ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: June 12, 2013

Saliva proteins may protect older people from influenza

Spit. Drool. Dribble. Saliva is not normally a topic of polite conversation, but it may be the key to explaining the age and sex bias exhibited by influenza and other diseases, according to a new study. Published in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, it provides new insights into why older people were better able to fight off the new strains of “bird” flu and “swine” flu than…

Papaya-clay combo could cut cost of water purification in developing countries

An inexpensive new material made of clay and papaya seeds removes harmful metals from water and could lower the cost of providing clean water to millions of people in the developing world, scientists are reporting. Their study on this “hybrid clay” appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering…

The secrets of another Japanese success story

Japanese manufacturers have practically cornered the world market on components for lithium-ion batteries, films for LCDs and other advanced materials — with almost no competition from abroad. The secrets to their success are the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the…

• Press releases, briefings, and more from ACS’ 245th National Meeting
  www.eurekalert.org/acsmeet.php
  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/acslive
• C&EN Video Spotlight: Hear, Hear for the Bionic Ear
  Meet the “bionic ear.” Princeton University researchers built it from cells, silver nanoparticles and silicon. While the ear is not yet ready to be connected to a living thing, it may someday enable recipients to detect sounds outside the normal range of human hearing. In this video, you can “listen” to Beethoven’s FÜr Elise along with a pair of bionic ears. And C&EN Senior Editor Celia Arnaud explains how the team used a 3-D printer to make them. The ears integrate sophisticated electronics — capable of transmitting signals to the auditory nerve — into engineered tissue that looks and functions like an ear. Watch the video and read the story.
• Must-Read from C&EN: 150 Years of Innovation
  Aspirin, polycarbonate, polyurethane and the first synthetic insecticide are among the catalog of familiar products invented by scientists at Bayer. For a 150th anniversary retrospective — and insights into how the company has flourished — contact newsroom@acs.org.
• C&EN Launches the Organic SCENE
  The Organic SCENE, C&EN's latest news channel, offers a one-stop shop for coverage of a specific topic. It provides an up-to-the-minute stream of news about organic chemistry, including coverage of synthesis, reaction mechanisms, catalysis, medicinal chemistry, natural products and organic polymers. Check out the Organic SCENE’s home page, subscribe to its RSS feed or sign up for the weekly email newsletter highlighting the week’s top stories. Also, be sure to visit the other SCENEs on analytical chemistry, biology, environmental science, materials and nanotechnology.
• 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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