image: Cells may contain hundreds of thousands to millions of ribosomes, one of which is depicted in this image. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Venki Ramakrishnan, PyMOL (Delano Scientific, www.pymol.org/)
Here is the latest American Chemical Society (ACS) News Service Weekly press package (PressPac) with reports selected from 35 major peer-reviewed journals and Chemical & Engineering News. With more than 160,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society.
ACS NEWS SERVICE — Feb. 14, 2007
Weekly PressPac - ALL CONTENT IS FOR IMMEDIATE USE EXCEPT ARTICLE #5 (EMBARGOED FOR 9 A.M., EASTERN TIME, Feb. 19, 2007)
PressPac Archive: http://www.chemistry.org/news/presspac.html
Contact: Michael Woods
202-872-4400
m_woods@acs.org
In This Edition:
- Storing digital data in living organisms
- A new process for making much-sought iron nanospheres
- Recipe for healthy garlic: Crush before cooking
- New e-waste recycling technology
- Unraveling a molecular machine's mysteries
- Journalists' Resources
- "Huh, a what?" Find out "what" in a Chemistry Glossary
- An Editor Comments on the New Climate Change Report
- Research in one hot field: ACS Chemical Biology
- Mark Your Calendars: ACS National Meeting, March 25-29, Chicago
- Special Event: Chicago News Media Tour/Briefing/Reception
This information is intended for your personal use in news gathering and reporting and should not be distributed to others. Anyone using advance ACS News Service Weekly Press Package information for stocks or securities dealing may be guilty of insider trading under the federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Please cite the individual journal, or the American Chemical Society, as the source of this information.
ARTICLE #1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Storing Digital Data in Living Organisms
Biotechnology Progress
DNA, perhaps the oldest data storage medium, could become the newest as scientists report progress toward using DNA to store text, images, music and other digital data inside the genomes of living organisms. In a report scheduled for the April 9 issue of ACS' Biotechnology Progress, a bi-monthly journal, Masaru Tomita and colleagues in Japan point out that DNA has been attracting attention as perhaps the ultimate in permanent data storage.
Data encoded in an organism's DNA, and inherited by each new generation, could be safely archived for hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers state. In contrast, CD-ROMs, flash memory and hard disk drives can easily fall victim to accidents or natural disasters.
In their report, the researchers describe a method for copying and pasting data, encoded as artificial DNA, into the genome of Bacillus subtilis, (B. subtilis) a common soil bacterium, "thus acquiring versatile data storage and the robustness of data inheritance." The researchers demonstrated the method by using a strain of B. subtilis to store the message: "E=MC2 1905!" — Albert Einstein's famous 1905 energy-mass equivalence equation.
"We suggest that this simple, flexible and robust method offers a practical solution to data storage and retrieval challenges in combination with other, previously published techniques," the report states.
ARTICLE #1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Alignment-Based Approach for Durable Data Storage into Living Organisms"
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CONTACT:
Yoshiaki Ohashi, Ph.D.
Keio University
Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc
Yamtagata, Japan
Phone: 81-235-29-0526
Fax: 81-235-29-0529
Email: ohashi@sfc.keio.ac.jp
ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A new process for making much-sought iron nanospheres
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Using a process that creates bubbles as hot as the surface of the sun, chemists are reporting development of a new method for making hollow hematite (iron oxide) nanospheres. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Kenneth S. Suslick and Jin Ho Bang describe the synthesis of these iron nanoparticles in a report scheduled for the Feb. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
Hollow nanospheres of metals and other inorganic materials are generating great interest because of their unusual properties and potential applications in drug delivery, electronic components, catalysts and other products. "We believe that this procedure will be easily extended to prepare other hollow inorganic materials," the researchers note. In the past, production of hollow hematite nanospheres required a time-consuming process and use of toxic hydrofluoric acid.
The new process uses sonochemistry, in which high-frequency sound waves are focused into a solution containing an iron compound and carbon nanoparticles. Those sound waves create tiny bubbles in the liquid. The collapse of those bubbles causes intense local heating with temperatures estimated at 9,000 F, which is nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. The sonochemical process forms iron spheres around the carbon nanoparticles. On exposure to air, the iron rapidly oxidizes, which burns away the carbon core, leaving hematite spheres one thousandth the diameter of a red blood cell.
ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Sonochemical Synthesis of Nanosized Hollow Hematite"
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CONTACT:
Kenneth S. Suslick, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone: 217-333-2794
Fax: 217 244-3186
Email: ksuslick@uiuc.edu
ARTICLE #3 FOR MMEDIATE RELEASE
Recipe for healthy garlic: Crush before cooking
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
"Stop and smell the garlic — that's all you have to do," advised William Shatner, whose starring roles ranged from Captain Kirk in Star Trek to himself in Iron Chef USA. New scientific research is editing Shatner's advice for the millions of people seeking garlic's fabulous flavor and its reputed health benefits. Make it read: Stop and crush the garlic.
Claudio R. Galmarini and colleagues in Argentina and the United States are reporting new evidence that crushing garlic before cooking can reduce the loss of garlic's healthful properties. In a report scheduled for the March 7 edition of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication, they note that many past studies of garlic and health used raw garlic. The new study joins a handful or others to examine how the heat of cooking affects the chemical compounds associated with garlic's beneficial health effects.
