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Science

The Epoch Times

September 25 October 1, 2008

Walnut Trees Emit Aspirin-Like The Strange Chemical to Deal With Stress Inventions of Pier L. Ighina
National Science Foundation

Walnut trees respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered. The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and also has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing. "Unlike humans, who are advised to take aspirin as a fever suppressant, plants have the ability to produce their own mix of aspirinlike chemicals, triggering the formation of proteins that boost their biochemical defenses and reduce injury," says NCAR scientist Thomas Karl, who led the study. "Our measurements show that significant amounts of the chemical can be detected in the atmosphere as plants respond to drought, unseasonable temperatures, or other stresses." For years, scientists have known that plants in a laboratory may produce methyl salicylate, which is a chemical form of acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. But researchers had never before detected methyl salicylate in an ecosystem or verified that plants emit the chemical in significant quantities into the atmosphere. The team of scientists reported its findings last week in the journal Biogeoscience. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's sponsor. "Biosphere-atmosphere interactions are important to the understanding of the Earth system," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. "This fortuitous discovery of methyl salicyclate in quantities not anticipated adds to an already important study." Researchers had not previously thought to look for methyl salicylate in a forest, and the NCAR team found the chemical by accident. They set up specialized instruments last year in a walnut grove near Davis, Calif., to monitor plant emissions of certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These hydrocarbon compounds are important because they can combine with industrial emissions to affect pollution, and they can also influence local climate. When the NCAR scientists reviewed their measurements, they found to their surprise that the

BIOCHEMICAL DEFENSE: Walnut trees in a California grove are tested for chemical emissions to the atmosphere. These trees may help scientists better understand air quality for farm crops.
CARLYE CALVIN, UCAR

emissions of VOCs included methyl salicylate. The levels of methyl salicylate emissions increased dramatically when the plants, which were already stressed by a local drought, experienced unseasonably cool nighttime temperatures followed

by large daytime temperature increases. Instruments mounted on towers about 100 feet above the ground measured up to 0.025 milligrams of methyl salicylate rising from each square foot of forest per hour. Karl and his colleagues

speculate that the methyl salicylate has two functions. One of these is to stimulate plants to begin a process known as systemic acquired resistance, which is analogous to an immune response in an animal. This helps a plant to both resist and recover from disease. The methyl salicylate also may be a mechanism whereby a stressed plant communicates to neighboring plants, warning them of the threat. Researchers in laboratories have demonstrated that a plant may build up its defenses if it is linked in some way to another plant that is emitting the chemical. Now that the NCAR team has demonstrated that methyl salicylate can build up in the atmosphere above a stressed forest, scientists are speculating that plants may use the chemical to activate an ecosystem-wide immune response. "These findings show tangible proof that plant-to-plant communication occurs on the ecosystem level," says NCAR scientist Alex Guenther, a co-author of the study. "It appears that plants have the ability to communicate through the atmosphere." The discovery raises the possibility that farmers, forest managers, and others may eventually be able to start monitoring plants for early signs of a disease, an insect infestation, or other types of stress. At present, they often do not know if an ecosystem is unhealthy until there are visible indicators, such as dead leaves. "A chemical signal is a very sensitive way to detect plant stress, and it can be an order of magnitude more effective than using visual inspections," Karl says. "If you have a sensitive warning signal that you can measure in the air, you can take action much sooner, such as applying pesticides. The earlier you detect that something's going on, the more you can benefit in terms of using less pesticides and managing crops better." The discovery also can help scientists resolve a central mystery about VOCs. For years, atmospheric chemists have speculated that there are more VOCs in the atmosphere than they have been able to find. Now it appears that some fraction of the missing VOCs may be methyl salicylate and other plant hormones. This finding can help scientists better track the impact of VOCs on the behavior of clouds and the development of ground-level ozone, an important pollutant.

