ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: February 27, 2008

• A nano-sensor for better detection of Mad Cow Disease agent
• The incredible, hypoallergenic egg: New process to help egg-allergy sufferers
• Promising new material for capturing CO2 from smokestacks
• Steel forges foundation for cheaper solar power
• Money and creative freedom draw researchers to elite German research institution

In an advance in food safety, researchers in New York are reporting development of a nano-sized sensor that detects record low levels of the deadly prion proteins that cause Mad Cow Disease and other so-called prion diseases. The sensor, which detects binding of prion proteins by detecting frequency changes of a micromechanical oscillator, could lead to a reliable blood test for prion diseases in both animals and humans, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the April 1 issue of ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.

Prions are infectious proteins that can cause deadly nerve-damaging diseases such as Mad Cow Disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep, and a human form of Mad Cow Disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Conventional tests are designed to detect the proteins only upon autopsy and the tests are time-consuming and unreliable.

In the new study, Harold G. Craighead and colleagues describe a high-tech, nano-sized device called a nanomechanical resonator array. The device includes a silicon sensor, which resembles a tiny tuning fork, that changes vibrational resonant frequency when prions bind. Its vibration patterns are then measured by a special detector. In experimental trials, the sensor detected prions at concentrations as low as 2 nanograms per milliliter, the smallest levels measured to date, the researchers say. — MTS

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Scientists and engineers in Georgia and Pennsylvania are reporting development of a new, low-cost material for capturing carbon dioxide from the smokestacks of coal-fired electric power plants and other industrial sources before the notorious greenhouse gas enters the atmosphere. Their study is scheduled for the March 19 issue of the ACS’ Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.

In the new study, Christopher W. Jones and colleagues point out that existing carbon capture technology is unsuitable for wide use. Absorbent liquids, for instance, are energy intensive and expensive. Current solid adsorbents show promise, but many suffer from low absorption capacities and lack stability after extended use. Stronger, longer-lasting materials are needed, scientists say.

The scientists describe development of a new solid adsorbent coined a hyperbranched aminosilica (HAS) that avoids those problems. When compared to traditional solid adsorbents under simulated emissions from industrial smokestacks, the new material captured up to seven times more carbon dioxide than conventional solid materials, including some of the best carbon dioxide adsorbents currently available, the researchers say. The material also shows greater stability under different temperature extremes, allowing it to be recycled numerous times. — MTS

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With Germany’s Max Planck Society (MPS) establishing a biomedical research institute in the Sunshine State — a development that could help turn Florida into a Silicon Valley for biotechnology — an article scheduled for the March 3 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’ weekly newsmagazine, provides readers with a behind the scenes look at this elite institution. The move represents the first time that an MPS site has been established in the United States, the reports says.

C&EN’s cover story by Associate Editor Sarah Everts notes that MPS operates a $2.5 billion annual budget to support cutting-edge, non-university research. Since its establishment in 1948, the group’s scientists have won 17 Nobel Prizes, including Gerhardt Ertl’s 2007 prize in chemistry. The Society has also funded key research into the development of improved polymers and high-tech light microscopy. Like the U.S.’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a wealthy nonprofit foundation that fund’s some of the nation’s top researchers, MPS has made a name for itself by giving exceptional researchers free reign to do creative and risky research.

Recently, MPS announced that it would establish a new biomedical branch in Florida. The new institute will focus on “devising non-invasive imaging methods to visualize molecular properties of biological tissue,” the article notes. Like the Sunshine State, MPS is keeping the future of research looking bright.

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• Save the Date: News Media Special Event April 7 in New Orleans

The 2008 edition of the ACS Office of Communications’ popular news media tour/briefing/reception heads for a premier research facility where science connects with everyday life. Reporters will visit the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans. After recovery from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, SRRC is continuing a 66-year heritage of discovery. SRRC’s landmarks range from development of wrinkle-resistant cotton fabrics to battling the dreaded Formosan subterranean termite in the “Second Battle of New Orleans.” The event begins mid-afternoon on April 7 during the ACS’ 235th national meeting, followed by a reception. To register, contact Michael Woods (m_woods@acs.org).

• Media registration opens for ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, April 6-10

Mark your calendars for one of the year’s largest and most important scientific events — the 235th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), which will be held April 6-10, 2008, in New Orleans, La.

With more than 160,000 members in the United States and other countries, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. About 12,000 scientists and others are expected for the event, which will include more than 9,000 reports on new discoveries in chemistry. Those reports span science’s horizons from astronomy to zoology and include a special focus on health, energy, food, environment, and alternative fuels.

In addition to coverage of breaking science news, the meeting provides an opportunity for independent reporting on disaster recovery efforts in the region prior to the June 1 start of the 2008 hurricane season.

For media registration, please click here. Housing reservations are now open for those who plan to attend the meeting. The ACS Press Center will be located in Room 206 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. It will include a media workroom with staff to assist in arranging interviews, press conferences, wireless Internet access, telephones, computers, photocopy and fax services, and refreshments.

For reporters planning to cover the meeting from their home bases, the ACS Office of Communications will provide an expanded suite of resources, including press releases, non-technical summaries of research presentations, and access to news briefings.

• Updates on Fast-Breaking Advances in Nanoscience
• American Chemical Society has launched a new nanoscience and nanotechnology community Website. Called ACS Nanotation, the site aims to become the premiere destination for nanoscience and nanotechnology news, highlights and community. Features include research highlights from ACS journals, career resources, podcasts and other multimedia resources, and interaction with other scientists. Registration is free.
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• General Chemistry Glossary

• Bytesize Science, a podcast for young listeners The American Chemical Society (ACS) Office of Communications has launched Bytesize Science, an educational, entertaining podcast for young listeners. Bytesize Science translates cutting-edge scientific discoveries from ACS' 36 peer-reviewed journals into stories for young listeners about science, health, medicine, energy, food, and other topics. New installments of Bytesize Science are posted every Monday and available without charge. Bytesize Science is now listed as a “new and notable” podcast on iTunes. It is also being recommended by “Podcasting in Education,” an organization that encourages educators to embrace podcasts as a classroom tool. The archive includes items on environmental threats to killer whales, a scientific explanation for why some people love chocolate, the possible medical uses of an intriguing substance known as “dragon’s blood,” and a hairy tale about "hairy roots." The podcaster for Bytesize Science is Adam Dylewski, an ACS science writer and recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in genetics and science communication.
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• Science Elements: An ACS Science News Podcast
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