http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—Iodide entrapment in the thyroid gland is essential, and plays a key role in dysfunctions such as thyroid and breast cancers, thyroiditis, Graves–Basedow disease, and Hashimoto's disease. The accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima have revealed growing public concerns, as exposure to radioactive iodine increases the risk of cancer and birth defects. There is an urgent need to find radioprotective molecules to prevent and treat body contamination. http://phys.org/news271585080.html Chemistry Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:30:03 EST news271585080 A new type of nanoscale molecular trap makes it possible for industry to store large amounts of hydrogen in small fuel cells or capture, compact and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel in an affordable, easily commercialized way. http://phys.org/news270969896.html Nanotechnology Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:25:03 EST news270969896 Radioactive iodine was found in kelp off the US West Coast following last year's earthquake-triggered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, according to a new study. http://phys.org/news253253287.html Space & Earth Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:08:16 EST news253253287 Using a new investigative methodology, Dartmouth researchers have found and tracked radioactive iodine in New Hampshire from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. http://phys.org/news252581199.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:26:48 EST news252581199 A University of Delaware oceanographer has stumbled upon an unusual aid for studying local waterways: radioactive iodine. Trace amounts of the contaminant, which is used in medical treatments, are entering waterways via wastewater treatment systems and providing a new way to track where and how substances travel through rivers to the ocean. http://phys.org/news251653600.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:46:47 EST news251653600 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste. http://phys.org/news246606493.html Chemistry Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:48:20 EST news246606493 (PhysOrg.com) -- NIMS is collecting basic data on natural minerals produced in various regions and inorganic materials with different chemical compositions as a tool for selecting suitable materials, and will make this information available in a NIMS Materials database (MatNavi). http://phys.org/news245644745.html Space & Earth Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:39:41 EST news245644745 (PhysOrg.com) -- It's not every day that an element gets to celebrate a bicentennial, and a University of Delaware professor is pleased to have been invited to the "birthday party" for iodine, which was discovered in 1811. http://phys.org/news242382037.html Chemistry Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:00:01 EST news242382037 A fresh leak of radioactive water into the open ocean has been discovered at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear complex, its operator said Monday as cleanup efforts continued. http://phys.org/news242281851.html Space & Earth Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:31:08 EST news242281851 Elevated levels of the radioactive element iodine-131 that were detected in several nations have been identified as likely originating at a Hungarian research institute, nuclear authorities said Thursday. http://phys.org/news240768431.html Space & Earth Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:40:01 EST news240768431 France's nuclear watchdog on Tuesday said it had detected traces of radioactive iodine in the air last week after similarly low contamination was reported by the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. http://phys.org/news240595915.html Space & Earth Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:12:03 EST news240595915 A map of radioactive contamination across Japan from the Fukushima power plant disaster confirms high levels in eastern and northeastern areas but finds much lower levels in the western part of the country, thanks to mountain ranges, researchers say. http://phys.org/news240512040.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:55:23 EST news240512040 The UN atomic agency said Friday "very low levels" of radioactive iodine-131 had been detected in the air in the Czech Republic and in other countries, but presented no risk to human health. http://phys.org/news240237487.html Space & Earth Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:00:01 EST news240237487 (PhysOrg.com) -- Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters. http://phys.org/news239275341.html Chemistry Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:22:46 EST news239275341 France's nuclear monitor said on Thursday that the amount of caesium 137 that leaked into the Pacific from the Fukushima disaster was the greatest single nuclear contamination of the sea ever seen. http://phys.org/news238932811.html Space & Earth Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:13:48 EST news238932811 (PhysOrg.com) -- In any kind of nuclear reactor, there is a small amount of the radioactive isotope strontium-90 that is formed as part of the regular fission process. In fact, fission products such as strontium-90 make up approximately 3% of the total mass of spent nuclear fuels. The majority of the fission products are stable isotopes or very short-lived radioisotopes that do not cause much concern. However, there are several radioactive fission products that are present in significant quantities in spent fuels, including strontium-90 and caesium-137 (which together make up 0.3% of the total mass), as well as iodine-129 and technetium-99 (which together make up 0.1% of the total mass). http://phys.org/news238405195.html