ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: December 8, 2010

New report” Dont blame The Pill for estrogen in drinking water

Contrary to popular belief, birth control pills account for less than 1 percent of the estrogens found in the nation’s drinking water supplies, scientists have concluded in an analysis of studies published on the topic. Their report suggests that most of the sex hormone — source of concern as an endocrine disrupter with possible adverse effects on people and wildlife — enters…

Discovery of the secrets that enable plants near Chernobyl to shrug off radiation

Scientists are reporting discovery of the biological secrets that enable plants growing near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to adapt and flourish in highly radioactive soil — legacy of the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Ukraine. Their study, which helps solve a long-standing mystery, appears in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal…

• Press releases, briefings, and more from ACS’ 240th National Meeting
  www.eurekalert.org/acsmeet.php
  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/acslive
• Must-reads from C&EN: DOE boosts electric car battery start-up companies
  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing the monetary spark for battery storage start-up companies to accelerate the production of electric cars. For details, contact m_bernstein@acs.org.
• ACS Pressroom Blog
  The ACS Office of Public Affairs’ (OPA) pressroom blog highlights research from ACS’ 38 peer-reviewed journals and National Meetings.
• Bytesize Science blog
  Educators and kids, put on your thinking caps: The American Chemical Society has a blog for Bytesize Science, a science podcast for kids of all ages.
• ACS satellite pressroom: Daily news blasts on Twitter
  The satellite press room has become one of the most popular science news sites on Twitter. To get our news blasts and updates, create a free account at https://twitter.com/signup. Then visit http://twitter.com/ACSpressroom and click the ‘join’ button beneath the press room logo.
• C&EN on Twitter
  Follow @cenmag <http://twitter.com/cenmag> for the latest news in chemistry and dispatches from our blog, C&ENtral Science <http://centralscience.org>.
• ACS Press Releases
  Press releases on a variety of chemistry-related topics.
• General Chemistry Glossary
• Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Web site on everyday chemicals
  Whether you want to learn more about caffeine, benzoyl peroxide (acne treatment), sodium chloride (table salt), or some other familiar chemical, CAS Common Chemistry can help. The new Web site provides non-chemists and others with useful information about everyday chemicals by searching either a chemical name or a corresponding CAS Registry Number. The site includes about 7,800 chemicals of general interest as well as all 118 elements from the Periodic Table, providing alternative names, molecular structures, a Wikipedia link, and other information.
• Science Connections from CAS
  CAS - Science Connections is a series of articles that showcases the value of CAS databases in light of important general-interest science and technology news. Topics range from fruit flies to Nobel Prize winners, with the CAS - Science Connections series pointing to CAS databases for a more complete understanding of the latest news.
• The Laser’s 50th
  From DVD players to eye surgery, the laser stands as one of the greatest inventions of modern times — one that truly revolutionized everyday life. Laserfest is a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the laser, which was first demonstrated in 1960.

The American Chemical Society encourages news organizations, museums, educational organizations, and other web sites to embed links to these videos.

• Prized Science: They Shrunk the Chips!
  The latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s new video series, Prized Science: How the Science Behind ACS Awards Impacts Your Life, focuses on research that helped shrink the size of computer chips. These smaller, but light-years more powerful chips, are at the basis of the ongoing revolution in consumer electronics and the computerization of the rest of society. Previous episodes of Prized Science explore “green gasoline” and the possibility that life on Mars seeded life on Earth. he series is available without charge at the Prized Science website, YouTube, iTunes and on DVD. ACS encourages educators, schools, museums, science centers, news organizations, and others to embed links to Prized Science on their websites.
  
  The Chemistry of the Holidays
  
  The Chemistry of Sourdough Bread
  
  The Chemistry of Fireworks
  
  The Chemistry of Grilling and Barbecuing

• Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions
  This special series of ACS podcasts focuses on some of the 21st Century’s most daunting challenges, and how chemists and other scientists are finding solutions. Subscribe at iTunes or listen and access other resources at the ACS web site www.acs.org/GlobalChallenges.

• SciFinder® Podcasts
  Interested in healthful plant phytochemicals, nanotechnology, or green chemistry? Check out the SciFinder series of podcasts, which explore a vast array of current interest topics and new discoveries in the 21st century. The SciFinder podcasts are available in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.

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