(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, March 24, 2014 — If you believe the doomsayers, a zombie apocalypse is coming, and you need to be prepared. On AMC's The Walking Dead, whose season finale airs Sunday, survivors are always worried about running out of bullets, arrows or even sharp sticks. But what if chemistry could help you get away from the flesh eaters? In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') latest Reactions video, we talk with chemist Raychelle Burks, Ph.D., who shares her recipe for a "death cologne" that might someday save you from the undead. The video is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUEjmyisz7c.
INFORMATION:
Subscribe to the series at Reactions YouTube, and follow us on Twitter @ACSreactions to be the first to see our latest videos.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Follow us: Twitter | Facebook
Want to survive the zombie apocalypse? This 'cologne' could be the key (video)
2014-03-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Gene expression signature reveals new way to classify gum disease
2014-03-24
NEW YORK, NY (March 21, 2014) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a new system for classifying periodontal disease based on the genetic signature of affected tissue, rather than on clinical signs and symptoms. The new classification system, the first of its kind, may allow for earlier detection and more individualized treatment of severe periodontitis, before loss of teeth and supportive bone occurs. The findings were published recently in the online edition of the Journal of Dental Research.
Currently, periodontal disease is classified ...
Inherited mutated gene raises lung cancer risk for women, those who never smoked
2014-03-24
DALLAS – March 21, 2014 – People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found.
People with the rare inherited T790M mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene who have never smoked have a one-in-three ...
Researcher: Study on element could change ballgame on radioactive waste
2014-03-24
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Groundbreaking work by a team of chemists on a fringe element of the periodic table could change how the world stores radioactive waste and recycles fuel.
The element is called californium — Cf if you're looking at the Periodic Table of Elements — and it's what Florida State Professor Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt, the lead researcher on the project, calls "wicked stuff."
In carefully choreographed experiments, Albrecht-Schmitt and his colleagues found that californium had amazing abilities to bond and separate other materials. They also found it was extremely ...
Nasal spray delivers new type of depression treatment
2014-03-24
(Toronto) March 24, 2014 – A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows.
The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.
In a previous study published in Nature Medicine in 2010, Dr. Liu developed a protein peptide that provided a highly targeted approach to treating depression that she hopes will have minimal side effects. The peptide was just as effective in relieving symptoms when ...
Life hots up for British birds
2014-03-24
Climate change may be bad news for billions, but scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered one unlikely winner – a tiny British bird, the long-tailed tit.
Like other small animals that live for only two or three years, these birds had until now been thought to die in large numbers during cold winters. But new research suggests that warm weather during spring instead holds the key to their survival.
The findings come from a 20-year study of long-tailed tits run by Professor Ben Hatchwell at the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences. The recent work ...
Biased sex ratios predict more promiscuity, polygamy and divorce in birds
2014-03-24
Birds in female-dominated populations are more likely to ditch and 'divorce' their mates while promiscuity increases in predominantly male environments, according to new research.
A joint study by the University of Sheffield and the University of Bath gives the first conclusive proof that rates of divorce and infidelity in birds are affected by the adult sex ratio of the population they live in – a theory previously discounted by biologists.
The study, which examined the pair bonding and mating behaviour of 197 different species of bird, found the divorce rate was higher ...
Recovering valuable substances from wastewater
2014-03-24
Not only plants, but also humans and animals need phosphorus, which is a building block of DNA. Many biological processes in our body can only take place if phosphorus atoms are also present. But farmers and industrial enterprises use so much of this element that soil is over-fertilized and waterways are contaminated.
This is where the experts of the German Phosphorus Platform DPP come in. As they have made it their aim to recover the phosphorus from the water, on the one hand in order to protect the environment and on the other to reutilize this valuable raw material ...
Researchers grow carbon nanofibers using ambient air, without toxic ammonia
2014-03-24
Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated that vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) can be manufactured using ambient air, making the manufacturing process safer and less expensive. VACNFs hold promise for use in gene-delivery tools, sensors, batteries and other technologies.
Conventional techniques for creating VACNFs rely on the use of ammonia gas, which is toxic. And while ammonia gas is not expensive, it's not free.
"This discovery makes VACNF manufacture safer and cheaper, because you don't need to account for the risks and costs ...
Mice give ticks a free lunch
2014-03-24
(Millbrook, NY) People living in northern and central parts of the U.S. are more likely to contract Lyme disease and other tick-borne ailments when white-footed mice are abundant. Mice are effective at transferring disease-causing pathogens to feeding ticks. And, according to an in-press paper in the journal Ecology, these "super hosts" appear indifferent to larval tick infestations.
Drawing on 16 years of field research performed at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, the paper found that white-footed mice with hundreds of larval ticks ...
Toronto Author Releases New Sales Aid
2014-03-24
With twelve years of sales experience, Dan Blaze fell sorrowfully into the realization that he didn't know everything there was to know about being in sales. During his sales experience, which has now reached a sixteen year plateau, Mr. Blaze has worked for various companies, in various industries, and has performed various roles, including cold-calling, direct-selling, field-sales, sales management and self-employment in sales and lead-generation.
"The truth is, today, so many companies expect to hire experienced sales people, and so few companies are engaged ...