tracing the origins of chemical substances that could be used in terrorist attacks and other criminal acts. That’s the topic of the cover story in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.? ?

New process could advance use of healthy cells or stem cells to treat disease

Langmuir In a discovery that may help speed use of “cell therapy” — with normal cells or stem cells infused into the body to treat disease — scientists are reporting development of a way to deliver therapeutic human cells to diseased areas within the body using a simple magnetic effect. Their report appears in ACS’ journal Langmuir.

Arsenic criticality poses concern for modern technology

Environmental Science & Technology Risks related to the critical nature of arsenic — used to make high-speed computer chips that contain gallium arsenide — outstrip those of other substances in a group of critical materials needed to sustain modern technology, a new study has found. Scientists evaluated the relative criticality of arsenic and five related metals in a report in the ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

“Shish kebab” structure provides improved form of “buckypaper”

ACS Nano Scientists are reporting development of a new form of buckypaper, which eliminates a major drawback of these sheets of carbon nanotubes — 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, 10 times lighter than steel, but up to 250 times stronger — with potential uses ranging from body armor to next-generation batteries. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.