Category: Spectroscopy

This week, it’s my The Alchemist chemistry news column that coincides with SpectroscopyNOW updates:

The Alchemist this week catches site through his spyglass of complex interstellar molecules with a hint of raspberry and rum, and a possible way to capture carbon usefully that doesn’t require huge energy input. Geordie scientists have discovered why a breakfast fry-up could be the optimal hangover cure, a NIST team has found a way to suppress quantum errors, and flexible concrete that heals itself has been made by US materials scientists. Finally, the publicity department at the Royal Society of Chemistry could strike gold in a major PR awards thanks to its Italian Job.

Recycling carbon dioxide – A research team in Singapore has developed an alternative to simply burying carbon dioxide captured from sources such as coal-fired power stations. Their experiments used NMR spectroscopy to track the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into methanol under very mild reaction conditions. (Personally, I think these kinds of efforts will never likely balance the energy/resources books and will always come out costing more than they save in terms of emissions and fuel, but an interesting reaction, nevertheless).

ELISA, meet SERRS – Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering could be used to quickly spot the telltale signs of prostate cancer at the molecular level, according to a British team. This is the first use of a well-known ELISA colorimetric substrate as a SERRS marker.

Polymerising phosphates – X-ray crystallography has been used to identify a novel enzyme that polymerises the essential biochemical building block phosphate in eukaryotes, which include all animals, plants, fungi, and protists. The proof of principle was obtained with yeast and could pave the way to the discovery of related enzymes in other species.

Raspberries and ultraviolet skin damage – There’s no connection between the interstellar molecules mentioned earlier that just happen to taste of raspberries and this news item about how ellagic acid found in lots of different types of fruit and vegetables can protect skin cells from the aging effects of UV-B. Other, of course, than the fruity headlines the research makes possible.

Researchers in Korea have demonstrated that the topical application of antioxidant ellagic acid, which is found in certain fruits and berries, can protect against damage to the skin caused by incident ultraviolet-B radiation. Their work suggests that the compound could help protect people to some extent from the skin-aging effects of the sun.

Avoiding scanners – Efforts should be made to avoid unnecessary patient exposure to imaging devices that use ionising radiation, according to a warning from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Agency suggests that MRI and ultrasound should therefore be more widely used instead of X-ray based imaging.

I was offline with my family last week, walking and drinking ale in Derbyshire, so I’m a bit late in alerting you to my latest news stories on SpectroscopyNOW, they went live in my absence. So here’s the catchup:

Tyson’s toxic technique – The first accurate test for arsenic compounds in contaminated soil has been developed by US chemists. Their atomic emission approach to the problem could provide improved environmental and health assessments of contaminated sites.

Cosmic X-rays – Dutch have astronomers have, for the first time, used X-ray spectroscopy to reveal the long-sought signatures of dust in the interstellar medium, the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS).

ET’s aminos – One of biology’s unanswered questions involves the evolution of the genetic code and the fact it uses just 20 natural amino acids as its building blocks for making proteins. A mathematical analysis of biochemistry by researchers in Canada suggests a possible answer that could have profound implications for our search for life on other planets.

Teasing with a stripline – A high-resolution NMR flow probe for microfluidic systems based on a new type of stripline detector chip has been developed by researchers in The Netherlands. The tool could be useful in direct monitoring of chemical reactions performed in so-called lab-on-a-chip devices.

In 2004, I did some reportage for the Royal Society from their meeting on emerging viral infections. The meeting was held just after the worldwide SARS outbreak that threw nations into chaos and had the more susceptible parts of the media hyping the end of the world. Of course, SARS, an emerging pathogen, was lethal and had devastating effects on thousands of people.

Ultimately, the first SARS outbreak was controlled, and a subsequent epidemic is yet to emerge. Severe acute respiratory syndrome, the disease caused by a highly infectious RNA coronavirus, remains in waiting. SARS is still an issue, it can, when required, undergo frequent mutations, which adds unpredictability to a future outbreak. There is no vaccine, assay, or treatment yet. Health officials can only resort to isolation and quarantine to control its spread.

In the meantime, scare stories surrounding the potential for avian influenza H5N1 have filled many column inches and web estate since that strain was first identified. We are, obviously, yet to succumb to an epidemic of global proportions of an evolved strain of H5N1 that could be transmitted person to person.

“At the peak of the worldwide SARS epidemic, apprehension arose out of partially disclosed, if not concealed, information on the current status,” says Yi-Chun Lin, at the Central Police University, in Taoyuan, Taiwan ROC. This he says led to many foreign companies to withdraw their business from Taiwan or move their bases elsewhere. At the time of the crisis, normal trading, investment and travel were suspended or came to a standstill. Some regions are yet to make a complete recovery from SARS and the advent of H5N1 in South Asia as well as the potential for the emergence of yet another virus or other pathogen has many investors wary of the region.

Lin suggests that proposals to be acted on in an emergency to help contain an emerging crisis, without obfuscation, ought to be put in place. This would allow foreign investors to undertake risk control assessment for this part of the world, ignore the scare-mongering, and be assured that whatever the next disease to emerge may be it will not have the shocking and devastating effects it otherwise would.

“SARS dramatically illustrated the wide-ranging impact that a new disease can have in a closely interconnected and highly mobile world,” Lin says, “The public anxiety it incited spread faster than the virus, causing social unease and economic losses.” The suddenness of the outbreak provided a critical test of medical systems, infection control policies, and tested many national disease response and crisis management abilities.

In a subsequent disease crisis, human lives will be at risk and economic stability [for what that is worth at the moment!] thrown into jeopardy. “It is thus important to learn from experience and enhance preparedness for future,” adds Lin.

Yi-Chun Lin (2009). Impact of the spread of infectious disease on economic development: a study in risk management Int. J. Risk Assess. Manage., 11 (3/4), 209-218