A fungus harvested from termite nests has been traditionally used to treat these two conditions. Now, Taiwanese scientists think they have discovered a plausible scientific rationale for this practice.
chemistry
Brown marmorated stink bugs are fond of fruit such as grapes. During winemaking, the critters become stressed (being squashed tends to do that), and the stink bugs live up to their name by producing a compound.
Four new chemical elements have official names and symbols, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry recently announced. After a five-month review, IUPAC chemists have approved the names for superheavy elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 proposed by the elements' discoverers.
Many natural remedies do not work. Despite those who swear by herbal medicines and other traditions that stretch back, in some cases, thousands of years, modern science often cannot verify the claimed benefits. But that isn't always the case. Occasionally, scientists confirm that a traditional remedy indeed does work, and one such example has been reported recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Besides making wigs, or perhaps some rather bizarre clothing and artwork, there aren't a lot of practical uses for discarded human hair. But that could change thanks to a team of Japanese and South Korean chemists.
It's nearly impossible to get every last drop of liquid foods out of their containers. Ketchup and syrup are among the worst offenders. Up to 15 percent can be wasted due to such inefficient packaging. But a team of engineers, mostly from Colorado State University, has devised a solution to the world's sticky container problem using a super-hydrophobic material.
A major protein inside the egg, called ovalbumin, possesses the sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine. When heated, these sulfur atoms are converted to hydrogen sulfide, the nasty gas associated with rotten eggs and bodily functions. It doesn't take much to wrinkle our noses.
A team of chemists demonstrated that they can identify the true animal source of leather goods by examining collagen. This technique could be enormously useful for investigating cases in which counterfeit leather goods are suspected.
Krypton and xenon serve practical and important purposes. But harvesting them from the air is energy intensive, as it requires a temperature of -300 degrees F. So chemists constructed a molecular sieve that easily separates the noble gases at room temperature.
Assuming that the company Ava is able to successfully replicate wine by simply combining chemicals in a laboratory, a big question still remains: Would people actually buy it? ACSH President Hank Campbell and Senior Fellow of Biomedical Science Dr. Alex Berezow debate the issue.
The presence of a molecule that strongly enhances the flavor of other molecules may explain why garlic powder is such a commonly used ingredient in cooked foods.
A group of researchers is attempting to make coffee roasting more science than art. The team wants to improve consistency by using the tools of analytical chemistry to monitor the coffee roasting process in real-time.