http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Scientists may not be able to tell a good book by its cover, but they now can tell the condition of an old book by its smell. In a report in ACS' Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal, they describe development of a new test that can measure the degradation of old books and precious historical documents based on their smell. The nondestructive "sniff" test could help libraries and museums preserve a range of prized paper-based objects, some of which are degrading rapidly due to advancing age, the scientists say. http://www.physorg.com/news179002489.html Chemistry Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:55:46 EST news179002489 Air quality in homes, offices, and other indoor spaces is becoming a major health concern, particularly in developed countries where people often spend more than 90% of their time indoors. Surprisingly, indoor air has been reported to be as much as 12 times more polluted than outdoor air in some areas. Indoor air pollutants emanate from paints, varnishes, adhesives, furnishings, clothing, solvents, building materials, and even tap water. http://www.physorg.com/news176571050.html Biology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:04 EST news176571050 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the past, restoration of paintings and other old artwork often involved application of acrylic resins to consolidate and protect them. One of the most important tasks for modern restorers is thus to remove these layers, because it turns out that acrylic resins not only drastically change the optics of the treated artwork, but in many cases they accelerate their degradation. http://www.physorg.com/news175805911.html Chemistry Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:59:12 EST news175805911 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research at the University of Warwick have taken high tech gas sensors normally used to test components for premium cars and applied the same techniques to human blood,  human urine, and even cow dung samples from local cow pats. The results could lead to a new high tech medical tool that could provide a fast diagnosis for some of the most difficult gastrointestinal  illnesses and metabolic diseases http://www.physorg.com/news174554222.html Technology Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:40:01 EST news174554222 Potted plants add a certain aesthetic value to homes and offices, bringing a touch of nature to indoor spaces. It has also been shown that many common house plants have the ability to remove volatile organic compounds -gases or vapors emitted by solids and liquids that may have adverse short- and long-term health effects on humans and animals -from indoor air. But take heed when considering adding some green to your environment; in addition to giving off healthy oxygen and sucking out harmful VOCs, a new study shows that some indoor plants actually release volatile organic compounds into the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news171207382.html Biology Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:36:58 EST news171207382 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tough new fire-resistant coating materials called HIPS (‘hybrid inorganic polymer system`) are being developed by CSIRO researchers in Melbourne. http://www.physorg.com/news165158181.html Chemistry Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:17:21 EST news165158181 A team of atmospheric scientists have published their field study findings about unusual chemical reactions taking place in the Pearl River Delta in China during 2006. The Julich Research Center's Institute for Tropospheric Chemistry in Germany and institutes in China and the USA participated in round the clock samplings of various atmospheric constituents in the Pearl River region located about 60 kilometers from Guangzhou noted for its high population and a repository for air borne pollutants wafting in from nearby industrial cities combined with volatile organic substances produced by local vegetation and trees. http://www.physorg.com/news163472352.html Space & Earth Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:59:53 EST news163472352 (PhysOrg.com) -- Global warming may include some periods of local cooling, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Results from satellite and ground-based sensor data show that sweltering summers can, paradoxically, lead to the temporary formation of a cooling haze in the southeastern United States. http://www.physorg.com/news161886252.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 May 2009 17:24:39 EST news161886252 A popular television commercial from the 1970s shows a Native American man in buckskin and feathers paddling his canoe through ink-black waters, past refineries billowing smoke. He comes aground on a litter-strewn shoreline and finds a freeway clogged with cars and exhaust fumes. Someone chucks fast-food garbage out a car window and it splatters onto his moccasins. The camera zooms in on a single tear streaming down his cheek, while the voiceover tells us "People start pollution. People can stop it." http://www.physorg.com/news160328375.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:41:15 EST news160328375 A University of Washington study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels. http://www.physorg.com/news136035644.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:40:44 EST news136035644