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Life Sciences - Chemistry - 30.09.2022 
The surprising Swiss-Army-knife-like functions of a powerful enzyme
Blue-green algae (AKA cyanobacteria) have a superpower which likely helps them be highly successful as invaders of waterways. They have an extraordinary ability to store energy and nitrogen in their cells for times of need. But how exactly they do so remains only partly understood. Now researchers from McGill University and their collaborators at ETH Zurich have uncovered an intriguing hitherto unknown ability of the enzymes (known as cyanophycin synthetases) that are active in creating these food reserves.
Earth Sciences - Chemistry - 28.09.2022 
Predicting the next volcanic eruption, plus other stories
Predicting the next volcanic eruption Volcanic eruptions can be tricky to predict. Magma stored below volcanoes contains dissolved gases, including carbon dioxide, which escape to the surface and can be sampled at different times (before, after or during) an eruption to provide clues about the next one.
Chemistry - Environment - 08.09.2022 
Research team investigating ’forever chemicals’ in water systems
Researchers at Western's Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) a nd collaborators from academia, government and industry are identifying and treating 'forever chemicals' in water systems, an ever-increasing environmental concern which affects more than 2.5 million Canadians.
Health - Chemistry - 18.08.2022 
Common ingredient in household products could be contributing to antibiotic resistance: University of Toronto researchers
A recent study by researchers at the University of Toronto has identified a chemical found in several consumer products that could be a potential cause of the rise of antibiotic resistance In Canada. The study, by Assistant Professor Hui Peng 's research group in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, was able to show that triclosan - a chemical often included in household items like hand soaps, toothpastes, and cleaning products to fight off bacteria - is the predominant antibiotic in Ontario sewage sludge.
Health - Chemistry - 10.08.2022 
University of Toronto chemist aims to improve diagnosis of disease one protein molecule at a time
Scientists understand that proteins cause various diseases, from Alzheimer's to cystic fibrosis to Parkinson's to cataracts. But detecting them before they trigger illness is still a work in progress. For University of Toronto analytical chemist Alana Ogata , the answer is to find better ways to identify single protein molecules in our bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, saliva and sweat.
Health - Chemistry - 15.07.2022 
Reverse engineering the heart: University of Toronto researchers create bioartificial left ventricle
University of Toronto researchers in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have grown a small-scale model of a human left heart ventricle in the lab. The bioartificial tissue construct is made with living heart cells and beats strongly enough to pump fluid inside a bioreactor. In the human heart, the left ventricle is the one that pumps freshly oxygenated blood into the aorta, and from there into the rest of the body.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 14.06.2022 
A biological super glue from mistletoe berries?
Each mistletoe berry can produce up to two metres of a gluey thread called viscin. It allows the seeds of this parasitic plant to stick to and infect host plants. Since ancient times, mistletoe berries have been explored as treatments for everything from infertility and epilepsy to cancer. But, until now, no one has fully investigated the potential medical or technical uses of the glue itself.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 09.06.2022 
Researchers envision wood-derived, self-powered biosensors for wireless devices
Wood-derived materials can be used to harvest electrical energy from everyday movements such as walking, according to University of Toronto and University of Waterloo researchers. In a new study recently published in Nano Energy , the team demonstrated the use of lignocellulosic nanofibrils - derived from tree bark - in a prototype self-powered device capable of sending a wireless signal to a smartphone via bluetooth.
Environment - Chemistry - 27.05.2022 
How chemicals are trapped in the body by studying polar bear poop
A new University of Toronto study is using polar bear scat to reveal how certain chemical contaminants can become trapped - and build up - inside the body. Polar bears are prone to storing certain contaminants in their bodies because they are at the top of the food chain, have a very fatty diet and have evolved to absorb high amounts of fat.
Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 13.05.2022 
Cooperative molecular networks may have been the spark of life on other planets
According to a UdeM study, life could have emerged on an exoplanet as a result of a type of biochemical cooperation that is more likely to occur in nature than we might think! Darwin's theory of evolution probably isn't the full explanation for the emergence of life. Even in a barren environment conducive to fierce competition, cooperation between molecular networks may have spawned life on Earth and, by extension, elsewhere in the universe.
Chemistry - Environment - 13.04.2022
Health - Chemistry - 28.03.2022 
Using organ-on-a-chip platform, researchers devise potential strategy to treat severe COVID-19 complications
Using their novel organ-on-a-chip platform, a research team from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has identified a molecule with the potential to combat one of the most severe complications of COVID-19 infections. The molecule, a novel anti-inflammatory peptide called QHREDGS, does not act on the virus directly.
Environment - Chemistry - 15.02.2022 
Investigating the ’skunk’ smell and other emissions caused by cannabis production
Q&As Alex Walls What exactly causes that 'skunky' odour emitted by cannabis production facilities, and what do these emissions mean for air quality, workers, and the general public? We should address these and other knowledge gaps while the industry is still developing, according to a new study led by Davi de Ferreyro Monticelli, a doctoral candidate in UBC's department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences.
Chemistry - 15.11.2021 
Researchers train computers to predict the next designer drugs
Global law enforcement agencies are already using the new method UBC researchers have trained computers to predict the next designer drugs before they are even on the market, technology that could save lives. Law enforcement agencies are in a race to identify and regulate new versions of dangerous psychoactive drugs such as bath salts and synthetic opioids, even as clandestine chemists work to synthesize and distribute new molecules with the same psychoactive effects as classical drugs of abuse.