By LEONARDO VINTII

Epoch Times Argentina Staff

Companies Seek Alternatives to Plastic Chemical

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Health worries about a chemical found in many plastic products have created opportunities for companies catering to the growing market for products made without bisphenol A. But the plastics and food packaging industries, which defend the safety of bisphenol A or BPA, argue that particularly for certain uses there are no alternatives that can do everything BPA can do. And they caution that chemicals that may be embraced now as safer alternatives to BPA eventually might turn out to pose their own set of health concerns. Some scientists and activists said a major study published last Tuesday linking BPA to heart disease and diabetes will put more pressure on regulators to crack down on the compound. They want BPA banned at a minimum in children's products such as baby bottles. BPA has been used in many products for decades. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic, a transparent, durable, and shatterresistant material in products including water bottles, plastic utensils, and medical devices. But it can leach out of plastic into liquid such as baby formula, water, or food inside a container. Some retailers, including WalMart and Target, are phasing out products made with BPA. "Large retailers are moving away from BPA products. I think it's going to force manufacturers to switch to BPA-free products only, in feeding [products] or in toys or whatever else you can think of that has BPA," Ron Vigdor, president of Florida-based company BornFree, said in a telephone interview. Vigdor said BornFree has seen big increases in sales of its range of BPA-free products including plastic baby bottles and cups made of Polyamide PA, a form of nylon. Nalgene launched a line of water bottles made from a new type of plastic made by Eastman Chemical Company called Tritan copolyester, which is not made with BPA but boasts BPA's good qualities such as transparency and shatter resistance. Nalgene is owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Spokeswoman Tracy Broadwater said Eastman Chemical is scaling up production capacity for Tritan, introduced last year, with new facilities to be ready by late 2009. Industry officials said the big chemical companies and food package manufacturers are exploring alternatives to BPA, but said banning the chemical would be unwise and unwarranted. "An alternative would have to be found that, number one, works,

Seismic technologies, environmental purifiers, and even the ability to change an organisms molecular structure: The world of Pier Luigi Ighina is of a science never before propagated, in which reality and mysticism seem to join in a way that is both charming and unnerving. It is impossible to speak about this unusual inventor and thinker without naming his teacher and colleague, the celebrated Guglielmo Marconimost well known for developing radio but also responsible for many other curious innovations. Ighina worked with Marconi until his death in 1937, and later carried on his teachers efforts through the secrets he shared with him. While Ighina never invented anything as well known as the radio, his talent brought forth machines with perhaps even more astounding abilities that few would imagine, much less believe were possible. As a student of magnetic fields, Ighina developed a great number of inventions throughout his life based on atomic vibrations. He also worked with the interaction of fields between the earth and sun, harnessing this energy to regenerate diseased cells. Ighinas numerous inventions include a bed of passive resonance, an earthquake neutralizer, and a strange device he dubbed Elios, which is said to purify any food matter that comes within its small field of action. But perhaps none of these strange inventions brought as much pleasure to Ighina as the magnetic stroboscope. He was delighted in its capacity to surprise and amaze curious onlookers on cloudy days. In 1998, internationally renowned journalist Maurizio Costanzo went to interview Ighina and witnessed a strange propeller spinning above his humble dwelling in Imola, Italy. Costanzo describes how a hole in the clouds steadily opened and grew as the minutes passed. Later, Ighina admitted that the most satisfying component of his unusual invention was the innocent smiles of children as they watched the clouds retire, as if by magic. The magnetic stroboscope which can be compared to Wilhelm Reichs Cloudbustercould certainly deliver a magnificent performance. And yet the landmark of Ighinas work would have to be his discovery of something never before considered by sciencea small, elusive, yet fundamental particle he named the atomic magnet. In over 40 years of study, Ighina put his all into the task of classifying the particle vibrations that had been discovered in each atom found in nature. While observing the level of light absorption of these miniscule particles, Ighina became convinced that scientists had made a mistake in conceiving the fundamental structure of atoms. He maintained that it was impossible to study a particle in perpetual motion without creating a false image. Owing to this, Ighina devised a mechanism that isolated each atom, consisting of walls of different atFrom Apricots to Apples

