Chemistry

Chemistry

American Chemical Society meeting highlights

Read Science News reporters' complete coverage of the recent chemistry conference.

Chemistry

Superheavy element 117 makes debut

An international team of researchers fill a gap in the periodic table, and lay another stepping stone along the path to the “island of stability.”

Chemistry

Study reports hints of phthalate threat to boys’ IQs

You may have a hard time spelling phthalates, but there’s no avoiding them. They’re in the air you breathe, water you drink and foods you eat. And this ubiquity may carry a price, particularly for young boys, emerging data suggest. Including a drop in their IQ.

Life

Researchers figure out how flies taste water

A study identifies the cell membrane protein that flies use to detect water’s flavor.

Chemistry

Skin as a source of drug pollution

Traces of over-the-counter and prescription meds taint the environment. The presumption Ì and it's a good one Ì has been that most of these residues come from the urine and solid wastes excreted by treated patients. But in some instances, a leading source of a drug may be skin Ì either because the medicine was applied there or because people sweat it out.

Health & Medicine

Putting African sleeping sickness to bed

Experiments in mice find a protein that could lead to a safer and more effective treatment for parasitic disease.

Chemistry

Mothballs deserve respect

I don’t use mothballs — except sometimes to sprinkle down the burrows of animals excavating tunnels beneath the deck floor of my pergola. It’s the most effective stop-work order for wildlife that I’ve found. But I won’t use these stinky crystals inside my home because they scare me. And those fears appear justified, according to Linda Hall of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Health & Medicine

Cap or cork, it’s the wine that matters most

Comparative study finds that screw tops can perform just as well in regulating the aging process.

Health & Medicine

Walnuts slow prostate cancer growth

A new study suggests that mice with prostate tumors should say “nuts to cancer.” Paul Davis of the University of California, Davis, hopes follow-up data by his team and others will one day justify men saying the same.

Tech

Smokin’ entrees: Charcoal grilling tops the list

At the American Chemical Society meeting, earlier this week, I stayed at a hotel that fronted onto the kitchen door of a Burger King. This explained the source of the beefy scent that perfumed the air from mid-morning on – the restaurant’s exhaust of smoke and meat-derived aerosols. A study presented at the meeting confirmed what my nose observed: that commercial grilling can release relatively huge amounts of pollutants.

Earth

Alternative flame retardants leach into the environment

Supposedly safer chemicals are spotted in peregrine falcon eggs in California.

Chemistry

Building a cheaper catalyst

Using perovskite instead of platinum in catalytic converters could shave many hundreds of dollars off the cost of a diesel car.