For the first time ever, a completely man-made chemical enzyme has been successfully used to neutralise a toxin found naturally in fruits and vegetables.
While studying for her PhD in chemistry at the University of Copenhagen Dr. Jeannette Bjerre showed how a novel so-called chemzyme was able to decompose glycoside esculin, a toxin found in horse-chestnuts.
BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2010 — An antibacterial enzyme found in human tears and other body fluids could be applied to certain foods for protection against intentional contamination with anthrax, scientists reported here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Tobacco companies may be using web 2.0 media, such as YouTube, to market their products to young people, so getting round marketing restrictions for tobacco content in place elsewhere, suggests research published online in Tobacco Control.
Tobacco companies have always vehemently denied advertising on the Internet. Several of them signed up to a voluntary agreement to restrict direct advertising on websites by the end of 2002.
Two new studies reveal that the commonly used insect repellents DEET and citronellal each work through a dual stimulation of insect sensory systems. The research findings in Neuron and Current Biology enhance our understanding of how insects respond to repellents and may lead to the discovery of improved compounds for controlling insect-borne disease.
Wild porcupine might be a tasty treat in countries around the world, but populations of the spiky rodent are coming under threat in Vietnam due to illegal hunting.
One in seven patients experience more pain, physical and emotional problems a year after surgery than before their operation and a quarter have less vitality. Those are the key findings of a research study of more than 400 patients published online by the British Journal of Surgery.
Researchers from The Netherlands spoke to 216 women and 185 men with an average age of 54, who had undergone planned surgery, ranging from plastic surgery to orthopaedic surgery.
The results of a new scientific study from Oxford Brookes University show that the consumption of caloric beverages has different affects on short-term total energy intake in men and women.
The study, conducted by Viren Ranawana and Professor Jeya Henry of the Functional Food Centre at Oxford Brookes University, is the first of its kind to compare the compensation effect of liquid calories on short-term energy consumption, by gender.
A new Rice University study based on interviews with 360 American leaders who are evangelical Christians (including CEOs, presidents and chairs of large businesses and their equivalents in government and politics, nonprofits, arts, entertainment, the media and professional athletics) finds enormous variety in how leaders engage their personal faith in workplace decision-making.
BOSTON, Aug. 25, 2010 — A test for one of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke has the potential for more accurately estimating smokers' mouth level exposure and may have applications for developing custom-tailored quitting approaches for the more than 43 million people in the United States who still smoke, and hundreds of millions elsewhere, scientists said here today.
WASHINGTON – College students are less likely to let their female friends engage in risky sexual behavior after a night of drinking alcohol. Recent findings in the journal Communication Education examine how and why college students protect their friends who have been heavily drinking.
Although a cognitive-behavioral intervention to encourage men who have sex with men to reduce their substance use and sexual risk behavior (as both are linked) was partially successful, a similar reduction was achieved in comparison groups who did not receive the intervention suggesting that better methods for changing behaviors are needed. These are the findings of a paper by Gordon Mansergh from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia, USA, and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
With children going back to school, parents are concerned that their youngsters are staying fit and eating right, especially those who dine in a school cafeteria.
New research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.
A new study shows that male rats prenatally exposed to low doses of atrazine, a widely used herbicide, are more likely to develop prostate inflammation and to go through puberty later than non-exposed animals. The research adds to a growing body of literature on atrazine, an herbicide predominantly used to control weeds and grasses in crops such as corn and sugar cane. Atrazine and its byproducts are known to be relatively persistent in the environment, potentially finding their way into water supplies.
