CHARRED FOR LIFE
In the heart of the Amazon River basin 1,500 years ago, tribes mixed soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark to boost their crop yields. Now scientists conclude that such burned, dead matter fertilizes better than compost and animal manure, helping to transform the soil into the richest earth in the world. The “biochar” also profoundly enhances soil’s natural ability to seize carbon, thereby trapping greenhouse gases. Delaware State University researchers presented their findings April 10 at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society. —Charles Q. Choi

TURNING POLLUTION INTO DVDs
New procedures could turn carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal-fired power plants and other sources into polycarbonate, a type of plastic derived from petroleum and used to make DVDs and eyeglass lenses. Strategies that rely on catalysts have used CO₂ to make polymer precursors to polycarbonate. Although the chemical reactions produce only water as a waste product, they require high temperatures and pressure. Hence, the processes would only pay off environmentally if clean-energy sources, such as solar or wind power, were used to fuel them. —David Biello

Punishing Scents
Danger could make you smell new odors. In testing volunteers, scientists at Northwestern University used odor molecules that have the same chemical formula but are structured to be mirror opposites, like left and right hands. Such molecules ordinarily smell identical to people. But after getting zapped with mild electrical shocks when exposed to one molecule but not when sniffing the other, volunteers rapidly learned to easily tell them apart. Functional MRI scans suggest that strong emotions could make the ancient smell centers of the brain quickly learn subtle differences between odors. The hypersensitivity seen in patients with some anxiety disorders could arise from a faulty ability to distinguish between true signals of danger and similar but less vital stimuli, the Northwestern team speculates, adding that its research could help develop new therapies. The electrifying findings appear in the March 28 Science.  —Charles Q. Choi

STARVED FOR BETTER CHEMO
Fasting for 48 hours before receiving chemotherapy could limit the treatment’s toxic effects on healthy cells while leaving cancer cells vulnerable. When normal cells are starved, the cells shift into survival mode, revving up repair mechanisms and protective processes. Researchers starved mice that had been injected with malignant cells; then they gave the rodents megadoses of chemotherapy. The animals lost weight, but once treatment ended, they regained it—and their energy. The finding, which stemmed from research on aging, may pave the way for higher and more frequent chemo doses that do not harm normal cells. —Nikhil Swaminathan

Skin Job on Parkinson’s
Skin cells from an adult mouse reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells have silenced symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in rats. Scientists injected healthy rats with a toxin that destroyed their dopamine-making neurons, producing motor symptoms reminiscent of Parkinson’s. The rodents then received treatment with the modified cells (called induced pluripotent stem cells). Within four weeks most of the rats showed improved balance and coordination; one even had heightened dopamine activity. Still, many issues must be resolved before the procedure can be adapted for humans. For one thing, scientists have yet to exactly mimic Parkinson’s in rodents because the disease is so complex. In addition, the retroviruses used to transform the skin cells are known cancer triggers. The findings, published online April 7 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, nonetheless appear to mark the first time manipulated cells have integrated into brain tissue and reversed neurodegenerative damage.  —Nikhil Swaminathan

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