Touareg SUVs to fix possible fuel leaks

DETROIT — Volkswagen is recalling nearly 74,000 SUVs in the U.S. because a fuel pump flange can develop cracks and leak gasoline.

The recall covers Touareg SUVs with gasoline engines from 2004 to 2007.

It’s part of a larger recall announced in July by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involving flanges made by parts supplier Continental that could affect millions of vehicles. The agency is investigating which vehicles are affected.

VW says the safety agency found consumer complaints about the problem. Aging oxidation can weaken the flanges and cause small cracks. Those can leak fuel and cause fires, although documents don’t mention any.

Dealers will inspect the flanges and replace them if necessary. Those without cracks will get a protective cover.

Owners will be notified starting Nov. 19.

Molecular research earns Nobel Prize

NEW YORK — Three researchers won a Nobel Prize on Wednesday for developing a microscope technique that lets scientists see exquisite details of the molecules that drive life — basically providing a front-row seat to study these tiny performers in their biological dance.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said molecules can be captured down to the level of their atoms, and snapshots can catch them in mid-movement. That can help reveal how they interact.

“This method has moved biochemistry into a new era,” the academy said in awarding its chemistry prize to Switzerland’s Jacques Dubochet of the University of Lausanne, German-born U.S. citizen Joachim Frank at New York’s Columbia University and Briton Richard Henderson of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.

The detailed images may pave the way for developing new medicines, vaccines and industrial chemicals, but experts said such payoffs are largely in the future.

Glass plant may close next summer

PITTSBURGH — Officials say a glass company manufacturing plant near Pittsburgh could be closed next summer, affecting almost 200 workers.

Pittsburgh Glass Works says discussions about the future of the Creighton plant have begun since the aging facility would need significant improvements to keep up with the auto industry’s increasing technological demands.

The company said some orders may be shifted to Evansville, Ind., with closure of the Creighton plant in about nine months.

The 193 hourly workers are represented by the United Steelworkers. District 10 director Bobby McAuliffe said the union will “leave no stone unturned in our fight to preserve jobs for members.”

Pittsburgh Glass Works also has plants in Meadville and Tipton, Pa.