RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

July 2007

Vol 4, No 7

July 2007

News and analysis

To chew or to burn

To chew or to burn?

Extracting the most energy from plant waste


Brain imaging

A new way to look at the brain

Dual scanning gives extra insight


Fraser Stoddart

Young-ish giants party on

Birthday parties are rarely erudite affairs


MRI scanner

Europe delaying on MRI 'threat'

New evidence in case against EC legislation


Carbon capture

UK crawls to carbon capture

The world's first integrated plant to capture and store carbon dioxide


China drug chief

Disgraced drug chief sentenced to death

China's battle to root out pharmaceutical corruption continues


Cancer screening

Screening for anti-cancer drugs

Electrochemistry reveals which medicines work best


X-ray laser

German x-ray laser tunnel gets the go ahead

The German government has approved construction of a 3.4 km-long underground x-ray laser tunnel


de Gennes

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (1932-2007)

Charismatic physicist was the founding father of soft matter


Avandia

Does GSK have a case of the Vioxx?

Diabetes drug linked with heart attacks


Pills

Europe moves to stamp out fake drugs

The pharmaceutical industry is stepping up efforts to stamp out the danger from counterfeit medicines


News in brief

Short items


Business roundup

Industry news


News briefs

Short items


New on the market

New products, July 2007


In the papers...

Short items


Chemical science

Self-healing polymer

Polymer, heal thyself

11 June 2007

New system allows polymers to 'self-heal' repeatedly


Soil cross-section

Possible pollutants assessed in minutes

05 June 2007

Computer system that predicts how chemicals biodegrade - or not - could help regulators spot persistent polluters


Syrup biorefinery

More sugary solutions for petroleum substitutes

20 June 2007

Independent research groups have arrived at different ways of converting sugars into fuels and feedstock


Maize-flour porridge

Chelated iron to treat malnutrition

29 May 2007

Adding cheap chelated iron supplements to cereals could help beat childhood iron-deficiency anaemia.


Laser-induced froth

Imploding bubbles mix fluids on a chip

12 June 2007

Fluids confined to micro channels can be whipped into a laser-induced froth to get them to mix and flow


Spinach leaves superimposed on the pupil of an eye.

Chlorophylls help eyes see red

31 May 2007

Eating your greens rather than carrots could be the key to good night-time vision.


An eye crying tears

Getting the measure of tears

29 May 2007

Doctors could one day drop tears to diagnose disease by Raman spectroscopy.


Cutting out the carbs

'Atkins hormone' discovered

05 June 2007

US researchers have uncovered a vital metabolic role for a hormone that is stimulated by 'low carb' diets


Deborah Swackhamer

Interview: Water, water everywhere.

14 June 2007

Deborah Swackhamer talks to Kathryn Lees and Neil Withers about water pollution and her dream to sing jazz in piano bars


Inflamed joints

Renewed therapeutic promise for arthritis patients

13 June 2007

News treatments for rheumatoid arthritis offer hope to patients where existing drugs have failed


View from the moon

A mirror for the moon

21 June 2007

Researchers have coated an ionic liquid with a reflective surface, making it (almost) suitable for a Moon-based telescope


Chickens

Fresh approach to Tamiflu production

14 June 2007

An alternative way to make Tamiflu avoids the usual scarce starting material.


Theoretical and experimental NMR spectra for GABA superimposed on a brain

Predicting neurotransmitter signals

25 May 2007

Quantum chemical calculations could help scientists locate GABA in the brain.


Indoles cross-coupled without pre-activation

Palladium coupling in fewer steps

24 May 2007

Look out, Suzuki - Canadian chemists have successfully joined up simple benzene ring-like aromatics without any pre-activation


Nanowires aligned in a film

Nanocomposites from bubbles

29 May 2007

Nanotubes and nanowires could be used in materials and devices by blowing them into films, a process so cheap it is used to make bin bags


Car exhaust pipe

Molecular sensor for harmful organics

07 June 2007

Supramolecular sensor detects low concentrations of airborne benzene in traffic fumes


Some fluorescent test tubes

Chiral quantum dots

20 June 2007

Fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles that exhibit circular dichroism have been made by scientists from Ireland.


Schematic illustration of a multicomponent indicator displacement assay

Simple sensor identifies complex mixtures

04 June 2007

A simple mixture of four commercially available compounds can be used to detect several biomolecules at the same time, say Swiss scientists.


Structure of dendrimer

Dendrimer synthesis branches out

06 June 2007

Swedish researchers have devised an efficient and practical way to make dendrimers.


Soybean root nodules

Why cold is such a pain

13 June 2007

A unique cold-tolerant ion channel keeps us smarting in the frost


Ball-milling

Instant insight: Grinding is the new green

08 June 2007

Anne Pichon and Stuart James reveal some of the intriguing reactions that can be carried out without solvents.


Features

Smoking

There's more to quitting than nicotine

As England joins the growing list of nations to ban smoking in enclosed public places, Lisa Melton explores the medicinal arsenal that could help to kick the habit


Enzymes

The perfect host

Could artificial enzymes finally be about to shake up catalysis? James Mitchell Crow investigates


Botox

Here's the science bit

Can chemicals really help to roll back the years? Victoria Gill investigates the various treatments that come with the promise of youth


Nepic

Industrial strength

There is a new driving force for the growth of the chemical industry in the north-east of England.


Opinion

Editorial

Conflict of interest?

There will be mutterings of unrest in the corridors of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month


The recipe for creativity

Comment: The recipe for creativity

After winning this year's Creativity in Industry award from the RSC, Patrick Mulqueen reveals his approach to turning fresh ideas into commercial reality


Derek Lowe

Opinion: In the pipeline

The Avandia controversy poses some tough questions about how to balance risks, says Derek Lowe


Philip Ball

Opinion: The crucible

Philip Ball ponders life and how to make it


Dylan Stiles

Opinion: Bench Monkey

Dylan Stiles just loves those funny-looking molecules


Regulars

Letters

Chemistry World Letters, July 2007


Reviews

Chemistry World Reviews, July 2007


Puzzles

Puzzles, July 2007


Careers

Careers: Early achiever

Joanne Ayre has combined a talent for science with a flair for working with people to develop a diverse business career. Yfke Hager meets her


The last retort: Clean, lean, and green

Biodegradable dishwasher tablets


Flashback

30 years ago in Chemistry in Britain