News tagged with toxic chemicals

Related topics: environmental protection agency

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

Microplastics endanger ocean health

Tiny pieces of plastic contaminate almost every sea in the world. Now scientists have found that marine creatures like fish and birds are eating this microscopic waste, which may be harming their health.

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 17, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Gold rush sweeps Latin America, Amazon suffers

A new gold rush is sweeping through Latin America with devastating consequences, ravaging tropical forests and dumping toxic chemicals as illegal miners fight against big international projects.

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 15, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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

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

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

Dip chip technology tests toxicity on the go

From man-made toxic chemicals such as industrial by-products to poisons that occur naturally, a water or food supply can be easily contaminated. And for every level of toxic material ingested, there is some level of bodily ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created May 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

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

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

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

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

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

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

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