Environment - Chemistry - 20.10.2021
Chemistry
Results 21 - 35 of 35.
Blue-green algae (AKA cyanobacteria) have a superpower which likely helps them be highly successful as invaders of waterways. They have an extraordinary ability to store energy and nitrogen in their cells for times of need. But how exactly they do so remains only partly understood. Now researchers from McGill University and their collaborators at ETH Zurich have uncovered an intriguing hitherto unknown ability of the enzymes (known as cyanophycin synthetases) that are active in creating these food reserves.
Predicting the next volcanic eruption Volcanic eruptions can be tricky to predict. Magma stored below volcanoes contains dissolved gases, including carbon dioxide, which escape to the surface and can be sampled at different times (before, after or during) an eruption to provide clues about the next one.
Researchers at Western's Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) a nd collaborators from academia, government and industry are identifying and treating 'forever chemicals' in water systems, an ever-increasing environmental concern which affects more than 2.5 million Canadians.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Toronto has identified a chemical found in several consumer products that could be a potential cause of the rise of antibiotic resistance In Canada. The study, by Assistant Professor Hui Peng 's research group in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, was able to show that triclosan - a chemical often included in household items like hand soaps, toothpastes, and cleaning products to fight off bacteria - is the predominant antibiotic in Ontario sewage sludge.
Scientists understand that proteins cause various diseases, from Alzheimer's to cystic fibrosis to Parkinson's to cataracts. But detecting them before they trigger illness is still a work in progress. For University of Toronto analytical chemist Alana Ogata , the answer is to find better ways to identify single protein molecules in our bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, saliva and sweat.
University of Toronto researchers in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have grown a small-scale model of a human left heart ventricle in the lab. The bioartificial tissue construct is made with living heart cells and beats strongly enough to pump fluid inside a bioreactor. In the human heart, the left ventricle is the one that pumps freshly oxygenated blood into the aorta, and from there into the rest of the body.
Each mistletoe berry can produce up to two metres of a gluey thread called viscin. It allows the seeds of this parasitic plant to stick to and infect host plants. Since ancient times, mistletoe berries have been explored as treatments for everything from infertility and epilepsy to cancer. But, until now, no one has fully investigated the potential medical or technical uses of the glue itself.
Wood-derived materials can be used to harvest electrical energy from everyday movements such as walking, according to University of Toronto and University of Waterloo researchers. In a new study recently published in Nano Energy , the team demonstrated the use of lignocellulosic nanofibrils - derived from tree bark - in a prototype self-powered device capable of sending a wireless signal to a smartphone via bluetooth.
A new University of Toronto study is using polar bear scat to reveal how certain chemical contaminants can become trapped - and build up - inside the body. Polar bears are prone to storing certain contaminants in their bodies because they are at the top of the food chain, have a very fatty diet and have evolved to absorb high amounts of fat.
According to a UdeM study, life could have emerged on an exoplanet as a result of a type of biochemical cooperation that is more likely to occur in nature than we might think! Darwin's theory of evolution probably isn't the full explanation for the emergence of life. Even in a barren environment conducive to fierce competition, cooperation between molecular networks may have spawned life on Earth and, by extension, elsewhere in the universe.
More developed countries dumping toxic e-waste in Global South, University of Toronto researchers find
People in mainland China and the Global South suffer the brunt of emissions of toxic chemicals from consumer goods used in more-developed countries, according to a new study. Researchers, including Frank Wania and Kate Tong of the University of Toronto Scarborough, say "core regions" in Europe, North America and parts of Asia have offloaded polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) emissions to less developed parts of the world.
People in mainland China and the Global South suffer the brunt of emissions of toxic chemicals from consumer goods used in more-developed countries, according to a new study. Researchers, including Frank Wania and Kate Tong of the University of Toronto Scarborough, say "core regions" in Europe, North America and parts of Asia have offloaded polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) emissions to less developed parts of the world.
Using their novel organ-on-a-chip platform, a research team from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has identified a molecule with the potential to combat one of the most severe complications of COVID-19 infections. The molecule, a novel anti-inflammatory peptide called QHREDGS, does not act on the virus directly.
Q&As Alex Walls What exactly causes that 'skunky' odour emitted by cannabis production facilities, and what do these emissions mean for air quality, workers, and the general public? We should address these and other knowledge gaps while the industry is still developing, according to a new study led by Davi de Ferreyro Monticelli, a doctoral candidate in UBC's department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences.
Global law enforcement agencies are already using the new method UBC researchers have trained computers to predict the next designer drugs before they are even on the market, technology that could save lives. Law enforcement agencies are in a race to identify and regulate new versions of dangerous psychoactive drugs such as bath salts and synthetic opioids, even as clandestine chemists work to synthesize and distribute new molecules with the same psychoactive effects as classical drugs of abuse.
’Forever chemicals’ found in French fertilizer made from sewage
UdeM environmental chemist Sébastien Sauvé and his team analyzed agricultural soil samples in France. Their alarming findings appear today in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. A waterproof coat keeps you dry when it rains, but did you know it can also contaminate the environment? That's because the fabric contains perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - so-called "forever chemicals" that take forever to decompose.
UdeM environmental chemist Sébastien Sauvé and his team analyzed agricultural soil samples in France. Their alarming findings appear today in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. A waterproof coat keeps you dry when it rains, but did you know it can also contaminate the environment? That's because the fabric contains perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - so-called "forever chemicals" that take forever to decompose.