The researchers found that even a few minutes of cooking reduces levels of those compounds. The reduction is steepest in whole garlic, and less pronounced in garlic that has been crushed before cooking. Crushing or chopping garlic releases an enzyme, alliinase, that catalyzes the formation of allicin, which then breaks down to form a variety of healthful organosulfur compounds. The researchers believe that crushing garlic before cooking may allow alliinase to work before cooking inactivates the enzyme. Their report notes that allowing crushed garlic to stand for 10 minutes before cooking may further enhance formation of those compounds before heat inactivates alliinase.
ARTICLE #3 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Effect of Cooking on Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Antiplatelet Activity and Thiosulfinates Content"
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CONTACT:
Claudio R. Galmarini, Ph.D.
INTA-EEA La Consulta and CONICET
Mendoza, Argentina
Phone: 54-2622-470304
Fax: 54-2622-470753
Email: crgalmarini@laconsulta.inta.gov.ar
ARTICLE #4 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New e-waste recycling technology
Environmental Science & Technology
With megatons of obsolete personal computers, old cell phones and other waste electrical and electronic equipment piling up every year, scientists in China report development of a much-needed new recycling and recovery technology for one of the most troublesome components of e-waste — printed circuit boards (PCBs).
In a report scheduled for the Feb. 15 edition of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal, Zhenming Xu and colleagues point out that PCBs are an ideal target for recycling and reuse. PCBs are self-contained modules of interconnected electronic components formed by a thin layer of conducting material deposited, or "printed," on the surface of an insulating board. They contain materials potentially toxic if released to the environment. However, PCBs also are a rich potential source of valuable metals and other materials that could be recovered and reused.
The researchers describe tests of their process on almost a half-ton of scrap PCBs, which showed that it is efficient and environmentally friendly. The technology involves special crushing of scrap PCBs, followed by separation of the metallic and non-metallic materials with an electric field. The technique has advantages over other methods proposed for recycling PCBs, the researchers indicate.
ARTICLE #4 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Recycle Technology for Recovering Resources and Products from Waste Printed Circuit Boards"
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CONTACT:
Zhenming Xu, Ph.D.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, Peoples' Republic of China
Phone: 86-21-54747495
Fax: 86-21-54747495
Email: zmxu@sjtu.edu.cn
ARTICLE # 5 EMBARGOED FOR 9 A.M., EASTERN TIME, Feb. 19, 2007
Unraveling a molecular machine's mysteries
Chemical & Engineering News
Research on one of the most important molecular "machines" in living cells is giving scientists clues to the development of new antibiotics and revealing secrets about how cells use the genetic information encoded in DNA, according to an article scheduled for the Feb. 19 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.
In the article, C&EN senior correspondent Stuart A. Borman explains that ribosomes translate DNA's message, encoded on messenger RNA (mRNA), and use it to synthesize thousands of different proteins that do most of the work in biology. A ribosome can translate a limitless number of different mRNAs into proteins, just as a DVD player can translate the digital data on countless plastic discs into movies. Many cells contain hundreds of thousands of these protein factories, and some contain millions.
Borman describes fast-paced global research, which in barely a decade has transformed ribosomes from mystery structures into well-known entities that are targets for new drug development. Many antibiotics, for instance, work by interfering with the activity of ribosomes in bacteria. Ribosome research could help lead scientists to new types of antibiotics and there is at least one startup company focusing specifically on that topic, the article notes.
ARTICLE # 5 EMBARGOED FOR 9 A.M., EASTERN TIME, Feb. 19, 2007 "Protein Factory Reveals Its Secrets: Researchers picture and poke the ribosome to learn how it works"
This story will be available on Feb. 19 at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/85/8505gov1.html
FOR ADVANCE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Michael Bernstein
ACS News Service
Phone: 202-872-6042
Fax: 202-872-4370
Email: m_bernstein@acs.org
Journalists' Resources
General Chemistry Glossary
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/glossary.shtml
An Editor Comments on the New Climate Change Report
Jerald L. Schnoor's editorial from the current issue of ACS' Environmental Science and Technology, a semi-monthly journal. http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/feb/science/js_ipcc.html
ACS Chemical Biology
Highlights from the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Chemical Biology, are now available on EurekAlert!, the online science news service for reporters. ACS Chemical Biology is a monthly journal exploring cellular function from both chemical and biological perspectives. In addition to research papers and reviews, the journal also publishes "Spotlight" — current research in chemical biology from other journals; "Profile" — experts in the field; and "Points of View" — comments from leading scientists. The journal web site is updated weekly with new content, and features a WIKI and an "Ask the Expert" section. http://www.eurekalert.org/jrnls/acs/index.php?page=chemicalbiology
Mark Your Calendars
ACS National Meeting — Chicago, March 25-29
The American Chemical Society's 233rd national meeting promises to be one of 2007's biggest and most productive science conferences, and a bonanza of spot news, feature topics and background for reporters covering science, medicine, energy, environment, food, business or the environment. We expect more than 9,000 scientific papers on topics spanning science's horizons from astronomy to zoology. To access the ACS News Service's new electronic press center for the Chicago meeting, with media registration and housing www.acspresscenter.org.
Special Event: Chicago News Media Tour/Briefing/Reception
News media are invited to a special event at the Art Institute of Chicago, scheduled during the ACS national meeting. The Art Institute, Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory are partners in a noted art conservation science program. Reporters will get briefings from program scientists and a behind-the-scenes tour of science labs, followed by a reception honoring ACS Grady-Stack Awardee Stuart Brown in the beautiful environs of the Institute. The event begins at 4 p.m. on March 26. Space is strictly limited, so register early by contacting Michael Woods at m_woods@acs.org or 202-872-6293.
The American Chemical Society — the world's largest scientific society — is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.