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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Substances commonly used for drilling or extracting Marcellus shale gas foamed from the drinking water taps of three Pennsylvania homes near a reported well-pad leak, according to new analysis from a team of scientists. The researchers used a new analytical technique on samples from the homes and found a chemical compound, 2-BE, and an unidentified complex mixture of organic contaminants, both commonly seen in flowback water from Marcellus shale activity.

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from bio-refineries and chemical manufacturing are the focus of two new studies at Imperial College London. The challenge of global climate change means that now more than ever we need to find solutions that enable industries to manufacture the products our modern societies depend on, but in a sustainable way.

Ribosomes, which use a fixed genetic programme to manufacture cell proteins, also form according to a strict hierarchical plan. In an interdisciplinary approach, the research teams of Ed Hurt of the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH) and André Hoelz of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena (USA) have decoded the mechanism that regulates this process.

Making thin films out of semiconducting materials is analogous to how ice grows on a windowpane: When the conditions are just right, the semiconductor grows in flat crystals that slowly fuse together, eventually forming a continuous film. This process of film deposition is common for traditional semiconductors like silicon or gallium arsenide - the basis of modern electronics - but Cornell scientists are pushing the limits for how thin they can go.

Researchers at Caltech have discovered how an abundant class of RNA genes, called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs, pronounced link RNAs) can regulate key genes. By studying an important lncRNA, called Xist, the scientists identified how this RNA gathers a group of proteins and ultimately prevents women from having an extra functional X-chromosome-a condition in female embryos that leads to death in early development.

Scientists have developed a revolutionary new technology that can image and weigh single molecules, to instantly identify a single virus particle or protein. A microscopic tool, more than 1000 times thinner than the width of a single human hair, uses vibrations to simultaneously reveal the mass and the shape of a single molecule - a feat which has not been possible until now.

Scientists recreate natural insect repellent University scientists may have uncovered a natural way of avoiding the use of pesticides and help save plants from attack by recreating a natural insect repellent. Scientists from the School of Chemistry and Rothamsted Research have, for the first time, created tiny molecules which mirror a natural occurring smell known to repel insects.

As new research provides more evidence that insecticides can harm bees, Hayley Dunning has been talking bees with Imperial expert Dr Richard Gill. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides applied to crops to target and kill pests. However, their use on flowering crops may inadvertently expose foraging bees to chemicals that affect their health.

Light can come in many frequencies, only a small fraction of which can be seen by humans. Between the invisible low-frequency radio waves used by cell phones and the high frequencies associated with infrared light lies a fairly wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by what are called terahertz, or sometimes submillimeter, waves.

A trio of recently published studies from a team of University of Toronto engineers has found that air pollution could be spreading up to three times farther than thought - contributing to varying levels of air quality across cities. Past research on air pollution from vehicle tailpipes has shown poor air quality anywhere between 100 to 250 metres of major roadways.

MIT physicists have developed a new tabletop particle detector that is able to identify single electrons in a radioactive gas. As the gas decays and gives off electrons, the detector uses a magnet to trap them in a magnetic bottle. A radio antenna then picks up very weak signals emitted by the electrons, which can be used to map the electrons' precise activity over several milliseconds.

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have announced a significant step forward in the development of materials that can ward off oil - a discovery that could lead to new protective coatings and better approaches to cleaning up oil spills. In a new paper in the journal Advanced Functional Materials , professor of chemical and biological engineering David Lynn and assistant scientist Uttam Manna describe new coatings that are extremely oil-repellant (or "superoleophobic") in underwater environments.

A new breakthrough battery-one that has significantly higher energy, lasts longer, and is cheaper and safer-will likely be impossible without a new material discovery. And a new material discovery could take years, if not decades, since trial and error has been the best available approach. But Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientist Kristin Persson says she can take some of the guesswork out of the discovery process with her Electrolyte Genome.

A breakthrough in understanding the way in which crystals develop will have a major impact for the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries. Lancaster University chemists in collaboration with international colleagues have uncovered a 'Crystal Nuclei Breeding Factory' which, they say, will lead to a more effective and efficient development of quality chemical products.

Scientists are investigating a new therapy for the treatment of tendon injuries such as tennis elbow and Achilles tendinitis after gaining new insight into the condition. Tendon injuries (tendinopathies) are common, accounting for 30-50% of all sporting injuries, and are usually caused by repetitive strain or major trauma.

Major steps forward in the use of plants for renewable materials, energy and for building construction could soon arise, thanks to a key advance in understanding the structure of wood. The step forward follows research by the Universities of Warwick and Cambridge and the unexpected discovery of a previously unknown arrangement of molecules in plant cell walls.

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disk surrounding a young star, indicating that the conditions that spawned our Earth and Sun are not unique in the universe. This discovery, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), reveals that the protoplanetary disk surrounding the million-year-old star MWC 480 is brimming with methyl cyanide (CH3CN), a complex carbon-based molecule.

New analysis shows that pollution from human activity in East Asia is having a negative effect on air quality in tropical rainforests thousands of kilometres away, and could harm the ozone layer if levels continue to increase. This work shows how quickly increasing pollution in southeast Asia can reach the Borneo rainforest, and even the upper atmosphere Neil Harris Researchers from the UK and Malaysia have detected a human fingerprint deep in the Borneo rainforest in Southeast Asia.

"We know that when older adults are exposed to heat, their bodies are not able to increase skin blood flow to the same extent that young subjects do, and as a consequence, older adults are at a greater risk for cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, during environmental heat waves," said Anna Stanhewicz, post-doctoral fellow in kinesiology.

Tampons may not be an obvious scientific tool, but engineers from the University of Sheffield have been using them to identify where waste water from baths, washing machines, sinks and showers is polluting our rivers and streams. The natural, untreated cotton in tampons readily absorbs chemicals commonly used in toilet paper, laundry detergents and shampoos.