ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: April 3, 2013

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• Science Inquiries: Michael Woods, Editor, 202-872-6293
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Same-day water pollution test could keep beaches open more often

With warm summer days at the beach on the minds of millions of winter-weary people, scientists are reporting that use of a new water quality test this year could prevent unnecessary beach closures while better protecting the health of swimmers. A study analyzing the accuracy of the test appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology…

Verifying that sorghum is a new safe grain for people with celiac disease

Strong new biochemical evidence exists showing that the cereal grain sorghum is a safe food for people with celiac disease, who must avoid wheat and certain other grains, scientists are reporting. Their study, which includes molecular evidence that sorghum lacks the proteins toxic to people with celiac disease, appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry…

Anxiety about retirement — for aging nuclear power plants

Mention “high costs,” “financing” and “safety” in the same sentence as “commercial nuclear power plants,” and most people think of the multi-billion-dollar construction or operational phase of these facilities, which provide 20 percent of the domestic electric supply. Those concerns, however, are now emerging as aging nuclear power plants reach retirement…

• News media registration for ACS’ 245^th National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans
  News media registration is now open for the American Chemical Society’s 245^th National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans, April 7-11, 2013. The event will include almost 12,000 reports on new discoveries in medicine and health, food and nutrition, energy, the environment and other fields where chemistry plays a central role. One of the largest scientific conferences of 2013, the meeting will take place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and area hotels.
  
  View the full news release about meeting registration.
• Press releases, briefings, and more from ACS’ 244th National Meeting
  www.eurekalert.org/acsmeet.php
  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/acslive
• C&EN Video Spotlight: Future Robots
  It used to be that the word “robot” conjured up visions of metal skeletons and mechanical movements. Today, though, scientists want to make robots from soft materials — ones that are flexible and can handle fragile objects. A research team at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, has now made a carbon nanotube-filled plastic that moves when exposed to infrared light. In this clip, they demonstrate how the potential robotic material can grip and lift objects, and how it can inch up an inclined platform. Watch the video. For more information about this potential robotic material, visit http://cenm.ag/inch.
• Must-reads from C&EN: Hot Gold
  One of the hottest potential applications of metal nanoparticles is the thermal treatment of tumors. Nanosized specks of gold are the prime candidate, getting hot enough — in response to various forms of radiation — to damage cancerous tissue. For the full cover story, contact newsroom@acs.org.
• ACS Pressroom Blog
  The ACS Office of Public Affairs’ (OPA) pressroom blog highlights research from ACS’ more than 40 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.

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

Spellbound: How Kids Became Scientists
The road to a Nobel Prize began for one scientist in elementary school when his father placed a sign on his bedroom door proclaiming him to be a “doctor.” This is just one of the many experiences that helped launch the careers of scientists from diverse backgrounds who are featured in a new ACS video series called Spellbound: How Kids Became Scientists.

Prized Science video series
Prized Science: How the Science Behind ACS Awards Impacts Your Life video series is new for 2012! The first episode features the research of Dr. Robert Langer, winner of the 2012 ACS Priestley Medal. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Priestley Medal is the highest honor of the ACS, and it recognizes Langer’s pioneering work making body tissues in the lab by growing cells on special pieces of plastic. Langer’s team has used the approach to make skin for burn patients, for instance, with the goal of eventually making whole organs for transplantation. The second episode features Dr. Chad Mirkin, winner of the 2012 ACS Award for Creative Invention. His research has provided patients with faster diagnoses for influenza and other respiratory infections, and new tests that improve care for heart disease. More episodes will appear later in the year. The series is available at the Prized Science website and on DVD by email request.

The Periodic Table Table Featuring Theo Gray
Some people collect stamps. Wolfram Research co-founder and author Theo Gray collects elements. Step into his office, and you'll see a silicon disc engraved with Homer Simpson, a jar of mercury, uranium shells and hundreds of other chemical artifacts. But his real DIY masterpiece is the world's first "periodic table table.” Within this masterfully constructed table-top lay samples of nearly every element known to man, minus the super-radioactive ones.

Healing the voice: Synthetic vocal cords
Synthetic vocal cords may someday heal the voices of singers like Julie Andrews — whose legendary voice was permanently damaged in a 1997 operation. Filmed in the lab of 2012 ACS Priestley Medalist and MIT Institute Professor Robert Langer, our latest video explains how artificial polymer vocal cords may help repair damaged vocal tissue.

Other videos:

• The Chemistry of Beer
• The Chemistry of Cheese
• Without a scratch: Self-Healing Materials

• 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.

General Chemistry Glossary
Simple definitions and explanations of chemistry terms.

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