PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Green plants reduce city street pollution up to 8 times more than previously believed

2012-07-19
(Press-News.org) Trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed, a new study has found. A report on the research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Thomas Pugh and colleagues explain that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and microscopic particulate matter (PM) — both of which can be harmful to human health — exceed safe levels on the streets of many cities. Past research suggested that trees and other green plants can improve urban air quality by removing those pollutants from the air. However, the improvement seemed to be small, a reduction of less than 5 percent. The new study sought a better understanding of the effects of green plants in the sometimes stagnant air of city streets, which the authors term "urban street canyons."

The study concluded that judicious placement of grass, climbing ivy and other plants in urban canyons can reduce the concentration at street level of NO2 by as much as 40 percent and PM by 60 percent, much more than previously believed. The authors even suggest building plant-covered "green billboards" in these urban canyons to increase the amount of foliage. Trees were also shown to be effective, but only if care is taken to avoid trapping pollutants beneath their crowns.

### The authors acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Sustainable Urban Environment program.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 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.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

All-they-can-eat diet for lab mice and rats may foster inaccurate test results

2012-07-19
The widespread practice of allowing laboratory rats and mice to eat as much as they want may be affecting the outcome of experiments in which scientists use these "test-tubes-on-four-feet" to test new drugs and other substances for toxicity and other effects. That's the conclusion of a new analysis published in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Laboratory mice and rats serve as stand-ins for people for research that cannot be done on humans. In the article, Gale Carey and Lisa Merrill point out that the millions of lab rodents used in laboratory studies each ...

Enhanced royal jelly produces jumbo queen bee larvae

2012-07-19
Scientists have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly (RJ) – the super-nutritious substance that dictates whether larvae become workers or queens, and that is also renowned as a health supplement for people. Their study, which found that the super RJ that makes queen bee larvae grow 2-3 times larger than normal, appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Chia-Nan Chen and colleagues explain that royal jelly is a thick liquid made up of proteins, sugars and fats that is secreted by glands in the throats and jaws ...

The taste and fragrance of orange, vanilla, rose and more — courtesy of bacteria and yeast

2012-07-19
Suppliers of the orange, vanilla and other flavor and fragrance ingredients used in hundreds of foods, beverages and personal care products are putting their faith in microbes as new sources for these substances. That migration away from the natural plant oils used for centuries to delight the taste buds and nose is the topic of a story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Melody M. Bomgardner, C&EN senior business editor, points out that manufacturers ...

Botanical compound could prove crucial to healing influenza

2012-07-19
Building on previous work with the botanical abscisic acida, researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) have discovered that abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs as well as in the gut. The results will be published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. "While the immune effects of abscisic acid are well understood in the gut, less was known about its effects in the respiratory tract. We've shown definitively that not only does abscisic acid ameliorate disease activity and lung inflammatory pathology, it ...

Social identification, not obedience, might motivate unspeakable acts

2012-07-19
What makes soldiers abuse prisoners? How could Nazi officials condemn thousands of Jews to gas chamber deaths? What's going on when underlings help cover up a financial swindle? For years, researchers have tried to identify the factors that drive people to commit cruel and brutal acts and perhaps no one has contributed more to this knowledge than psychological scientist Stanley Milgram. Just over 50 years ago, Milgram embarked on what were to become some of the most famous studies in psychology. In these studies, which ostensibly examined the effects of punishment on ...

Special issue of Cell Transplantation features research presented at IANR

2012-07-19
Putnam Valley, NY. (July 18 , 2012) – Meeting in Amman, Jordan April 27-30, 2011, members of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) presented research aimed at improving the lives of people with neurological conditions such as amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, stroke and muscular dystrophy through a variety of therapies, including cell transplantation. The field of neurorestoratology has emerged as a new discipline in neuroscience, exploring the impact of cell transplantation and other factors on neurological recovery. This ...

Helping Alzheimer's patients stay independent

2012-07-19
Family members or professional caregivers who do everything for older adults with Alzheimer's disease may just be wanting to help, but one University of Alberta researcher says that creating excess dependency may rob the patients of their independence and self-worth. U of A psychologist Tiana Rust, who recently completed her doctoral program, says her research indicated that caregivers adopted a "dependency support script," assuming control of tasks they believed patients seemed no longer capable of doing for themselves. She says this model shows that the caregivers' ...

New targeting technology improves outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation

2012-07-19
In a landmark study of atrial fibrillation, researchers from UCLA, UC San Diego and Indiana University report having found for the first time that these irregular heart rhythms are caused by small electrical sources within the heart, in the form of electrical spinning tops ("rotors") or focal beats. Importantly, they found a way of detecting these key electrical sources and of shutting them down in minutes using a precisely targeted therapy with long-lasting results. The team, which included cardiologists, physicists and bioengineers, reports the findings in the ...

Single-cell parasites co-opt 'ready-made' genes from host: UBC research

2012-07-19
Two species of single-cell parasites have co-opted "ready-made" genes from their hosts that in turn help them exploit their hosts, according to a new study by University of British Columbia and University of Ottawa researchers. Part of a group of parasitic microbes called microsporidia, Encephalitozoon hellem and Encephalitozoon romaleae are related to fungi and are commonly found in the intestines of vertebrates. In humans, they are associated with people with immune deficiencies. The research team identified six genes in these parasites that were not found in any ...

ACS: White House Initiative to create a national corps of STEM teachers is vital

2012-07-19
WASHINGTON, July 18, 2012 –– The American Chemical Society (ACS) applauds a White House initiative unveiled yesterday to create a national corps of 10,000 master teachers in the next four years who are exceptional in teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. "Teaching STEM subjects is most effectively achieved by teachers who are masters in the field," said ACS President Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Ph.D. "To really teach our kids science, math, and engineering it is imperative that teachers have deep knowledge in the discipline itself. I am pleased ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body

Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity

Politics follow you on the road

Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases

The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease

AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs

FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials

Exploring the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol for Alzheimer's

We need a solar sail probe to detect space tornadoes earlier, more accurately, U-M researchers say

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): Disease risk but not remission status determines transplant outcomes – new ASAP long-term results

Sperm microRNAs: Key regulators of the paternal transmission of exercise capacity

Seeing double: Clever images open doors for brain research

Inhaler-related greenhouse gas emissions in the US

UCLA Health study finds inhalers for asthma and COPD drive significant greenhouse gas emissions

A surgical handover system for patient physiology and safety

Cardiovascular health changes in young adults and risk of later-life cardiovascular disease

Nurse workload and missed nursing care in neonatal intensive care units

How to solve the remote work stalemate – dissertation offers tools for successful hybrid work

Chip-based phonon splitter brings hybrid quantum networks closer to reality

Texas Children’s researchers create groundbreaking tool to improve accuracy of genetic testing

Milken Institute, Ann Theodore Foundation announce more than $2.5 million in new funding for sarcoidosis research and launch new call for proposals

Boston University professor to receive 2025 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award

Pusan National University researchers reveal how forest soil properties influence arsenic mobility and toxicity in soil organisms

Korea University researchers find sweet taste cells resist nerve damage through c-Kit protein

HealthFORCE, AAPA, and West Health release “Aging Well with AI” – first in a two part series on AI and the healthcare workforce

The real reasons Endurance sank — study finds Shackleton knew of ship’s shortcomings

Marine heatwaves have hidden impacts on ocean food webs and carbon cycling

Order from disordered proteins

Rocket test proves bacteria survive space launch and re-entry unharmed

New wheat diversity discovery could provide an urgently-needed solution to global food security

[Press-News.org] Green plants reduce city street pollution up to 8 times more than previously believed