Crystals And Catalysts

Citrus fruits (including oranges, clementines, satsumas, lemons and limes) are best in season around Christmas time. But citrus fruits are not only delicious but they've also been proven to lower women's stroke risk,  especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk.  The research published in the journal  Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association l ooked at how  consuming flavones subclasses affects the risk of stroke. Flavonoids are a class of compounds present in fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate and red wine.  Women who ate high amounts of the flavonoids had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least amount. Within their experiment, the  flavanones came mainly from oranges and orange juice (82 percent) and grapefruit and grapefruit juice (14 percent). However, researchers recommended that consumers increase their citrus fruit intake, rather than juice, due to the high sugar content of commercial fruit juic

Working through the Christmas platter, today's post will be on cranberries. Scientists have been researching the antibiotic properties of cranberries. Particularly, they a re shedding light on the biological mechanisms by which cranberries may have protective properties against urinary tract and other infections. In 2011, a study was published in the journal  Food Science and Biotechnology, where they   tested proanthocyanidins (a.k.a PACs), a group of flavonoids which are found in cranberries. These molecules are thought to give cranberry juice its infection-fighting properties and prevent precursors of bacterial infections. But the scientific report actually showed that cranberry juice, itself, is far better at preventing biofilm formation, which is the precursor of infection, than PACs alone. Camesano's lab explores the mechanisms that the virulent form of E. coli bacteria, the primary cause of most urinary tract infections (UTIs) in people, uses to form biofilm

With Christmas being next week everyone will be buying their groceries for Christmas dinner, and Brussels sprouts are bound to be on some of your shopping lists - but they may not be your kids favourite veggies and here's why... Scientists have published new research in the  open access journal  BMC Neuroscience . They've compared how domestic cats and humans  perceive bitterness in food at a molecular level, and could explain why cats and children are sometimes such picky eaters. It's thought that the ability to  detect bitter chemicals is thought to have evolved because of its utility in avoiding toxic compounds often found in plants.  Cats are carnivores by nature so they don't consume a lot of plant-derived products; domestic cats, though, still come across bitter flavours in foods and medicines.  The researchers at AFB International and Integral Molecular studied the behavior of two different cat bitter taste receptors in cell-based experiments, inv

Yesterday's post looked at Myrrh as a form of herbal remedy for high cholesterol levels in the body. Today's post moves onto frankincense which has also been found to have useful properties. Cardiff university (Wales, UK) scientists have been researching  the potential benefits of frankincense to help relieve and alleviate the symptoms of arthritis (this research was published in 2011). Scientists at Cardiff university have devised a treatment using a rare form of frankincense,  Boswellia frereana, which  i nhibits the production of key inflammatory molecules which helps prevent the breakdown of the cartilage tissue which causes the condition. The scientists commented on their results saying:  "Having done  this  we are now able to further  characterize  the chemical entity and compare its success against other anti-inflammatory drugs used for treating the condition." The hunt for new drugs to cure the symptoms of conditions like inflammatory arthritis and

The fragrant myrrh of the Christmas story is the topic of today's Christmas post. Research published in 2009 has shown that myrrh may have  cholesterol-lowering properties. The journal published in the  International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health  discusses the hypocholesterolemic effects of myrrh and other plant products. Myrrh already has been known to have many health benefits including  antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.   And this new research has shown that there are potential cholesterol-lowering effects.  Previously myrrh has been used in a wide range of traditional remedies over the centuries as a mouthwash, for treating sore  throats , bronchial congestion, as well as an antiseptic astringent, for soothing cuts and burns, and it was historically known to calm emotions.  Working with lab rodents, Nadia Al-Amoudi tested  various blends of plant materials, including Myrrh, on laboratory rodents with high cholesterol. She fed the an

Chocolate is an all year round necessity (I know for me it is) and also in  Christmas , with chocolate advent calendars, chocolate coins etc... so that's the topic for today's post.   A study has shown that  chocolate can increase brain characteristics of attention and significantly affect blood pressure levels. Over the years, chocolate has been known as a vasodilator, meaning that it widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure, in the long run, but chocolate also contains some powerful stimulants. Researchers wanted to investigate if people who consume chocolate would see an immediate stimulant effect -preventing the sleepy feeling you get in the afternoon ( whether  at school or work). Stevens and his team tested their theory on  with 122 participants between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. The researchers examined the EEG levels and blood pressure effects of consuming a 60 percent cacao confection compared with five control conditions. The research, published

‘Tis the season to be jolly and also the season of many engagements (which means lots of diamond rings). Diamonds are the topic for today’s post in which scientists have found that diamonds may not be as rare as they’re thought to be (don’t get too excited, though, that doesn’t mean cheaper diamonds – yet!). Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have published a new report in the journal Nature Communications which “[ constitutes] a new quantitative theory of diamond formation ”. The number of diamonds that are mined near the Earth’s surface depends on relatively rare volcanic magma eruptions that raise them from the depths where they form. The diamonds being studied here are ones that you can’t see with the naked eye; they’re only a few microns (1 micron= 1 x10 -6 metres) across. Sverjensky and Huang found that diamonds can be formed in the movement of fluid by the oxidation of methane or the chemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Oxidation results in a higher oxidati

I've just recently started a new job which took up most of my thinking space, I didn't really think about any Christmassy posts on my blogs.  So come December,  Compound Interest started his Christmas 2015 advent calendar  which is amazing and a really great way to integrate Christmas into chemistry (go check it out now!) and it also encouraged me to start my own mini-Christmas series. So, I'm starting a countdown till Christmas. For the 12 days till Christmas, I will be choosing something related to Christmas and providing a little interesting scientific story on each Christmas-related thing. The first post in the countdown is on how scientists have found  a way to keep Christmas tree needles from falling off. Researchers at Université Laval, in collaboration with Nova Scotia Agricultural College, have discovered what causes Christmas tree needles to drop off, and how to double the lifespan of Christmas trees in homes. The authors reported their findings in a prev