• • • •
UK Leads A $6 Mnllnon Study Of Medncnnal Plants
UK is the lead institute in a group of universities that re- chemical composition of 14 medicinal plants. These include
ceived a $6 million grant from the National Institutes of well-known plants, such as ginseng and foxglove, and others
Health as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment known for their medicinal and therapeutic values. Researchers
Act to study the molecular genetics and biochemical potential are studying the plants’ genetic materials to determine key
of medicinal plants. components that may be important in the treatment of human
“Our major goal is to capture the genetic blueprints of me- diseases with the goal of advancing the drug development
dicinal plants for the advancement of drug discovery and de- pipeline. Researchers are also studying how to improve the ex-
velopment,” said ]oseph Chappell, who is the project isting compounds to increase their efficacy.
coordinator and professor ofplant biochemistry in the UK Chappell is doing the initial processing of materials to deter-
College ofAgriculture. mine the plants’ genetic blueprints to study their chemical
During the two-year project, researchers are looking at the compositions.
A Pull For Psychologncal Pam? New Gum Could Replace
Is it possible that a common painkiller could serve double duty,   For   iers
easing not just the physical pains of sore joints and headaches, but ) _ _
also the pain of social rejection? A research team led by psycholo- QI S Ol-the l-umm Could be Callymga type Ofchcwmg gum that
an o. Nathan DeWall ofthe University oficeneneky College ar Wdl Prem dddd decay ddd Wddsddwe ddnéd Pddddms ddwd
Arts aa saaaaaa Department arpayahaiagy has nneoveaed aaa- ddd md The gum ddvddpdd at UK is ddcdvddrnddbd ddddddd
dence indicating that acetaminophen (thc active ingredient in ds the! Pmdncf g<>eS inte testing IH a.Phase I clinical trial.- I
-r-vlcnorj mav brunt Social Parma The chewing gum contains an antimicrobial, KSL, which is an
K-rhc idea _ that A drug designed to alleviate Phvsrcar Pam anti-adhesive and abrasiveagent that disrupts plaque formation
should reduce the pain of social rejection — seemed simple and and Promotes flac dlssolulldll Ol-Pladuc Thd gum was developed
straightforward based on what we know about neural overlap ba- byphddmdcy Pdddm Pdddck D€lu°i}· Abccl d1·Ghd¤d¤ddd» as-
tvvccn Social and Phvsrcar Pam Svstcmsr -r-O mv SurPrrS€)rCOu1dH»t sistant professor ofpharmaceutical sciences, took over as principal
Had amvonc who had aver tasted this idea? Dew/all Said, investigator ofthe project when DeLuca was elected president of
According to a study due to be published in the journal Psyche- flac Amcllcall Asioclalloll Oliljlaalmacaullcal Sclcllllsla
Z0gicezZScie21ce, DeWall and colleagues were correct. Physical and Al'Gllallall€€m S lab Cddtddd a Clacwmg maClalll€’ Properly Ol-
social pain appear aa overlap aa aaa brain, aaiyaag on aaaaa ofthe ddd US Ddpadmdd df Defense) which éddady Slmulatcs ddd
Same behavioral and neural mechanisms, human body chewing, complete with art1Hc1al saliva.
Researchers caution that readers should not immediately stock
LIP OH 8CC‘lZ8H1lHOPllCH [O CRSC social PRID 8Hd HHXICIY, HO‘[lHg that Corr]  from news reports
future research is needed. Also, long-term or high-dosage use of about research at UK_
acetaminophen has been linked to serious liver damage, so it is im- For more rnrnrmarrnn about
portant for patients to follow all package directions and consult · research ra king place at UK,
their Pl1ySlCl2a\HS if they AIC contemplating talilllg Ally IH€dlC3tlOH Visit WWW_rg$garCh_uky_gdu
for an off-label use.
UK Energy Research Facrlrty Wnns $15 Mnllron In Federal, State Funds
The UK Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) has electric vehicles. The facility will be constructed at the Spindletop
been awarded an $11.8 million grant from the National Insti- Energy Research Campus and will be adjacent to the UK Center
tute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to expand laboratory for Applied Energy Research and the Kentucky-Argonne National
facilities and intensify its groundbreaking energy research ef- Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center.
forts. This grant is being matched with $3 million from the The new facility to be completed by fall 201 1, will include labs
Commonwealth of Kentucky and $1 million from UK to com- for process development, prototype manufacturing and testing to
plete the $15.8 million project. support applied research on batteries, capacitors, solar energy ma-
The gant from NIST, a federal agency within the US. Depart- terials and biofuels. A portion ofthe new facility will be
ment of Commerce, provides funding to significantly exp and the equipped specifically for capacitor and battery manufacturing re-
center’s research capabilities with a new 36,000-square-foot build- search. The Kentucky Biofuels Laboratory, an analytical labora-
ing dedicated to research in biomass and biofuels, advanced dis- tory managed as an open access user facility will also be located
tributed power generation and storage, and technologies for within the new expansion.
>) 10 Spring 2010