News tagged with toxic compounds

Propensity for longer life span inherited non-genetically over generations, study says

We know that our environment -- what we eat, the toxic compounds we are exposed to -- can positively or negatively impact our life span. But could it also affect the longevity of our descendants, who may live under very different ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Powered by seaweed: Polymer from algae may improve battery performance

(PhysOrg.com) -- By looking to Mother Nature for solutions, researchers have identified a promising new binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes that not only could boost energy storage, but also ...

Chemistry / Polymers

created Sep 08, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | 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

Researchers develop 'super' yeast that turns pine into ethanol

Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a "super strain" of yeast that can efficiently ferment ethanol from pretreated pine -- one of the most common species of trees in Georgia and the U.S. Their research ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Rapid venom evolution in pit vipers may be defensive

Research published recently in PLoS One delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes: pitvipers such as rattlesnakes may be engaged in an arms race with opossums, a group of snake-eating American marsup ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 18, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 25 | with audio podcast

New material could improve safety for first responders to chemical hazards

A new kind of sensor could warn emergency workers when carbon filters in the respirators they wear to avoid inhaling toxic fumes have become dangerously saturated.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Tracing the traces: Nanogram concentrations of a toxic compound detected in chlorinated tap water

(PhysOrg.com) -- Drinking water can transmit a number of diseases, including typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and diarrhea, which can then spread explosively throughout an entire service area. To avoid this problem, drinking ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 6

Scientists eye risks of quantum dots

Quantum dots have the potential to bring many good things into the world: efficient solar power, targeted gene and drug delivery, solid-state lighting and advances in biomedical imaging among them.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Feb 02, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Toxic aldehydes detected in reheated oil

Researchers from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, Spain) have been the first to discover the presence of certain aldehydes in food, which are believed to be related to some neurodegenerative ...

Chemistry / Other

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Bacterial filters reduce stink from big pig factories

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on industrial animal factories can stink up an entire county, due to ammonia, and a smorgasbord of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Jeppe Lund Nielsen of Aalborg University, ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Bacteria convert wastewater chemicals into toxic form

(PhysOrg.com) -- While traces of pharmaceutical compounds are commonly present in wastewater, interactions with bacteria during the treatment process could transform them from non-toxic to toxic forms, a new ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 05, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Second chemical leak at Australian plant

An Australian chemical company admitted Saturday that one of its sites had leaked toxic compounds for the second time in two weeks.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 21, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Unraveling plant reactions to injury

Better understanding of plant defense systems, and the potential to generate stress-tolerant plants and even new malaria drugs, may all stem from the documentation of a molecular mechanism that plays a significant ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

High levels of toxic compounds found on coasts of West Africa

An international team of scientists has found very high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) along the coasts of West Africa. Production of these extremely toxic compounds has been banned in Europe and ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 06, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

Legally poisoned: Professor outlines risks of daily exposure to toxicants

Americans are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of suspected toxic substances every day, substances that affect the development and function of the brain, immune system, reproductive organs or hormones. Children are ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jan 24, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 9