Chemicals News and Research

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Exposure to common fire retardant may cause developmental malformations, behavioral changes and death

A new study by Baylor University environmental health researchers found that zebra fish exposed to several different technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - a common fire retardant - during early development can cause developmental malformations, changes in behavior and death.

25 May 2011

MRSA, VRE traces found in bed bugs

Reports of bed bug infestations are on the rise worldwide. Recently, scientists in Canada studying five bed bugs found on patients at St. Paul's Hospital, found traces of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, or VRE. However as of yet, no evidence indicating that bed bugs can transmit disease to humans has been found.

25 May 2011

Washington State Green Chemistry Roundtable conference to focus on environmental toxics

A more holistic, less piecemeal roadmap for the use of chemicals in the state is the goal of research, industry and government leaders who will gather this week in the state's first green chemistry conference.

24 May 2011

'Survival protein' protects brain against effects of stroke

Johns Hopkins scientists say that a newly discovered "survival protein" protects the brain against the effects of stroke in rodent brain tissue by interfering with a particular kind of cell death that's also implicated in complications from diabetes and heart attack.

24 May 2011

Discovery of possible new strategy for treating neurologic disorders

23 May 2011

MO BIO Laboratories introduces PowerWater Sterivex DNA Isolation Kit

MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., the leader in soil, water and microbial nucleic acid purification, announces the launch of an innovative new product, the PowerWater Sterivex DNA Isolation Kit.

23 May 2011

Scientists direct embryonic, induced human stem cells to become astrocytes in lab dish

Pity the lowly astrocyte, the most common cell in the human nervous system. Long considered to be little more than putty in the brain and spinal cord, the star-shaped astrocyte has found new respect among neuroscientists who have begun to recognize its many functions in the brain, not to mention its role in a range of disorders of the central nervous system.

23 May 2011

Many 'legal high' drugs sold on the internet do not contain ingredients they claim

Many drugs sold as 'legal highs' on the internet do not contain the ingredients they claim. Some instead contain controlled substances and are illegal to sell over the internet. These are findings of Dr. Mark Baron, who bought a range of tablets from different websites to see what each contained. The study is published today in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis.

21 May 2011

Study shows why individuals with anorexia nervosa have paradoxical response to food

Perhaps the most puzzling symptom of anorexia nervosa - a disorder that tends to occur in young women - is the refusal to eat, resulting in extreme weight loss. While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation.

21 May 2011

Metabolix initiates public offering of common stock

Metabolix, Inc., a bioscience company focused on developing sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, today announced that it has commenced a public offering of shares of its common stock pursuant to the Company's effective shelf registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

19 May 2011

Serpin-2 molecule may be a perfect target for preventing mosquito's immunity

Mosquitoes are becoming more resistant to current pesticides. That's troubling to Kansas State University biologist Kristin Michel, as it means malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases will continue spreading. A recent grant from the National Institutes of Health may change all that.

18 May 2011

Neurochemical basis for sleep deprivation's effects on memory

From high-school students to surgeons, anyone who has pulled an all-nighter knows there is a price to be paid the next day: trouble focusing, a fuzzy memory and other cognitive impairments. Now, researchers at Penn have found the part of the brain and the neurochemical basis for sleep deprivation's effects on memory.

18 May 2011

Coffee reduces prostate cancer risk

In the 20-year study of almost 50,000 men, researchers noted that those who drank at least six cups a day were 20 per cent less likely to get prostate cancer than those who never took coffee. Strikingly, they were 60 per cent less likely than the non-coffee drinkers to die of the disease. The researchers also say that decaffeinated coffee is just as effective.

17 May 2011

Five out of 13 plastic products intended for children are toxic

Many plastic products contain hazardous chemicals that can leach to the surroundings. In studies conducted at the University of Gothenburg, a third of the tested plastic products released toxic substances, including 5 out of 13 products intended for children.

17 May 2011

'Mu opioid' receptors in the brain linked to smoking relapse

Nearly everyone who has tried to quit smoking says it's incredibly difficult, and the struggle is due in part to genetic factors. Now, a new study from the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sheds light on how one specific genetic risk for smoking relapse may work: Some of the difficulties may be due to how many receptors, called "mu opioid" receptors, a smoker has in his or her brain.

17 May 2011

HealthPartners prescribes walking or exercise for patients with depression

Giving pedometers to patients screened for depression, HealthPartners Medical Group (HPMG) is prescribing walking or exercise in addition to medication and/or therapy as an effective tool in helping patients with depression.

17 May 2011

Scientists discover single neuron that enables adaptive regulation of sparseness in olfactory codes

The brain is a coding machine: it translates physical inputs from the world into visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile perceptions via the mysterious language of its nerve cells and the networks which they form. Neural codes could in principle take many forms, but in regions forming bottlenecks for information flow or in areas important for memory, sparse codes are highly desirable.

16 May 2011

Insight into probiotic bacteria can help improve intestinal disease treatments

The gut may need bacteria to provide a little bit of oxidative stress to stay healthy, new research suggests. Probiotic bacteria promote healing of the intestinal lining in mice by inducing the production of reactive oxygen species, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown.

11 May 2011

Ecstasy use falls while synthetic versions grow in popularity

Where on one hand the use of ecstasy is falling in Australia, experts are warning that the use of dangerous designer synthetic drugs, which can be made legally, may begin to rise. Ecstasy, one of the most popular “recreational” drugs in Australia over the past two decades is becoming less popular with regular users, consistent with global trends, say the authors of a new report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.

10 May 2011

Ideal psychotropic drug may cause physical dependence

A report in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by a group of European investigators headed by Fabrizio Schifano has explored the potential for dependence of pregabalin using patients' online reports.

9 May 2011