Latest and Breaking Chemistry & Physics News

UCSF unveils model for implantable artificial kidney to replace dialysis
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(University of California - San Francisco) UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.

Effect of heat treatment on the superconducting properties of Ag-doped Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 compounds
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Science in China Press) The Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and China Research have collaborated to reveal the heat-treatment effects on the superconducting properties of Ag-doped Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 compounds. Because of its significant research value, the study is reported in issue 7 of Science in China: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy.

Listening to ancient colors
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(McGill University) A team of McGill chemists have discovered that a technique known as photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy could be used to identify the composition of pigments used in art work that is decades or even centuries old. Pigments give artist's materials color, and they emit sounds when light is shone on them.

University at Buffalo symposium on in silico methods, high throughput screening
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(University at Buffalo) Twenty-first century drug discovery tools, including those targeted to develop new treatments for cancer and hereditary eye diseses, will be featured at "Twenty-first Century Bioscience: In Silico Methods and High-Throughput Screening," a University at Buffalo symposium on Sept. 11. The symposium will be held at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Iowa State chemists discover method to create high-value chemicals from biomass
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Iowa State University) Walter Trahanovsky, an Iowa State professor of chemistry, was trying to produce sugar derivatives from biomass using high-temperature chemistry. He was surprised when his research also produced significant yields of high-value chemicals.

Novartis and collaborators discover novel antimalarial drug candidate
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research) Published this week in Science the findings demonstrate that the antimalarial candidate, spiroindolone NITD609, is effective against both strains of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium (P.) falciparum and P. vivax. Through a novel mechanism NITD609 rapidly clears plasmodium in a malaria mouse model and shows pharmacological properties compatible with a once-daily dosing regimen.

Carlos '97 free kick no fluke, say French physicists
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Institute of Physics) Roberto Carlos' free kick goal against France in 1997's Tournoi de France is thought by many to have been the most skillful free kick goal ever scored but by others to have been an incredible fluke. Now a group of French physicists have computed the trajectory and shown that Carlos' goal was no fluke.

Scientists discover the mechanisms and function of a type of mysterious immune cell
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Scripps Research Institute) In two closely related studies, two teams of Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered the underlying mechanisms that activate a type of immune cell in the skin and other organs. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat inflammation, wounds, asthma and malignant tumors.

New model may simplify high-dose radiosurgery planning
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Ohio State University Medical Center) There is yet no straightforward way to determine the optimal dose level and treatment schedules for high-dose radiation therapies such as stereotactic radiation therapy, which is used to treat brain and lung cancer, or for high-dose brachytherapy for prostate and other cancers. Radiation oncology researchers at Ohio State University may have solved the problem with a new mathematical model called the Generalized LQ (gLQ) Model that encompasses all dose levels and schedules

Science's policy clout diminished, but oil risk looms large
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(SAGE Publications UK) More people are likely to believe scientific studies claiming that oil drilling is riskier, not safer, than was previously thought, according to a new study of attitudes in California. What's more the findings, which appear in the journal Public Understanding of Science, published by SAGE, show that scientists' efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect.