Adventure Ausrama Blog

There is a new drug for malaria called artemisinin. It will be synthesized in a chemical process and the procedure is "green". The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi   produces a third of the world's demand annually. Unfortunately, the synthetic drug is expensive. Click to enlarge. Most of artemisinin is extracted from sweet wormwood. This is simple but the synthetic version involves the conversion of glucose into artemisinic acid: then three oxygen atoms are bonded on to produce artimsinin. It is complex. The use of toxic dichloromethane is not used in the new process. It was discovered, ironically, that water greatly assists the synthesis. It packs molecules together. Water-soluble photocatalyst is indeed clean and green. The result is a product that is purer than artemisinin taken directly from wormwood. ✴ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--austr

The conclusion reached by Bill Schopf that tiny carbon-rich filaments in Pilbara rock of Western Australia show the presence of fossils is now proved to be incorrect. There has been debate about the issue since Bill Schopf made his announcement. Tests indicate that they are just rocks. Professor Martin Brasier first highlighted the problem in 2002, when he claimed that the rocks were part of a high-temperature thermal vein. In other words they were not sedimentary in nature. New high-spacial resolution examination indicates stacks of clay-like mineral plates in the rocks' structure. Carbon has been absorbed into the worm-like chains giving the impression of cell walls.  Carbon distribution was completely wrong for microfossils. The "mischievous" clay plates are the culprit in leading scientists astray in their findings. Authentic microfossils just as old as the Shopf example have recently been found in Western Australia, so the claim for the oldest fossi

Are you sweet enough? Maybe you are if you use saccharin. But wait! Are there other uses that this comforter can be used for? Scientists believe that it could treat cancer. The saccharin molecule deactivates carbonic anhydrase IX, a protein in aggressive cancers. Carbonic anhydrase IX regulates PH so that cancer can more easily spread through the body. It is hoped that saccharin can change the PH level. If it is not at an optimum level the cancer can be successfully treated with radiation and chemo therapy. Healthy tissues, except for the gastrointestinal tract, have no carbonydrase anydrose IX. Other carbonic anydrase proteins are there though. Molecules tested before blocked similar carbonic anydrase proteins which are present to make the body work. By tweaking the saccharin molecule it was discovered that it does not affect helpful anhydrase proteins. Tests have begun on liver and breast cancer. These are currently on animals. If the research is successful w

Australian and US Scientists have discovered how to unboil eggs. This is not the whole egg as you would see on your dinner plate : just egg white. Transport of egg white will be revolutionized, no more need to ship fragile whole eggs in their shells (egg white powder is available though not that useful in such a form) .  Laboratories will be using the protein as a base medium for research. A protein is added to pre-boiled egg white which untangles proteins thus allowing them to refold. The procedure is quick and cheep, cheap - sorry about the pun! It is a two stage process. First a substance from urea is added, then the remaining lumps are untangled using a special machine. Reconstituted egg white can be used in cancer treatment, cheese manufacturing and the farming industry. A patent has been applied for. There is always a catch, but that's life I suppose. ✴  Chemistry by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.b

Many answers have been found for mysterious things in nature. As time moves on most of the reasons why things are have been answered. A few common scientific "happenings" still persist. If sodium is placed in water it explodes. The why has now been identified. A sodium-water explosion was filmed on high-speed cameras. The flash is caused by sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gases being release when water upsets the balance. Heat creates a point of ignition. The mystery is that released hydrogen gas should enclose the sodium thus stopping the explosive reaction. Like life itself the answer lies in electricity. All life, such as the nervous system, functions by the flow of electrical current. When the film of a sodium-water explosion was slowed down electrons (as metal spikes) were seen to jump from sodium into the water. The sodium becomes positive while the water also remains positive because of its mass. Like with magnetism two positive poles repel.

Natural pollination was used for years in plant research. it was thought to be the only way that a "pure" line could be preserved. Plants vary in characteristics depending on altitude and longitude. Crossing plants from different geographical region was the method put forward by Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Norman Borlaug who led the way in the Green Revolution. This method only produced three generations of new varieties each year. A different system was needed. Embryo culture is the result. This is used in combination with changes in water, temperature, humidity, light and potting mix and is much more productive. Plant embryos are like stem cells. The neutral "baby" plants are nurtured and placed onto a media culture that determines what type of plant they will become.; Pure-line plant genotypes are obtained in a shorter period. This is a major change in the creation of new crops that will feed the world's growing population. It will obviously take sever

Professor Alpha Yap has received the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology President's Medal. That is some title. It is also the scientists real name. His research is very important. It involves the way the body "glues" flesh together. Cells in the body must be able to join together to form separate organs. The gluing must be specific. It cannot be general adhesion because everything would join together and not function property. The substance that controls bonding is cadherin. Diseases such as cancer and even inflammation can stop the gluing action in the body. Lack of cadherin occurs with the onset of cancer. Problems of the intestines like ulcerative colitis and chrohn's disease cause caderin dysfunction which breaks down epithelial barriers. Loss of cadherin could be causal or the result of disease. It is hoped e-cadherin levels in the body can be controlled. This may affect chronic disease and become treatment for seri