Plastic in Biological News

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- April 22, 2009

... may facilitate recycling of hard-to-dispose plastic Macromolecules Researchers in The Netherlands are reporting development of a new plastic with potential for use in the first ... development of a new type of thermosetting plastic that can be melted and remolded without losing ...

Hormone-mimics in plastic water bottles -- just the tip of the iceberg?

... of estrogenic compounds leaching out of the plastic packaging into the water. What's more, these ... the first time that substances leaching out of plastic food packaging materials act as functional ... Germany nine bottled in glass, nine bottled in plastic and two bottled in composite packaging ...

Stanford researchers develop biodegradable substitutes for wood, plastic bottles and other materials

... The faux lumber is made from a new biodegradable plastic that could be used in a variety of building ... be natural hemp fibers fused with a biodegradable plastic resin called polyhydroxy-butyrate (PHB). "It's ... only those organisms that accumulate the most plastic can reproduce. We call the process 'survival of ...

Biodegradable mulch films on the horizon

... of agricultural land worldwide were covered with plastic mulch, and those numbers have been increasing ... friendlier alternatives to conventional plastic mulch. plastic mulch can provide earlier crop maturity, higher ...

'Green' plastics could help reduce carbon footprint

... COLUMBIA, Mo. More than 20 million tons of plastic are placed in U.S. landfills each year. Results ... suggest that some of the largely petroleum-based plastic may soon be replaced by a nonpolluting, renewable plastic made from plants. Reducing the carbon footprint ...

Plastic and reconstructive surgery -- in brief

... This study appears in the January 2009 issue of plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , the official medical journal of the American Society of plastic Surgeons. By The Numbers: According to ... This study appears in the January 2009 issue of plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , the official ...

Organic plant waste proves effective weed control for citrus trees

... effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand-hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and ... control (94% to 100%) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch and three mulch layers of rice straw or ... mulch resulted in an 85% to 98% control of weeds. plastic mulches, cattail mulch in two or three layers, ...

Progression of retinal disease linked to cell starvation

... gets covered in "plastic," with the flexible plastic reaching down to touch each stack. In the eye, this plastic consists of a giant retinal pigment (RPE) cell, ... cells sag when too many rods disappear, as the plastic over that plate of Oreo cookies droops when too ...

Acrylic glass made of sugar

... 150 to 400 million euro. PMMA is a synthetic plastic developed in 1928 and today produced in great ... (Arkema). In the GDR, names used for this plastic included "O-Glas" (for "organic glass") or ... Piesteritz nitrogen works near Wittenberg). The plastic is fragile, but very UV-resistant and thus ...

6 environmental research studies reveal critical health risks from plastic

... 2008 issue of Environmental Research, "A plastic World" provides critical new research on ... adverse reproductive and behavioral effects. plastic products contain "endocrine disrupting chemicals" ... used in the manufacture of different types of plastic can leach out ...

Coating improves electrical stimulation therapy used for Parkinson's, depression, chronic pain

... tissue," said Dr. Edward Keefer, instructor of plastic surgery at UT Southwestern and lead author of the ... said Dr. Spencer Brown, assistant professor of plastic surgery who heads research in the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Advanced plastic Surgery and Wound Healing Laboratory at UT ...

'Small' research at MSU leads to advances in energy, electronics

... students have developed a nanomaterial that makes plastic stiffer, lighter and stronger and could result in ... to make it compatible with water, resin or plastic systems. xGnP: Could be used to make ... gasoline tanks lightweight and leak tight and plastic containers that keep food fresh for weeks. ...

Want a reason to love your lower belly fat? It's rich in stem cells

... reports a Brazilian-based study in August's plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , the official medical journal of the American Society of plastic Surgeons (ASPS). This is the first study of its ... very practical applications to the specialty of plastic surgery. That we may be able to generate new ...

Fresh from the grapevine to the table

... grapes. One method is to place a perforated plastic liner inside each box, put the grapes in the ... 'Redglobe' and 'Zainy' grapes packaged in plastic boxes and 'Thompson Seedless' grapes packaged in ... that the quality of the grapes in the trials with plastic boxes was either similar in both packaging ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 28, 2008

... systems constructed with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipes may be more susceptible to leaching of lead ... same time, builders are plumbing more houses with plastic pipe, rather than copper, to cut costs. Past ... that corrosive conditions were often worst in plastic pipes, which could be expected to cause higher ...

Researchers use high tech in mold watermark to protect plastic products from piracy

... a high tech way to add Anti-counterfeiting to plastic products as they are created in the moulding ... of interest in anti-counterfeiting technology for plastic products. We at the University of Warwick are working on several processes to prevent plastic components being copied and this 'in mould' ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- Nov. 28, 2007

... ARTICLE #3 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nanohybrid plastic may expand use of biodegradable plastic Biomacromolecules Scientists in New York ... development of a new biodegradable nanohybrid plastic that can be engineered to decompose much faster ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- Oct. 24, 2007

... & Technology Microscopic particles of plastic debris that litter marine environments may pose a ... note long-standing awareness that large pieces of plastic waste, including cargo wrapping sheet plastic and six-pack rings, can sicken and kill fish, ...

New membrane strips carbon dioxide from natural gas faster and better

... A modified plastic material greatly improves the ability to separate ... that only soaks up certain chemicals, the new plastic permits carbon dioxide or other small molecules ... these same pores. The thermally rearranged (TR) plastic works four times better than conventional ...

Grub's passion for plastic causes water loss

... crickets, mice and physical wearing of the plastic piping have all been blamed, however laboratory ... Nicholas said: For growers, the grubs passion for plastic is a real problem. There can end up being ... As soon as they did, they moved to the plastic pipe and started biting it and causing damage ...

