EU chemicals legislation settled

After three long years, negotiations about Reach are finally over

Unique teaching laboratory goes online

A remote-controlled chemical laboratory that can be operated through the internet

Organophosphate study reprieved

A landmark study will resume

50 billion euros promised for science

FP7 approved by EU Parliament

Nano-hype comes out in the wash

Landmark ruling was prompted not by a washing machine

Polonium-210: a deadly element

Litvinenko death sparks radiochemical investigation

Research quality by the numbers

The UK government has announced a shake-up in the way university research is assessed and funded

News in brief

Short items

Business roundup

Industry news

Funding briefs

Short items

New on the market

New products - January 2007

In the papers...

Short items

Batteries not included

28 November 2006

A wireless pulsating heart, with potential as a miniature pump in medical implants, has been constructed by Japanese technologists.

Abortion pill might prevent breast cancer

30 November 2006

Mifepristone prevents the development of tumours in mouse mammary cells

Keep on the grass

07 December 2006

Mixed grasses grown on agriculturally poor soils could provide carbon-negative biofuel

Home-baked plants solve petrol mystery

27 November 2006

Artificial leaf fossils confirm origins of petrol's precursor.

Vehicle emissions dominated by nanoparticles

30 November 2006

Air quality study during rush hour raises questions about the current UK standards for particulates.

A lasting memory

05 December 2006

Scientists have discovered a way to lock chirality into catalysts to help make enantiomerically pure compounds.

Structure of key influenza A protein revealed

06 December 2006

Solving the structure of viral nucleoprotein could boost quest for new drugs

Getting the dope on a single atom of dopant

27 November 2006

The quantum state of a single atom of dopant in a silicon semiconductor has been measured.

Hot Article: Enzyme-powered fuel cells

16 November 2006

Enzymes could replace platinum catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells, suggest scientists from UK and Germany.

Bio-ceramics allow algae to live on

19 December 2006

Algae embedded in silica coatings could be used for the continuous production of a commercially important dye, say German scientists.

Hydrogen gets promiscuous

04 December 2006

Solid-state lighting material doped with multi-bonding atoms

Synthesis success after 30 years

28 November 2006

Chemists finally make moenomycin antibiotic from scratch

Cooking up nano-fusilli

24 November 2006

Organic molecules curl up into helical nanotubes

Unfolding peptide watched in real time

23 November 2006

Infrared spectroscopy captures processes taking mere millionths of a millionth of a second

Bone-building scaffold

30 November 2006

A material that mimics bone could be used to simultaneously mend and numb the pain of broken limbs.

Two heads are better than one

27 November 2006

A doubled-up drug could be the answer to superbugs.

Riboswitching off bacterial infection

04 December 2006

Solving a 50-year old mystery in antibiotics development points to new hope for anthrax treatment.

Bacteria that help fight cancer

23 November 2006

Bacterial protein treats cancer by releasing drugs from liposome carriers.

Stepping up the fight against malaria

15 December 2006

Simple synthetic analogues of a Chinese herbal medicine could help tackle the spread of drug-resistant malaria.

Bacteria afraid of the light

18 December 2006

Polymer nanofibres with embedded porphyrins have an antibacterial effect.

Treasures from the deep

Mining companies are exploring underwater volcanic vents, hoping to extract metals such as gold and copper. Victoria Gill looks at the technical, environmental and political hurdle...

Science across frontiers

The European Research Council officially comes to life this month, promising to fund basic research and to move away from an EU focus on multi-centre collaborations. Arthur Rogers ...

Life's cartographer

The metabolic pathways chart is one of the most enduring icons of the biochemical sciences, illustrating how all the biochemical cycles relate to each other. The chart was created ...

A diamond investment

This month sees the UK's Diamond Light Source open its doors to bands of researchers eager to make the most of its synchrotron radiation. Susan Aldridge investigates what Diamond h...

Editorial: The end of the beginning for Reach

It's been a long time coming, but the European Reach legislation has finally been settled, and should come into force progressively from June 2007

Comment: The tyranny of peer review?

A less conservative approach would foster high-risk, high-return research, argues Sir John O'Reilly

Instant insight: Venomous drugs

Elba Villegas and Gerardo Corzo, biotechnology researchers at the Universidad Autonóma del Estado de Morelos and the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de Mexico, set the record straigh...

Opinion: In the pipeline

Derek Lowe looks at the recent failure of Pfizer's cholesterol drug, torcetrapib, and asks what it means for the future of pharmaceutical research

Opinion: The crucible

How did the leopard get its spots? Recent research supports an idea first suggested by legendary code-breaker Alan Turing, says Philip Ball

Opinion: Bench Monkey

It's time to retrofit your kitchen pans with reflux condensers, says Dylan Stiles

Crossword and Su Doku

Prize crossword and Su Doku, January 2007

Careers: Spin-out sense

Craig Banks is passionate about his research. In his short academic career he has already co-founded a spin-out firm to make cannabis detectors, as Yfke Hager finds out

The last retort: Elements of doubt

The recent threat of trading standards action against Welsh sausage maker Black Mountains Smokery has been the subject of much press interest here in the UK

Flashback

30 years ago; 20 years ago