Black tea to the rescue

Black tea may protect smokers from lung damage, say researchers from Calcutta’s B.C. Guha Centre for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering. Guinea pigs exposed to cigarette smoke continuously for seven days did not suffer much damage to their lungs if fed with black tea regularly, the scientists found. In comparison, those given normal water developed lung inflammation that subsequently led to lung injury, they wrote in the online version of the Journal of Inflammation. Black tea contains beneficial biocompounds such as theaflavins, thearubigins and catechins that prevent smoke-induced damage to the proteins in the lung fluid. The scientists infer the study will hold true for humans too, as the test animals underwent exactly the same morphological and physiological changes when exposed to smoke.

Spider silk sensor

Next generation sensors to detect several chemicals in the air in an industrial environment may be produced using spider silk. Researchers in Pune led by Murali Sastry of Tata Chemicals Innovation Centre have shown that a simple chemical reaction between spider silk and cholorauric acid (a solution containing traces of gold particles) yields a bioconjugate containing gold nanoparticles. These gold nanoparticles are strongly bound to spider silk fibre, known for its ability to contract and expand depending on the liquid it is exposed to. When the bioconjugate is exposed to chloroform and methyl alcohol (methanol) vapours, the scientists observed changes in the electrical transport of the gold nanoparticles, leading them to conclude that it can be an efficient vapour sensor.