news

Scientists have identified chemicals found in some everyday fruit that could protect vital organs from long-term damage following a heart attack or stroke, according to new research carried out in mice. The researchers now hope the chemicals will provide a starting point for developing new injectable drugs that could be used to prevent some of the long-term damage caused by heart attack and stroke.

Research from the University of Leeds and an international team of scientists has shown a recent increase in atmospheric hydrogen chloride (HCl), a substance linked to destruction of the ozone layer. It was anticipated that there would be a decline in HCl under the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances.

Ever walked into a hotel room and smelled old cigarette smoke? While the last smoker may have left the room hours or even days ago, the lingering odors-resulting from noxious residue that clings to walls, carpets, furniture, or dust particles-are thanks to thirdhand smoke.

A new video shows how researchers use scientific guns to induce shock waves into explosive materials to study their performance and properties. "As we move forward with our stockpile and as it's aging and as we're replacing components, we want to make sure that we have confidence that those materials perform as intended," said Dana Dattelbaum.

A new study has tracked the molecular events that happen during asthma attacks to help explain how a common cold can trigger these attacks. Published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , the research used novel sampling techniques to observe what happens in people's noses and lungs during asthma attacks induced by a cold virus.

Scientists teamed up to develop a chemical "processor" which reliably shows the fastest way through a City maze. As the method is basically faster than a satnav system, it could be useful in transport planning and logistics in the future, for instance, as the scientists report. You don't always need GPS, a map or a compass to find the right way.

Scientists have created a new material that can remove double the amount of arsenic from water than the leading material for water treatment. Arsenic is a toxic element found naturally in groundwater.

Though it garners few public headlines, carbonic acid, the hydrated form of carbon dioxide, is critical to both the health of the atmosphere and the human body. However, because it exists for only a fraction of a second before changing into a mix of hydrogen and bicarbonate ions, carbonic acid has remained an enigma.

Press release issued: 17 October 2014 Scientists have used computer simulations to show how bacteria are able to destroy antibiotics - a breakthrough which will help develop drugs which can effectively tackle infections in the future. Researchers at the University of Bristol focused on the role of enzymes in the bacteria, which split the structure of the antibiotic and stop it working, making the bacteria resistant.

New self-assembly method for fabricating graphene nanoribbons brings scientists a step closer to revolutionizing electronics Shaun Mason First characterized in 2004, graphene is a two-dimensional material with extraordinary properties. The thickness of just one carbon atom, and hundreds of times faster at conducting heat and charge than silicon, graphene is expected to revolutionize high-speed transistors in the near future.

How the fruit fly could help us sniff out drugs and bombs A fly's sense of smell could be used in new technology to detect drugs and bombs, new University of Sussex research has found. Brain scientist Professor Thomas Nowotny was surprised to find that the 'nose' of fruit flies can identify odours from illicit drugs and explosive substances almost as accurately as wine odour, which the insects are naturally attracted to because it smells like their favourite food, fermenting fruit.

Swedish and Chinese researchers show how a unique nano-alloy composed of palladium nano-islands embedded in tungsten nanoparticles creates a new type of catalysts for highly efficient oxygen reduction, the most important reaction in hydrogen fuel cells. Their results are published in the scientific.

University of Washington The largest migration on the planet is the movement of small animals from the surface of the open ocean, where they feed on plants under cover of darkness, to the sunless depths where they hide from predators during the day. University of Washington researchers have found that this regular migration helps shape our oceans.

University of Queensland researchers have gained new insights into how the body sorts and transports protein 'cargo' within our cells, in a finding that could eventually lead to treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. An international research team co-led by Dr Brett Collins from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience has revealed the structure of a molecular transport hub that sorts, directs and transports protein to correct destinations in the cell.

Way too small to see, nanocrystals - tiny crystals that are at least 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair - exhibit unprecedented properties that intrigue scientists and engineers. To apply these materials in emerging nanotechnologies, scientists need to better understand their structure, their corresponding functions and how they pack together.

A new crystallographic technique developed at the University of Leeds is set to transform scientists' ability to observe how molecules work. A research paper, published Methods, describes a new way of doing time-resolved crystallography, a method that researchers use to observe changes within the structure of molecules.

Press release issued: 6 October 2014 New research by scientists at the University of Bristol has challenged one of the key axioms in biology - that enzymes need water to function. The breakthrough could eventually lead to the development of new industrial catalysts for processing biodiesel. Enzymes are large biological molecules that catalyse thousands of different chemical reactions that are essential for all life, from converting food into energy, to controlling how our cells replicate DNA.

Yeast are commonly used to transform corn and other plant materials into biofuels such as ethanol. However, large concentrations of ethanol can be toxic to yeast, which has limited the production capacity of many yeast strains used in industry. "Toxicity is probably the single most important problem in cost-effective biofuels production," says Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT.

02 Oct 2014 A new test developed by researchers from the University of Manchester could revolutionise the discovery of new prescription drugs. A new test developed by researchers from the University of Manchester could revolutionise the discovery of new prescription drugs. The test will help determine which drugs are unlikely to work at an early stage, speeding up the time it takes to make safe and effective medicines available.

Researchers have identified a molecular mechanism that could explain why the common cold can bring on life-threatening asthma attacks. Published today in Science Translational Medicine , the findings indicate this may be a potential target for new drugs that could be more effective than existing treatments.