Last chance to save the world

Climate reports herald political tipping point

Neurotoxicology fears branded alarmist

Industrial chemicals implicated in 'silent pandemic'

Alzheimer's century

Researchers worldwide have commemorated the centenary of Alois Alzheimer's first description of the dementia named after him.

Uniting to preserve Germany's heritage

Art preservation

UK science minister resigns

Lord Sainsbury's legacy will be hard to follow

New world of cosmetovigilance

Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have taken steps to identify health risks from chemicals in cosmetics

European PFOS restrictions

European Union ministers are collaborating with the European Parliament to secure early restrictions on perfluorooctane sulfonates

Atom snapper comes into focus

UK's most powerful microscope unveiled

News in brief

Short items

Business roundup

Industry news

Funding briefs

Short items

New on the market

New products - December 2006

In the papers...

Short items

Great leap forward for MRI imaging

19 October 2006

Magnetic resonance imaging could be used to track individual molecules in the body.

Carbon nanotubes: Saladin's secret weapon

15 November 2006

Carbon nanotubes are no longer the proud boast of 21st century materials scientists - mediaeval sword-smiths got there first.

New natural painkiller discovered

13 November 2006

A short peptide isolated from human saliva has potentially powerful painkilling properties

Optical sculpture

27 October 2006

UK scientists have re-shaped micrometre-sized emulsion droplets using light.

Ionic liquids control pH

10 November 2006

An ionic liquid that could be used to control pH in chemical reactions has been developed by scientists in China.

Shards of glass give up their secrets

13 November 2006

Glass fragments collected from a crime scene can be accurately matched using a mass spectrometry technique, according to forensic scientists in the Netherlands.

How best to use biomass?

02 November 2006

Self-heating process turns renewable fuels into hydrogen.

Healing threads spun from living cells

10 November 2006

Biological threads made from polymers containing living cells could make wound-repairing scaffolds

Molecular signals of schizophrenia identified

08 November 2006

Chemical indicators of psychosis found in cerebrospinal fluid

Detecting designer steroids

20 November 2006

Detecting designer steroids used to cheat in horse racing and other sports has been made easier thanks to Australian scientists.

Reactions without walls

16 November 2006

Containerless chemistry in levitating droplets of ionic liquids.

How fresh is your food?

07 November 2006

A material that changes colour when exposed to oxygen could be used to indicate whether packaged food is still fresh, its inventors claim.

Can recycling become a PC term?

23 November 2006

An efficient method for recycling polycarbonate (PC) waste has been developed by researchers from Taiwan.

Antimatter cancer treatment

03 November 2006

First measurements of the biological effects of antiproton radiation.

The smell of filthy lucre

25 October 2006

The characteristic metallic smell of coins is actually a type of human body odour

Synthetic origami folds like natural enzymes

27 October 2006

Large organic molecule mimics biological protein folding

Sulfate solution to acrylamide problem

27 October 2006

Simple changes in farming methods could reduce levels of acrylamide in wheat-based foods

Protein structure all wrapped up

01 November 2006

A protein that dramatically alters its shape could have implications in fields ranging from new materials to drug design.

A longer lasting message

03 November 2006

Monitoring mRNA stability could light the way to new cancer treatments.

Longest single molecule wire

07 November 2006

A single molecule wire, claimed to be the longest yet, has been made by UK scientists.

Open and shut case

02 November 2006

Chemical gate controls catalytic reaction inside porous solid.

Fat of the land

As we become progressively more rotund, our body chemistry undergoes critical changes that have a major impact on our health. Dennis Rouvray sizes up this burgeoning problem

Microfluidics: wet and potentially wild

Lab-on-a-chip technology is finally seeing widespread use in analysis and synthesis. Jon Evans catches up with the progress of microfluidics research

From here to Bologna

The Bologna process promises to create a unified education system in 45 countries by 2010. Is this an achievable goal? Terry Mitchell reports

Chemistry in Africa

Science is playing an increasingly important role in sub-Saharan Africa. A number of new initiatives and organisations are helping to promote chemistry in education and industry, a...

A change in focus

David Brennan, chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is taking the company on a new course towards biologic drugs.

Editorial: A shot in the arm for science education

University science education has received a significant boost with the announcement that the Higher education funding council for England (Hefce) will provide an extra £75 million ...

Opinion: In the pipeline

Derek Lowe looks at the story behind the growing investment by western companies in medicinal chemistry research in China

Opinion: The crucible

Chemistry has always been the most secretive of sciences, argues Philip Ball

Opinion: Bench Monkey

Dylan Stiles loves his solvents like children - even the naughty ones

Comment: A tale of two disciplines

Teaching as well as research can help bridge the no-man's land between chemistry and chemical engineering, says Mark Haw

Your views...

Which chemist, past or present, would you most like to have worked with?

Careers: The outreach bug

As a public awareness scientist, Samantha Tang is keen to encourage others to spread the wonders of science. Yfke Hager finds out more

Crossword and Su Doku

Prize crossword and Su Doku, December 2006

The last retort: Now there's an idea

It used to be held that the cure for writer's block was to gaze fixedly at a blank sheet of paper until beads of blood formed on your forehead

Flashback

40 years ago