[Ipg-smz] Today's great real email sub, "Great Rabbit gene helps houseplant detoxify indoor air"

[Evan Schuman]

*sigh*
If I have to read one MORE news release about rabbit genes helping houseplants detoxify indoor air....
😊

_______
Evan Schuman
eschuman at thecontentfirm.com
973-993-8098 (voice)
Computerworld weekly columnist (Column archive: http://www.thecontentfirm.com/weekly-column-on-computerworld)
Moderator for MIT Sloan Management Review events
Google Search: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Evan+Schuman#
https://twitter.com/eschuman
www.linkedin.com/in/schumanevan/
Member, Internet Press Guild: http://netpress.org/

-----Original Message-----
From: Ipg-smz <ipg-smz-bounces at netpress.org> On Behalf Of Daniel Dern
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2018 9:46 AM
To: ipg-smz at netpress.org
Subject: [Ipg-smz] Today's great real email sub, "Great Rabbit gene helps houseplant detoxify indoor air"


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:05:27 -0500
From: American Chemical Society <ACSPressPac at acs.org>
Subject: Rabbit gene helps houseplant detoxify indoor air

along with these also:
E-bandage generates electricity, speeds wound healing in rats Getting yeast to make artificial sweets

ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rabbit gene helps houseplant detoxify indoor air Environmental Science & Technology
 
A genetically modified houseplant can efficiently remove toxins from the air.

Our homes are supposed to be safe havens from the outside world. However, studies have shown that household air is more polluted than either office or school air, exposing children and home workers to higher levels of carcinogens than the general population. Now, researchers have made a genetically modified houseplant that can efficiently remove at least two toxins from the air. They report their results in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Indoor air often contains volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, benzene and chloroform. These toxins come from many sources, including cooking, showering, furniture and smoking. House plants can remove some toxins from the air, but they aren't very efficient: A homeowner would need more than 20 plants to remove formaldehyde from a typical room, researchers estimate. Stuart Strand and colleagues wondered if introducing a mammalian gene called CYP2E1 to a common houseplant, pothos ivy (Epipremnum aureum), would boost the plant's detoxifying potential. This gene encodes cytochrome P450 2E1, an enzyme that breaks down a wide range of volatile organic compounds found in the home.

The team introduced rabbit CYP2E1 to the ivy's genome and injected benzene or chloroform gas into closed vials that contained growing plants. After 3 days, the concentrations of these compounds in the vials had dropped dramatically, and by 8 days, chloroform was barely detectable. In contrast, the compounds' concentrations in vials containing unmodified ivy or no plants did not change. The researchers estimate that a hypothetical biofilter made of the genetically modified plants would deliver clean air at rates comparable to commercial home particulate filters.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation, Amazon Catalyst at the University of Washington and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

 
110415JPR.jpg
ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Greatly Enhanced Removal of Volatile Organic Carcinogens by a Genetically Modified Houseplant, Pothos Ivy (Epipremnum aureum) Expressing the Mammalian Cytochrome P450 2e1 Gene"
 
DOWNLOAD FULL-TEXT ARTICLE
 
CONTACT: Stuart Strand, Ph.D.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Washington Seattle, Washington  98195
Phone: +1-206-543-5350
Email: sstrand at uw.edu