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ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: June 16, 2010

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: June 16, 2010

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News Items in This Edition

Far from having adverse effects limited to the mouth, smokeless tobacco affects the normal function of a key family of enzymes found in almost every organ in the body, according to the first report on the topic in ACS’ monthly journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. The enzymes play important roles in production of hormones, including the sex hormones estrogen...

Contrary to popular belief, paying a premium price for free-range eggs may not be healthier than eating regular eggs, a new study reports. Scientists found that free-range eggs in Taiwan contain at least five times higher levels of certain pollutants than regular eggs. Their findings appear in ACS’ bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In the new study, Pao-Chi...

With “hands-on” experiences in childhood and adolescence having sparked so many science careers, scientists in Canada are describing a quick, simple, safe, and inexpensive way for kids to participate in making the microfluidic devices. Those devices are at the heart of lab-on-a chip, inkjet printing, DNA chip, and other technologies. The scientists’ instructions for...

Chemicals that helped solve a global environmental crisis in the 1990s — the hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer — may be making another problem — acid rain — worse, scientists are reporting. Their study on the chemicals that replaced the ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) once used in aerosol spray cans, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other products, appears in...

The widespread belief that chemical dispersants will enhance the breakdown of oil from the Gulf of Mexico disaster is based on weak scientific data. That’s among the topics in a comprehensive status report that is the cover story in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS’ weekly newsmagazine. C&EN Senior Correspondent Jeff Johnson and Assistant Editor Michael Torrice note…

Journalists’ Resources

  • Press registration opens for ACS' Fall 2010 National Meeting in Boston
    Press registration
    now is open for the ACS’ 240th National Meeting & Exposition in Boston August 22-26, 2010, with almost 8,000 reports on news advances in science. Watch for further information in the months ahead.
  • Press releases, briefings, and more from ACS’ 239th National Meeting
    www.eurekalert.org/acsmeet.php

    http://www.ustream.tv/channel/acslive
  • Must-reads from C&EN: Baking soda could soon soothe industrial gas emissions
    Baking soda soon may become much more than a refrigerator deodorant or a digestive aid: Coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities are expected to use sodium bicarbonate to neutralize polluting gas emissions in much the same way as it does for stomach acid. For the full story, 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.

For Wired Readers

  • Bytesize Science
    Bytesize Science is a science podcast for kids of all ages that entertains and educates, with new high-definition video podcasts and some episodes in Spanish. Subscribe to Bytesize Science using iTunes. No iTunes? No problem. Listen to the latest episodes of Bytesize Science in your web browser.
  • 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.
  • Science Elements
    Science Elements is a podcast of PressPac contents that makes cutting-edge scientific discoveries from ACS journals available to a broader public audience. Subscribe to Science Elements using iTunes. Listen to the latest episodes of Science Elements in your web browser. Science Elements is on Facebook, friend it to see the latest updates and information.
  • 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.
  • 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.



Note to Journalists and Other Viewers

This is the latest American Chemical Society (ACS) Office of Public Affairs Weekly PressPac with news from ACS’ 38 peer-reviewed journals and Chemical & Engineering News.

This information is intended for your personal use in news gathering and reporting and should not be distributed to others. Anyone using advance ACS Office of Public Affairs Weekly PressPac 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.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society 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.