New Orleans
The enzyme that can help turn a one-time experience into a long-term memory has been identified in mice, researchers reported today at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans. Ashok Hegde, Ph.D., of Wake Forest described the researchers' work and proposed a theory for how lasting memories are formed, a process that involves the enzyme known as protein kinase C.
The fouling of ships' hulls, whether by barnacles and seaweed or by slime-creating bacteria, is a major problem for shipping worldwide, and particularly for navies. It has been estimated, for example, that fouling of hulls can create such turbulence as a ship moves through the water that fuel consumption is increased by as much as 30 percent. Traditionally major users of ships, like the U.S. Navy, have attempted to resist fouling by painting hulls with paints containing copper or triorganotin, a tin-based compound. But these paints are highly toxic and can leach into the water, killing marine life. That's why their use increasingly is being prohibited. But help is at hand: A research group at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., led by Christopher Ober, has developed two types of non-toxic paint, one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic, that effectively prevent fouling, whether by bacteria or barnacles. The paints act not only by minimizing adhesion by organisms but also by enabling hulls to become self-cleaning: As a ship moves through the water at 10 to 15 knots, the turbulence created removes the clinging barnacle or seaweed.
Low-income black smokers in New Orleans and Memphis say that smoking helps them deal with stress, according to a new study.
"So many things fill your mind and you go through so much, you need your cigarette to smoke to calm down and get things off your mind," says one of the participants, quoted in an article about the study in the March/April issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
An innovative technique has been proposed for treating and purifying wastewater, which could spare budget-strapped municipalities some of the expense of handling the sludge that remains after treatment. Researchers say it could reduce the amount of leftover sludge by up to five tons a day for a plant that serves 100,000 people. The new technique, called the activated magnetic sludge process, is the first to introduce magnetic separation, according to environmental engineer Yasuzo Sakai, Ph.D., of Utsunomiya University in Japan, who presented the research.
If ancient plants had not migrated from the shallow seas of early Earth to the barren land of the continents, life as we know it might never have emerged. And now it appears this massive floral colonization may have been spurred by a single genetic mutation that allowed primitive plants to make lignin, a chemical process that leads to the formation of a cell wall.
Cats may adore catnip, but termites hate it. That's what two researchers found in a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, held this week in New Orleans. The oil derived from the catnip plant was found to repel and kill termites in a laboratory test. The researchers hope that eventually a commercial product derived from the oil might provide a less toxic alternative to pesticides used today. Termites cause damages estimated at more than $1 billion annually in the United States. In New Orleans, the aggressive Formosan subterranean termite ? now found in at least 11 states ? is believed to infest about 30 percent of the area's live oak trees and costs home owners more than $300 million a year.
Scientists at Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina have created the world?s first working device that uses nanometer-scale materials to convert electric power into cooling or heating, or heat into electricity. Among its many potential applications, the development could eventually lead to more reliable solid-state refrigerators and air conditioners, and more efficient and compact power sources, according to the researchers.
Finding an economical way to make a polyester commonly found in many types of bacteria into a plastic with uses ranging from packaging to biomedical devices is a long-held scientific goal. Such a polymer would be a "green" plastic, in that it would be biodegradable. Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has partially achieved this goal by discovering a highly efficient chemical route for the synthesis of the polymer, known as poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB. The thermoplastic polyester is widely found in nature, particularly in some bacteria, where it is formed as intracellular deposits and used as a storage form of carbon and energy. And yet it shares many of the physical and mechanical properties of petroleum-based polypropylene, with the added benefit of being biodegradable.
From scientists at Saint Louis University comes a gadget fit for a James Bond movie. Imagine 007 sauntering up to the bar, ordering his trademark martini (shaken, not stirred) and, before taking a sip, topping off his cell phone with a few drops of alcohol to recharge the battery.
Researchers have developed a new type of biofuel cell ? a battery that runs off of alcohol and enzymes ? that could replace the rechargeable batteries in everything from laptops to Palm Pilots. Instead of plugging into a fixed power outlet and waiting, these new batteries can be charged instantly with a few milliliters of alcohol. The new findings were presented today at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world?s largest scientific society, in New Orleans.
Eye diseases like glaucoma could one day be treated by pharmaceuticals delivered through contact lenses. Chemical engineers from the University of Florida say they've been able to make soft contact lenses containing tiny embedded particles that slowly release drugs directly where they're needed. The research was presented today at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, held this week in New Orleans.
A drug called pregabalin has been shown to be an effective and safe treatment for pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to study data being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. The drug, Pregabalin, also was shown to improve sleep and fatigue levels, the data demonstrate. Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain that is frequently associated with fatigue and sleep disturbances. It is estimated to affect two percent of the population, or 5.6 million Americans, and occurs most frequently in women.
Patients with lower back pain that can't be traced to a specific physical cause may have abnormal pain-processing pathways in their brains, according to a new study led by Michigan researchers. The effect, which as yet has no explanation, is similar to an altered pain perception effect in fibromyalgia patients recently reported by the same research team.