oms with decreasing rates of light absorption. It was during these investigations (for which he employed a microscope of his own design capable of magnification of up to 1.6 billion times) that Ighina discovered the magnetic atoman extremely energetic particle present in all organic matter. After years of arduous lab work, Ighina discovered the most profound nature of matterthat atoms do not oscillate but vibrate. This revelation led to one of his more curious and brilliant inventionsthe magnetic field oscillator. The scientist discovered that if he managed to change the vibratory state of a group of particles, the material itself could transform. What followed was a series of fantastic experiments in which the field oscillator played a leading role. On one occasion, Ighina set up his apparatus before an apricot tree. He then altered the atomic vibration so that it gradually became the same as that of an apple tree. (He had previously studied the indices of this vibration.) After 16 days, he ascertained that the apricots had mutated, almost completely, into apples. After this experience, Ighina ventured to investigate the reach of his invention on animals. He altered the vibrational state of the tail of a rat to change it, in four days, into the tail of a cat. Even though the rat died after such treatment (perhaps its body was incapable of enduring such a rapid molecular change), it prompted Ighina to try an experiment even more revelatory: Through studying the corresponding vibration of the healthy bone of a rabbit, he excited the atoms of another rabbits fractured feet until they were healed in record time. In this way, Ighina understood that sick cells (including cancerous ones) of any individual were possible to cure through a simple, gradual alternation in their vibrational index, if this was correctly calculated. In short, Ighina had designed a machine that performed marvels. However, in spite of his long list of inventions and mythical anecdotes, Ighina was never recognized as an orthodox scientist by the academic community. Rather, he was either ignored or ridiculed for his daring work. But some of his colleagues did recognize his genius. The fact that it is not believed takes place because there are not the necessary tools to understand how it happens, stated nuclear scientist Guiliano Preparata, defending Ighinas work. While Ighinas work was not given its due by the scientific community at large, he was recognized by a few fellow scientists as a revolutionary pioneer and a great contributor to Italian heritage. Today, not only have foundations, streets, and conferences been founded in his name, but following his death Ighinas oeuvre has helped to awaken even greater interest in his fascinating work. Ighina left this world on Jan. 8, 2004, taking with him an important yet misunderstood legacy in which science meets magic. However, he leaves behind a wealth of mysterious ideas and incomprehensible artifacts that certainly inspire further study.

German Scientists Discover 120-MillionYear-Old Ant

TOXIC PLASTIC: Bottles made with the controversial carbonate plastic bisphenol A (BPA), one of the most widely used synthetic chemicals in industry. Chemical companies are now exploring alternatives.
DAVId McNEW/GETTY ImAgES

that provides the necessary function. The second big hurdle is that the alternative should be at least as safe," Steven Hentges of the American Chemistry Council industry group said in a telephone interview. BPA makers include Dow Chemical, Bayer, Sunoco Chemicals, and Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Hentges said. John Rost, chairman of the North American Metal Packaging

Alliance, representing the food and beverage packaging industry, said there is no alternative that works as well to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life for canned foods as the epoxy resins made with BPA used as lining in cans. These epoxy coatings became the "gold standard" 25 years ago, replacing an earlier generation of materials. "With the use of epoxy coatings, shelf life of foods virtually doubled overnight," Rost said.

BERLIN (Reuters)German biologists have discovered a new species of ant that they believe is the oldest on the planet, dating back around 120 million years. Researchers from Karlsruhe's Natural History Museum found the 0.118-inch insect in the Amazon rainforest in 2007, and hope it will shed light on the early evolution of ants. "It's by far the most spectacular find of my 26-year career," said museum biologist Manfred Verhaagh. Scientists from Karlsruhe originally found an unidentified species of ant of a similar type in the Brazilian rainforest in 2003. However, due to an accident in the labora-

tory, the insect dried up, making further research impossible, Verhaagh said. Last year a separate team from the museum's research body was in the forest investigating fungus when they stumbled upon the tiny insect, and named it "Martialis heureka." Resembling a miniature wasp, the insect is like no other ant, and probably dates back 120 million years, making it the oldest still inhabiting the earth, Verhaagh said. The scientists used DNA samples from its front leg to establish its likely age. The last discovery of a new ant species was in 1923, he added.