ACS 
A plastic material already used in absorbable surgical sutures and other medical devices shows promise for continuous administration of antibiotics to patients with brain infections, scientists are reporting in a new study. Use of the material, placed directly on the brain’s surface, could reduce the need for weeks of costly hospital stays now required for … Read more
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has launched Sustainable Water, a web-based toolkit featuring an anchor video and dozens of other resources to foster greater understanding of the challenges in providing a sustainable supply of clean water — and the possible scientific solutions. With 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. The video points out … Read more
Seeds and oils from the plant that produces the loofah sponge could help purify wastewater and prevent the spread of waterborne diseases in the developing world, according to a scientist speaking today at the 17th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Bethesda, Md. The low-cost, biodegradable seeds and substances made from oils of these … Read more
The latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series describes bacteria that are “addicted” to caffeine in a way that promises practical uses ranging from decontamination of wastewater to bioproduction of medications for asthma. Based on a report by Jeffrey Barrick, Ph.D., and colleagues in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, the new … Read more
Life on Earth may have originated not in warm tropical seas, but with weird tubes of ice — sometimes called “sea stalactites” — that grow downward into cold seawater near the Earth’s poles, scientists are reporting. Their article on these “brinicles” appears in ACS’ journalLangmuir. Bruno Escribano and colleagues explain that scientists know surprisingly little … Read more
Re-routing anti-cancer drugs to the “power plants” that make energy to keep cells alive is a promising but long-neglected approach to preventing emergence of the drug-resistant forms of cancer — source of a serious medical problem, scientists are reporting. That’s the conclusion of a new study published in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. Shana Kelley and … Read more
With the Deepwater Horizon disaster emphasizing the need for better ways of cleaning up oil spills, scientists are reporting that unprocessed, raw cotton may be an ideal, ecologically friendly answer, with an amazing ability to sop up oil. Their report, which includes some of the first scientific data on unprocessed, raw cotton’s use in crude oil spills, … Read more
New technology offers the promise of reducing billions of dollars of losses that occur each year from the silent, invisible killer of fruits, vegetables and cut flowers — a gas whose effects are familiar to everyone who has seen bananas and other fruit ripen too quickly and rot. That’s the conclusion of an article in … Read more
One of the Crescent City’s time-honored traditions — a steaming bowl of Yak-a-mein Soup, a.k.a., “Old Sober” — after a night of partying in the French Quarter actually does have a basis in scientific fact. That was the word today from an overview of the chemistry of hangovers, presented as part of the 245th National … Read more
New research has linked springtime die-offs of honeybees critical for pollinating food crops — part of the mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder — with technology for planting corn coated with insecticides. The study, published in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, appears on the eve of spring planting seasons in some parts of Europe where … Read more