ACS Fall 2021

For many meat eaters, summer barbecues wouldn’t be the same without the mouthwatering aroma of burgers cooking on the grill. But many people are open to trying plant-based alternatives, as long as they smell, taste, look and feel like real beef. Now, scientists have compared aroma compounds between actual hamburger and several brands of plant-based burgers. The researchers will present their results today at ACS Fall 2021.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions drastically affected how people lived and worked, and some people turned to a variety of drugs for relief. Using wastewater analysis, scientists identified a spike in consumption of easily abused prescription opioids and anti-anxiety sedatives, while some illicit drug use plummeted, between March and June 2020. The researchers will present their results today at ACS Fall 2021.

Bacteria known as group B Streptococcus (GBS) are a common cause of blood infections, meningitis and stillbirth in newborns. Although GBS infections can often be treated or prevented with antibiotics, the bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant. Now, researchers have discovered that human milk oligosaccharides –– short strings of sugar molecules found in breast milk –– can prevent GBS infections in human cells and tissues and in mice. They will present their results today at ACS Fall 2021.

Journalists may now apply for press credentials for the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society, a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person in Atlanta Aug. 22-26.