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News tagged with zinc

Australians risking skin cancer to avoid nanoparticles

More than three in five Australians are concerned enough about the health implications of nanoparticles in sunscreens to want to know more about their impact. And while the initial scientific information released suggests ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Pneumonia wonder drug: Zinc saves lives

Respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, are the most common cause of death in children under the age of five. In a study looking at children given standard antibiotic therapy, new research published in BioMed Central's ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Zinc control could be path to breast cancer treatment

The body's control mechanisms for delivering zinc to cells could be key to improving treatment for some types of aggressive breast cancer.

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Zinc-finger proteins act as site-specific adapters for DNA-origami structures

(PhysOrg.com) -- DNA is not merely a carrier of genetic information; DNA is a useful building material for nanoscale structures. In a way similar to origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, a long single ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Eos says zinc battery recipe is energy game-changer

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tall order in energy storage: Find the right technology that delivers the holy grail of the grid, a viable solution for energy storage (tough). A startup from Easton, Pennsylvania claims it’s ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Jan 04, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (15) | comments 7 | with audio podcast weblog

New breakthrough shows promise for affordable plastic solar energy cells

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Florida researchers report they have achieved a new record in efficiency with a prototype solar cell that could be manufactured using a roll-to-roll process.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Dec 20, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers develop first method to accurately measure zinc in humans

(Medical Xpress) -- Zinc is an essential nutrient, but until now, there has not been an effective way to measure it in our bodies, say University of Florida researchers.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Scientists use laser imaging to assess safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreen

Ultra-tiny zinc oxide (ZnO) particles with dimensions less than one-ten-millionth of a meter are among the ingredients list of some commercially available sunscreen products, raising concerns about whether ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Nov 30, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study probes potential link between cancer and a common chemical in consumer products

A study led by a group of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) researchers has found that a chemical commonly used in consumer products can potentially cause cancer.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Nov 29, 2011 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Zinc supplementation does not protect young African children against malaria

A study led by Hans Verhoef, a researcher at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that supplementing young Tanzan ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 22, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Zinc oxide microwires improve the performance of light-emitting diodes

Researchers have used zinc oxide microwires to significantly improve the efficiency at which gallium nitride light-emitting diodes (LED) convert electricity to ultraviolet light. The devices are believed to ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Oct 31, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Metal shortages alert from leading geologists

Geologists are warning of shortages and bottlenecks of some metals due to an insatiable demand for consumer products.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Zinc's role in the brain: Research gives insight into 50-year-old mystery

Zinc plays a critical role in regulating how neurons communicate with one another, and could affect how memories form and how we learn. The new research, in the current issue of Neuron, was authored by Xiao-an Zhang, now a ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Oct 05, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Engineers 'cook' promising new heat-harvesting nanomaterials in microwave oven

(PhysOrg.com) -- Waste heat is a byproduct of nearly all electrical devices and industrial processes, from driving a car to flying an aircraft or operating a power plant. Engineering researchers at Rensselaer ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Advanced electron microscope sheds light on metal embrittlement

Why does a solid metal that is engineered for ductility become brittle, often suddenly and with dramatic consequences, in the presence of certain liquid metal impurities?

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Sep 22, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Zinc

Zinc (pronounced /ˈzɪŋk/, from German: Zink and also known as spelter) is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a first-row transition metal in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is chemically similar to magnesium because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2. Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the Earth's crust and has five stable isotopes. The most exploited zinc ore is sphalerite, or zinc sulfide; the largest exploitable deposits are found in Australia, Canada and the United States. Zinc production includes froth flotation of the ore, roasting and final extraction using electricity.

Brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc, has been used since at least the 10th century BC. Impure zinc metal was not produced in large scale until the 13th century in India, while the metal was unknown to Europe until the end of the 16th century. Alchemists burned zinc in air to form what they called "philosopher's wool" or "white snow." The element was probably named by the alchemist Paracelsus after the German word Zinke. German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf is normally given credit for discovering pure metallic zinc in a 1746 experiment. Work by Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta uncovered the electrochemical properties of zinc by 1800. Corrosion-resistant zinc plating of steel is the major application for zinc. Other applications are in batteries and alloys, such as brass. A variety of zinc compounds are commonly used, such as zinc chloride (in deodorants), zinc pyrithione (anti-dandruff shampoos), zinc sulfide (in luminescent paints), and zinc methyl or zinc diethyl in the organic laboratory.

Zinc is an essential mineral of "exceptional biologic and public health importance". Zinc deficiency affects about 2 billion people in the developing world and is associated with many diseases. In children it causes growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptibility, and diarrhea, contributing to the death of about 800,000 children worldwide per year. Enzymes with a zinc atom in the reactive center are widespread in biochemistry, such as alcohol dehydrogenase in humans. Consumption of excess zinc can cause ataxia, lethargy and copper deficiency.

For more information about Zinc, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.