Physics Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:40:17 EST news238405195 After the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant was severely compromised and radioactive material was found in the water in many of the surrounding areas, but the extent of this contamination remained unknown. http://phys.org/news235846611.html Space & Earth Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:57:05 EST news235846611 Bob Lipert held up a syringe, attached a plastic cartridge and demonstrated how chemistry developed at Iowa State University is helping astronauts and cosmonauts make sure they have safe drinking water at the International Space Station. http://phys.org/news235239074.html Chemistry Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:30:01 EST news235239074 (PhysOrg.com) -- From renewable energy sources to pharmaceuticals, iodide ions are a common actor, and now, thanks to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the ion's behavior can be better predicted. By considering electrons' subtler choices about where to reside, Dr. Chris Mundy and Dr. Marcel Baer showed the negatively charged iodine ion congregates at the air-water interface. However, the ions gather at a lower concentration than previously predicted. http://phys.org/news226749119.html Chemistry Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:52:12 EST news226749119 Two workers from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been contaminated by high levels of radioactive iodine, the operator said Monday, prompting fears over their long-term health. http://phys.org/news225945788.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 May 2011 03:43:23 EST news225945788 Environmental group Greenpeace warned Thursday that marine life it tested more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) off Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant showed radiation far above legal limits. http://phys.org/news225600730.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 May 2011 03:52:29 EST news225600730 A novel way to immobilise radioactive forms of iodine using a microwave, has been discovered by an expert at the University of Sheffield. http://phys.org/news225457583.html Chemistry Tue, 24 May 2011 12:08:50 EST news225457583 (PhysOrg.com) -- When a forensic agent dusts a surface with powder or exposes it to the vapors of an iodine chamber, mystery fans know what is going on: This is how latent fingerprints are made visible so that they can be compared to those of a suspect. Su Chen and a team at Nanjing University of Technology have now developed a new process for especially rapid and simple detection of fingerprints. As the Chinese researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, all it takes is a special nanofiber mat that is pressed onto the suspect surface and briefly treated with hot air -- the fingerprints appear as red ridge patterns. http://phys.org/news221734399.html Chemistry Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:53:52 EST news221734399 (AP) -- So now Japan's radioactive fallout is showing up in milk on the U.S. West Coast. Not to worry, though. It turns out that traces of radioactivity are in many foods we eat, the air we breathe and the water we swim in. http://phys.org/news220853169.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:06:29 EST news220853169 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research conducted by Minna Krejci and her colleagues at Northwestern University in Chicago, and published in ChemSusChem, suggests that the algae, Closterium moniliferum, might one day soon be used to help separate strontium from calcium in nuclear waste. If successful, the process could lead to a reduction in the amount of nuclear waste that is left over from nuclear power facilities, and might even help in cleanup when accidents occur such as the one in Chernobyl, Ukraine, that spewed great quantities of strontium into the surrounding environment (but not like the current situation in Fukushima, because there the problem is xenon and iodine). This is important because the amount of waste is piling up; currently around hundred million gallons of toxic sludge exist in just the United States. http://phys.org/news220780496.html Biology Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:55:15 EST news220780496 (AP) -- The Japanese nuclear crisis has reignited a debate in the U.S. over the government's role in distributing a cheap anti-cancer drug to people living around nuclear power plants. http://phys.org/news220675665.html Medicine & Health Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:10:05 EST news220675665 Radioactive contamination of the sea from Fukushima is likely to be only a local problem, but could lead to an exclusion zone if there is a major release of long-term pollutants, scientists say. http://phys.org/news220625935.html Space & Earth Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:59:19 EST news220625935 A researcher at Case Western Reserve University has detected tiny amounts of Iodine 131 from Japan in rainwater collected from the roof of a campus building. http://phys.org/news220550115.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:55:43 EST news220550115 Concerns about possible radiation from Japan's earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant sparked a weekend run on iodine tablets as far away as Finland, the country's largest pharmacy chain said Monday. http://phys.org/news219317539.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:32:31 EST news219317539 (PhysOrg.com) -- Surgical removal of the thyroid isn't usually considered as the first option in treating Graves' disease, but a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study suggests that in experienced hands maybe it should be. http://phys.org/news217059471.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:30:01 EST news217059471