News tagged with toxic chemical

New research may improve the efficiency of the biofuel production cycle

(Phys.org) -- Using new experimental methods and computational analysis, a team of scientists from the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), led by Lawrence Livermore's Michael Thelen, discovered how certain bacteria ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created May 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Amazon fungi found that eat polyurethane, even without oxygen

(PhysOrg.com) -- Until now polyurethane has been considered non-biodegradable, but a group of students from Yale University in the US has found fungi that will not only eat and digest it, they will do so even in the absence ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (47) | comments 27 | with audio podcast report

Animal with the most genes? A tiny crustacean: First crustacean genome sequenced

Complexity ever in the eye of its beholders, the animal with the most genes -- about 31,000 -- is the near-microscopic freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex, or water flea. By comparison, humans have about ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (16) | comments 22 | with audio podcast

The code for survival: Cells fight stress by reprogramming a system of RNA modifications

(PhysOrg.com) -- When cells are exposed to life-threatening stresses, they take quick action to save themselves. Among other defenses, they start manufacturing proteins that perform critical tasks such as ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 17, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brown University chemists simplify biodiesel conversion

As the United States seeks to lessen its reliance on foreign oil, biodiesel is expected to play a role. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a branch of the Department of Energy, biodiesel ...

Chemistry / Other

created Oct 07, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Nanotechnology promises better catalytic converter

(PhysOrg.com) -- Control over material properties would reduce the amount of platinum needed.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Sep 27, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study confirms classic theory on the origins of biodiversity

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell study on the diversity of milkweed plants has used new techniques to prove an old theory that explains how the arms race between attacking insects and defended plants led to great ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

Safer nanoparticles spotlight tumors, deliver drugs

(PhysOrg.com) -- Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials. Now a team of scientists has created miniscule ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Feb 22, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Magnetic nanochain detonates chemo barrage inside tumors

Medicine-toting nanochains slip into tumors and explode a chemotherapy drug into hard-to-reach cores of cancer, engineers and scientists at Case Western Reserve University report.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Redder ladybirds more deadly, say scientists

A ladybird's colour indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to an international team of scientists. Research led by the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool directly shows that differences between ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

UT biosolar breakthrough promises cheap, easy green electricity

Barry D. Bruce, professor of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is turning the term "power plant" on its head. The biochemist and a team of researchers have developed ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

In the brain, 'ORMOSIL' nanoparticles hold promise as a potential vehicle for drug delivery

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the images of fruit flies, clusters of neurons are all lit up, forming a brightly glowing network of highways within the brain.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Taking a page from nature to build better nanomaterials

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes nature cannot be improved upon. One example is in the synthesis of nanomaterials, which in the laboratory or factory generally requires toxic chemicals and extreme conditions of ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 27, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemical-munching mussels contaminating Great Lakes

Zebra mussels from the Caspian Sea, introduced to North America by accident, are becoming a veritable plague releasing toxic chemicals into the Great Lakes, Canadian biologists say.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 6

Self-cleaning cotton breaks down pesticides, bacteria

(PhysOrg.com) -- UC Davis scientists have developed a self-cleaning cotton fabric that can kill bacteria and break down toxic chemicals such as pesticide residues when exposed to light.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 28, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast