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May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Super Plants: Could Re-Wired Plants Be the New Cancer Killers?
By
Jason Koebler
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JewishWorldReview.com | (USNWR)
The chemical lab of the future could look like a farm, with thousands of plants naturally using photosynthesis to produce complex drugs, chemicals, and biofuels, according to a Danish research team.
Research published last week in Trends in Plant Science suggests the complex chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis could be rerouted to automatically produce mass quantities of rare, valuable medicines and complex chemicals that are artificially produced in chemical labs today.
"We're talking about compounds such as morphine and chemicals used to treat cancer," Birger Lindberg Moller, the lead researcher says. "It'd make our society bio-based and much more independent of oil," because the energy to make these chemicals would come from the sun, not fossil fuels, he says. Chemicals that are dangerous, difficult and costly to make in a lab would be made naturally by the plants.
The idea of harnessing photosynthesis, a naturally occurring process that allows plants to turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, for human use isn't new. In 2010, French scientists announced that they had transformed the chemical energy produced by photosynthesis into electrical energy. Photosynthesis is one of the most efficient energy-creating processes scientists have discovered, so, theoretically, great amounts of chemicals or electricity could be created with very little waste.
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While your home might one day run on plant power, chemical labs might also become plant based. Moller says that, worldwide, plants already produce more than 200,000 complex chemicals. Scientists could use a restructured form of photosynthesis to produce and harvest those chemicals in greater quantities, or rewire plants to produce chemicals that were previously only able to be synthesized in a lab.
"Many [chemicals produced by plants] are valuable to humans, for example as pharmaceuticals, but are present in very low amounts or are quite difficult to isolate," he wrote.
Moller envisions a future where plants' internal systems are re-engineered to create rare chemicals, such as artemisinin, a powerful anti-malarial drug that is found in trace amounts in only one plant worldwide. The plant would be rewired so that instead of making trace amounts of the drug, it would make lots of it.
The technology is still about a decade away from being a viable commercial use, he says. "The issue to overcome is scaling up," he says. "You need to grow the plants in a very efficient manner to harvest the chemicals."
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