Chemistry
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
BPA induces sterility in roundworms
Bisphenol A does a real number on the genes responsible for successful reproduction in a 1-millimeter-long soil-dwelling roundworm. And that suggests BPA might pose similar risks to people because geneticists are finding that this tiny critter can be a remarkably useful “lab rat” — predicting impacts in mammals, including us.
- Health & Medicine
Fructose poses gout risks even in women
Soft drinks are an even more potent source of the fat-generating sugar than had been thought, new research shows.
- Tech
Seeing red: Next installment in BPA-paper saga
Consumers now have a way to identify cash register tape that is free of endocrine-disrupting chemical.
- Humans
Building a better bomb sniffer
A new handheld device detects TATP, an explosive that is easy to make but hard to detect.
- Tech
Plenty of foods harbor BPA, study finds
Some communities have banned the sale of plastic baby bottles and sippy cups that are manufactured using bisphenol A, a hormone-mimicking chemical. In a few grocery stores, cashiers have already begun donning gloves to avoid handling thermal receipt paper whose BPA-based surface coating may rub off on the fingers. But how’s a family to avoid exposure to this contaminant when it taints the food supply?
- Chemistry
Skin is no barrier to BPA, study shows
The new finding suggests handling store receipts could be a significant source of internal exposure to the hormone-mimicking chemical.
- Chemistry
Breathe better with bitter
Taste receptors in the lungs open airways in response to acrid gases.
- Chemistry
Guards of the blood-brain barrier identified
Specialized cells called pericytes are crucial to protecting the central nervous system, two new studies demonstrate.
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- Chemistry
Basic tool for making organic molecules wins chemistry Nobel
Three researchers get prize for developing methods that use the metal palladium to catalyze the synthesis of complex carbon carbon-containing molecules for drugs, electronics and other applications.
- Physics
Physics Nobel goes to graphene
Discovered only six years ago, the 2-D carbon sheets have spun off a new field of research.
- Chemistry
BP oil: Gulf sediment at risk, oceanographer claims
Most of BP’s spilled oil remains in the Gulf — with little sign of degrading, according to Ian MacDonald of Florida State University. And much of this surviving oil could be in sediment or on its way there, the scientist reported at a September 27 meeting in Washington, D.C.
