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ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: December 09, 2009

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: December 9, 2009

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News Items in This Edition

A new study on the surface chemistry of silver-colored, mercury-based dental fillings suggests that the surface forms of mercury may be less toxic than previously thought. It appears online in ACS’ journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. In the study, Graham George and colleagues note that mercury-based fillings, also called amalgams, have been used by dentists to repair teeth for well-over a century. In recent decades...

Scientists searching for the secrets of how calorie-restricted diets increase longevity are reporting discovery of proteins in the fat cells of human volunteers that change as pounds drop off. The proteins could become markers for monitoring or boosting the effectiveness of calorie-restricted diets — the only scientifically proven way of extending life span in animals. Their study appears online in ACS’ Journal of...

Scientists are reporting a discovery of the potential basis for a urine test to diagnose community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), a difficult-to-diagnose disease that is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The test could save lives by allowing doctors to begin the right treatment earlier than often occurs at present. The study appears online in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research...

Scientists are adding additional brush strokes to the revolutionary new image now emerging for star-shaped cells called astrocytes in the brain and spinal cord. Their report, which suggests a key role for astrocytes in morphine’s ability to relieve pain and cause addiction, appears online in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication. In the study, Piotr Suder and colleagues…

As they pop the champagne corks to celebrate New Year’s Eve, drug industry executives will likely be glad to put 2009 behind them. That’s because pharmaceutical companies who make top-selling drugs for heart disease, asthma, and many other conditions had a tough year in the midst of mounting market pressures and a global recession. A timely year-end analysis of the state of the pharmaceutical industry is scheduled for the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’ weekly newsmagazine...

Journalists’ Resources

  • Save the Date: ACS 239th National Meeting, March 21-25, 2010, San Francisco
    Join more than 10,000 scientists expected to gather in San Francisco March 21-25 for one of the year’s largest and most important scientific conferences. The 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society will feature 8,000 reports on new discoveries about chemistry, medicine, health, food, fuels, the environment and other topics.
  • Press releases, briefings, and more from ACS’ 238th National Meeting
    www.eurekalert.org/acsmeet.php

    http://www.ustream.tv/channel/acslive
  • Must-reads from C&EN: X-rays by the roll
    The simple act of peeling common adhesive tape from a roll triggers the emission of light and flashes of X-rays intense enough to image bones in a finger by exposing commercial dental X-ray film. That’s the latest surprising information from the world of tribology, the study of the physical and chemical phenomena associated with friction, wear, and lubrication. It could lead to new low-cost X-ray sources for scientific research and medical imaging. For a copy of the story, go to X-rays.
  • Writing on Green Chemistry?
    Here is a treasure trove of important scientific research articles published in 2008.
    http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/op900082k
  • ACS Pressroom Blog The ACS Office of Public Affairs (OPA) pressroom blog highlights research from ACS’ 34 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.
  • ACS Press Releases
    Press releases
    on a variety of chemistry-related topics.
  • General Chemistry Glossary
  • Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)
    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.

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