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Kean's book, "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements," is getting the Reactions treatment in a video series produced for the newly launched American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT). To view all 10 videos in the Disappearing Spoon video series, become an AACT member at http://www.teachchemistry.org.
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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.
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Why We are made of 'star stuff'
2014-11-03
(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2014 — As Carl Sagan famously said, "We are made of star stuff." It's a mind-boggling thought, but what exactly did he mean? Ahead of Sagan's birthday on November 9th, Reactions teamed up with the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) and best-selling author Sam Kean to explain the chemistry behind this iconic quote. Watch our latest episode to find out how many of the atoms that make up you (and everything else) were forged in the nuclear cores of stars billions of years ago. Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/2bm479V8qPs.
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Nanotubes could serve as 'universal scaffolding' for cell membrane channels
2014-11-03
This news release is available in Spanish. Biological membranes define the functional architecture of living systems: they are selectively permeable, maintain the chemical identity of the cells and intracellular organelles, and regulate the exchange of material between them. To control the transporting of ions and small molecules through cell membranes, highly specialised proteins that transport these molecules through the membrane are used. Recent advances in nanotechnology and nanofabrication have made it possible to synthesise and manufacture artificial compounds ...
More than half of obese patients opt out of the bariatric surgical procedure process
2014-11-03
CHICAGO (November 3, 2014): Researchers from the University Health Network in Toronto are hoping to improve the operational efficiency of bariatric surgery programs to increase access to care. Studies have shown that bariatric operations can alleviate chronic health issues like diabetes and arthritis for extremely obese people. Now the University Health Network researchers are trying to determine why many patients who are referred for a bariatric operation do not ultimately have the procedure performed, despite being in a publicly funded health care program. Findings ...
Massey researchers develop the first cancer health literacy tool
2014-11-03
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center researchers have developed the first and only tool that can accurately measure cancer health literacy (CHL) and quickly identify patients with limited CHL. This tool has the potential to improve communication and understanding between physicians and patients, which, in turn, could lead to better clinical outcomes.
Recently published in the Journal of Health Communications, the Cancer Health Literacy Study was conducted over four years and involved 1,306 African-American and Caucasian patients from Massey and ...
Nasal spray vaccine has potential for long-lasting protection from ebola virus
2014-11-03
San Diego — A nasal vaccine in development by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has been shown to provide long-term protection for non-human primates against the deadly Ebola virus. Results from a small pre-clinical study represent the only proof to date that a single dose of a non-injectable vaccine platform for Ebola is long-lasting, which could have significant global implications in controlling future outbreaks. This work is being presented Nov. 5 at the 2014 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, ...
Biological fat with a sugar attached essential to maintaining the brain's supply of stem cells
2014-11-03
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fat and sugar aren't usually considered healthy staples, but scientists have found that a biological fat with a sugar attached is essential for maintaining the brain's store of stem cells.
Neural stem cells help the brain develop initially, then repopulate brain cells lost to usual cell turnover as well as to a trauma or malady, such as a head injury or stroke.
While the cell population and activity decrease as a natural part of aging, scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University are studying how neural stem cells ...
School environment affects teacher expectations of their students
2014-11-03
The school environment in which teachers work is related to their expectations of students, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Montreal. "It is known that low teacher expectations are negatively associated with student achievement and school effectiveness. While we know that expectations are primarily determined by the specific characteristics of teachers, we have shown that the school environment also plays a determining role," says lead author of the study, Marie-Christine Brault, a post-doctoral researcher at the university's Institut de recherche ...
Beliefs about the soul and afterlife that we acquire as children stick with us
2014-11-03
What we believed as children about the soul and the afterlife shapes what we believe as adults – regardless of what we say we believe now, according to a new Rutgers study.
"My starting point was, assuming that people have these automatic – that is, implicit or ingrained – beliefs about the soul and afterlife, how can we measure those implicit beliefs?," said Stephanie Anglin, a doctoral student in psychology in Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences.
Her research, "On the Nature of Implicit Soul Beliefs: When the Past Weighs More Than the Present," ...
Women with bipolar disorder at 50 percent greater risk of delivering preterm babies
2014-11-03
TORONTO, ON, Nov. 3, 2014 — Women who have been previously hospitalized for bipolar disorder are nearly twice as likely to have premature babies compared to women without a history of mental illness, according to a new study by researchers at Women's College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).
The study, published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows pregnant women with bipolar disorder are at greater risk of having premature babies and other serious complications. While the study did not examine the ...
Wrangling data flood to manage the health of streams
2014-11-03
Today's natural resource manager tending to the health of a stream in Louisiana needs to look upstream. Way upstream - like Montana. Michigan State University (MSU) scientists have invented a way to more easily manage the extensive nature of streams.
There are 2.6 million stream reaches in the contiguous United States that are intricately interconnected. It's impossible to address the health of one reach without knowing what's happening upstream.
Science, wielding geographic information systems, has obliged with data on geology, climate, pollution and land use. But ...
Obesity a liability in cancer immunotherapy
2014-11-03
Packing on the pounds may lead to dangerous inflammation in response to anti-cancer treatment, according to a study by William Murphy and colleages at UC Davis. The study, published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that overweight mice develop lethal inflammation in response to certain anti-cancer therapies, suggesting a possible link between body weight and adverse side effects in cancer patients treated with similar protocols.
Cancer treatment has been revolutionized by new approaches aimed at stimulating the body's own immune system to fight off tumor ...