Using green chemistry to deliver cutting-edge drugs

... receives the maximum benefit of the therapy. The plastic is designed to release the drug over a controlled ... faces is that they have to be wrapped up in plastic to be delivered to the patient, so that there is ... site. The polymer used is a biodegradable plastic based on lactic acid, which is a natural compound ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly Press Pac

... diabetes risk Pioneering odor tests on plastic water pipe Toward a new generation of ... p.m., Eastern Time Pioneering odor tests on plastic water pipe Fruity plastic may seem like a connoisseurs description of the ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 20, 2009

... some consumers and environmental issues in its production. However, many plastic fillings contain controversial ingredients (such as BisGMA) linked to ... laboratory studies that the bile acid-derived resins form a hard, durable plastic that resists cracking better than existing composites. ARTICLE #2 FOR ...

Photoselective film proves effective for controlling height in potted gardenia plants

... cycle. According to Kittas, "The research revealed that photoselective plastic films with high values and high B:R ratios are able to reduce the height ... flowers." Although the study determined that the use of photoselective plastic films for the production of potted compact gardenia plants can contribute ...

Chemical found in medical devices impairs heart function

... have found that a chemical commonly used in the production of such medical plastic devices as intravenous (IV) bags and catheters can impair heart function ... lossof medical procedures that require blood to be circulated through plastic tubing outside the body, such as heart bypass surgery or kidney dialysis. ...

Controlling cucumber beetles organically

... watermelon and muskmelon crops. In 2002, watermelon was grown on black plastic mulch with the exception of one group, which was grown on Al-plastic, an aluminum coated plastic mulch previously linked to reduced cucumber beetle densities on squash. ...

Ship-in-a-bottle kit on a microchip

... a chip. To do this, they introduce colloidal particles - tiny magnetizable plastic spheres - as components into the channels on the chip. A rotating magnetic ... how to drive the tiny machines. They introduce colloidal particles, tiny plastic spheres with a diameter of just about five micrometers, into the channels ...

Unusual use of toys in infancy a clue to later autism

... in the study were presented with four objects a metal lid, a round plastic ring, a rattle and a plastic baby bottle one at a time for 30 seconds each while being videotaped. ...

Innovative strategies for war wounded

... to the skin to reduce and repair burn injuries. Adam Katz, a plastic surgeon from the University of Virginia, has pioneered a method of ... nerves. Joseph Rosen of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is a plastic surgeon and expert in network collaboration, who is helping other ...

Collegiate Inventors Competition recognizes top student inventors

... (Advisor: Nicholas Kotov) Ultra-strong and Stiff, Optically Transparent plastic Nanocomposite An ultra-strong, transparent plastic sheet with properties approaching the values of steel and its alloys. ...

Nanodiamond drug device could transform cancer treatment

... removed. The flexible microfilm device, which resembles a piece of plastic wrap and can be customized easily into different shapes, has the potential ... the biostable parylene is a flexible and versatile material resembling plastic wrap. A substantial amount of drug can be loaded onto clusters of ...

Novel fungus helps beetles to digest hard wood

... protects them from most forms of microbial attack. "Lignin is nature's plastic and any organism that wants to get to the sugars in a plant has to be able ... healthy living trees. "How these insects are able to circumvent this plastic wall [lignin] and get at the goodies, the sugars, behind it has remained a ...

Strawberry fields ripe for the picking

... system. Plasticulture strawberries are grown on raised beds using black plastic mulch and a trickle irrigation system. Farmers use plasticulture because ... which features raised beds covered with a cover crop mulch instead of plastic mulch and a subsurface drip irrigation system. "This seems to suggest ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac - Oct. 10, 2007

... of consumers in efforts to save energy and raw materials by transforming plastic wastes into new products. Tullo notes that barely 25 percent of the billions of pounds of plastic bottles and containers manufactured annually in the United States enter ...

Cancer's distinctive pattern of gene expression could aid early screening and prevention

... tumor that anybody has looked at has aberrant change in DNA methylation. It's clearly not random." The environment, from chemicals leached from plastic or cigarettes, along with diet, sleep patterns even physical activity levels can result in these epigenetic changes that contribute to cancer and ...

Common allergy drug reduces obesity and diabetes in mice

... and Zaditor help stabilize mast cells in people suffering from allergy or asthma," said Shi. "It's almost as if the drugs place an extra layer of plastic on the ripped trash bag. So it seemed like a logical place to begin." The mice were divided into four groups. The first was the control group; ...

DOE-funded research projects win 46 R&D 100 Awards for 2009

... and PBS&J) PulseForge 3100 - uses rapid pulses of light for high-speed drying, curing, sintering or annealing high temperature materials on plastic and paper, enabling inexpensive and flexible electronics. With the PulseForge 3100, high intensity flashlamps briefly heat inks and films to ...

University of Minnesota research leads to new technology to protect human health

... dean of the College of Biological Sciences and interim director of the Biotechnology Institute. Melamine was originally used to make durable plastic for dishes and countertops. It is also a widely used additive to cement. But in recent years it has been misused as a food additive because it ...

'Invisibility cloak' could protect against earthquakes

... the most damaging and responsible for much of the destruction which follows earthquakes. The technology involves the use of concentric rings of plastic which could be fitted to the Earth's surface to divert surface waves. By controlling the stiffness and elasticity of the rings, waves travelling ...

The faster they come

... to address this question by conducting breeding studies designed to distinguish between underlying genetic differences in locomotor performance and plastic changes occurring during the lifetime of the individual as a result of its social status. Ultimately, their aim is to determine if relative position ...