The next era in discovering drugs in nature’s own medicine cabinet

New technology for discovering antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs and other medicines inside soil microbes and other natural sources is reviving a treasure hunt that already has given humanity more than 50 percent of today’s prescription drugs. This new era in “bioprospecting” is the topic of the cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

A greener, more sustainable source of ingredients for widely used plastics

A new process can convert a wide variety of vegetable and animal fats and oils — ranging from lard to waste cooking oil — into a key ingredient for making plastics that currently comes from petroleum, scientists say. Their report on the first-of-its-kind process appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

QR code access to Nobel Prizes in Chemistry

Mobile devices equipped with a QR (quick response) code scanning app, which gives consumers instant access to information on the Web, now can give the same access to 110 years of information about the most prestigious honors in science, the Nobel Prizes. Information about the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry comes from a new QR-coded poster described in ACS’ Journal of Chemical Education.

A new form of aspirin to overcome ‘aspirin resistance’

Scientists are reporting development of a new form of aspirin — taken daily by about 60 million people in the United States alone to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke — that could extend aspirin’s benefits to people who may not respond to the drug. Their advance toward coping with “aspirin resistance” appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Almost 20 percent of grain in China lost or wasted from field to fork

A comprehensive new review of food waste in the People’s Republic of China has concluded that about 19 of every 100 pounds of grain produced in the country go to waste, with related losses of water for irrigation and farmland productivity. The report appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Five Reasons Congress Should Press Obama on Syria

Thank you, CFP

I want to thank you for revealing the real truth in your newsletter.

Absolution and Confession

Progressive Hate the “C” Word

Most of you are thinking, "The C-word? Don't you mean the N-word?" No, the "C"-word. The C-word dominates everything that the Progressives think about and abhor about America. The "C"-word, you see, is COMPETITION.

War is a Racket

"Racket: A dishonest business or practice, especially one using fraud or extortion; an easy, profitable means of livelihood."¹ "The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag." -- Major General Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps

Are Republicans useful idiots in Obama’s hands?

Obama is turning America into his ‘sustainable’, GI Joe-sized progressive Zombie doll. Soon he will have this doll attacking Syria. Masterfully from the beginning of his reign he has used and positioned the political game pieces as he wished. Most Republicans and poser conservatives have ‘politely’ played right into his hands with a dinner here and a glass of wine there.

Syria: Why the Parliament Got It Right—and Congress Got It Wrong

There are two strongly conflicting opinions over taking military action in Syria. And there has been a great deal of muddled thinking caused in part by President Obama's spurious 'redline' over chemical weapon use. But if you think it is simply a matter of hawks v doves think again. It is much more a matter of being true to, and consistent with, the core principles governing conservative thinking as averse to those governing leftist liberal thinking, as I will explain.

John Kerry: Face of Defeat

A picture of John Kerry has recently resurfaced that exemplifies the quality of his judgment and the reality of his long relationship with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The same man Kerry compares to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein today was Kerry's dining partner in 2009. The picture was taken at a time when Kerry and a number of other Democrats, eager to spurn the Bush administration post-Iraq, were pushing the notion that Assad could be a potential partner in bringing peace to the Middle East. If such a colossal mistake represented an anomaly in Kerry's career, it might be understandable. It does not, however. Kerry in fact has a long track record of supporting totalitarians and killers that makes him an embarrassment on the world stage.

By definition: If you don’t get paid enough, it’s your own fault

The boss, who knows a thing or two about how and why people get paid entry-level wages, touched on this in his post-show video on Friday. I want to expand on the theme a little here, because what I've always believed about people's economic state of affairs is a message that I see as empowering, but that many wrongly see as "blaming the victim."

U.S. Ambassador Scandals with the Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

Cairo, Egypt-To many of us here in Egypt, it seems that President Obama sees the world as a chess board with the U.S. ambassadors like pieces as he moves and implements his vision and personal beliefs, a vision that serves only his friends and convictions, regardless of anything else.

The Road to Damascus

In 2007, the new Democratic Majority Leader defied President Bush by sitting down to meet with a member of the Axis of Evil.

Obama’s Syrian Ploy

The Planned Destruction of Christians in Syria

The New York Times story, “President Gains McCain’s Backing on Syria Attack,” is predictable, considering that Obama had invited Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to the White House for the specific purpose of supporting his proposed military strike on Syria.

How Big Ethanol Hopes You’re a Dope

Growth Energy recently unveiled a national ad campaign to tell “the truth about ethanol” and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—the federal mandate that requires oil refiners to blend ethanol into gasoline. But the ethanol lobby has a curious definition of “truth,” as many of their claims are incomplete, misleading, or outright false.

Paul sounds clarion for clarification on Syria adventurism

The Republican senator, who has become the foreign policy alternative voice to Sen. John S. McCain III (R-Ariz.) met with reporters Sept. 3 to flesh out his view on President Barack Obama’s Syrian machinations.