Week In Science

The first two stories involve hydrogen and some research discoveries made in the UK. A University of Bath press release tell of of an invention "which stores and releases hydrogen at room temperature, at the flick of a switch, and promises to help make hydrogen power a viable clean technology for the future." The invention could move forward efforts to develop pollution-free cars through burning hydrogen. The by-product of this is water but an obstacle to hydrogen burning vehicles has been the inability to safely and efficiently store hydrogen on vehicles.

A new storage material, rhodium, a heavy metal, functions at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. This is seen as a breakthrough in that the extreme conditions thought to be necessary to work with hydrogen fuel, were viewed as a big technological hurdle.

A second press item, an Imperial College London News Release, tells of a molecular complex that produces hydrogen gas from water by using solar energy. The complex combines two molecules found in blood; a protein known as albumin and porphyrin which combines readily with metals. The porphrin in this study was bound to a zinc atom. Modified albumin, when combined with the zinc binding porphrin, produced a molecular complex with a capacity to capture energy from light.

The manipulation of a biomolecule to harness solar energy and split water into hydrogen and oxygen could prove to be a practical alternative to electrolysis; the method currently used for this purpose. The advantage could be an environmentally friendly way to produce an environmentally friendly fuel.

Einstein Researchers Discover How a Key Dietary Vitamin Is Absorbed reveals how researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found how the B vitamin folate, an essential nutrient, is absorbed by the intestinal tract. Folate is essential because, among other things, it is needed to synthesize DNA and a deficiency of it can lead to birth defects, cancer and other problems.

Since folate is a water soluble vitamin there is a natural obstacle to its crossing the lipid membrane of cells. Yet this must occur so that folate can be absorbed by intestinal cells and ultimately enter the bloodstream. Researchers discovered that a membrane protein, identified as PCFT/HCP1, transports folate molecules into intestinal cells. Not surprisingly, a mutation of the gene that codes for PCFT/HCP1, can lead to folate malabsorption which can be fatal.

The final story contains practical dietary information. Trans fats or trans fatty acids are fats that tend to be found in processed foods. Trans fats result from hydrogenation; a process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil which makes the oil a more solid fat.

As the article Worst Trans-Fatty Foods explains, trans fats raise the levels of harmful LDL while lowering the level of beneficial HDL. The online article presents a slide show of the worst food types for trans fat content. It includes stick margarine, chips and crackers, breakfast foods including muffins, breakfast bars, donuts and pancakes, baked goods including cookies, cakes and pies as well as french fries and other fast foods.