RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News October 2008


Female researcher pipetting subtance

GSK snaps up hepatitis drug developer

31 October 2008

GSK is back on the acquisition trail with the purchase of hepatitis therapy experts Genelabs


DNA repair

DNA-rewinding protein discovered

31 October 2008

Healing helicase stitches up DNA bubbles


Crime scene tape, DNA and a fingerprint

Forensic science hots up

31 October 2008

Could fluorescent probes offer DNA profiling at the scene of a crime?


Tree colours in autumn

Hints behind autumnal tints

31 October 2008

Austrian scientists unravel the secrets behind the dramatic colours of autumn.


Catalyst structure

Fluorination gets a good reaction

30 October 2008

European chemists have used fluorinated solvents to improve the yields of olefin metathesis reactions


A drop of blood on a fingertip

Immune function on a chip

30 October 2008

Rapid white blood cell monitoring requires only a drop of blood


Microscale version of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Lasers draw protein pictures

30 October 2008

Scientists have recreated a famous painting on the microscale using a new protein patterning technique


leopard frog

Popular agrochemical linked to frog disease

29 October 2008

More evidence to blame atrazine for decades of amphibian decline


Pierre Brondeau

Interview: Pierre Brondeau

29 October 2008

Rohm and Haas's CEO-in-waiting discusses the company's imminent takeover by Dow


Malaria-carrying mosquito

Sweet solution for on-card reagent storage

29 October 2008

Storing dry reagents on microfluidic cards could lead to easier disease diagnosis in the developing world


toxins sandwiched to protein

Drug sandwich baits E. coli toxins

28 October 2008

Polymer scaffolds hook up toxins to proteins that destroy them


Nitric oxide synthase (stained green) in muscle membranes

Viagra variants could beat muscle fatigue

27 October 2008

Muscular dystrophy patients' tiredness after exercise could be treated with erectile dysfunction pills.


Child sitting on a pile of electronic waste

Electronic waste processing puts Chinese children's health at risk

27 October 2008

Lax regulation allows toxic compounds to enter air and water in Guiyu


Nanowire joint

Scaled-down soldering

27 October 2008

Japanese researchers have created a permanent metal link between two nanowires


Obesity

Europe suspends anti-obesity drug

24 October 2008

EMEA has recommended that doctors stop prescribing Sanofi-aventis' anti-obesity drug rimonabant


Metalloprotein

Proteins swap partners

24 October 2008

Cells chaperone metalloproteins to prevent them partnering with the wrong metals


Ball-mill

Back to the grind-stone

24 October 2008

Solid-solid reactions provide a greener way to useful metal complexes


Microchannel device for protein expression screening

Passive pumping promotes protein production

24 October 2008

Time-saving device screens nearly 200 protein syntheses in parallel and reduces amounts of reagents required


Thin film

New spin on electronics production

24 October 2008

Chemists have taken a significant step closer to the goal of cheap, flexible and printable organic electronic displays


Environmental Protection Agency

US tightens lead emissions standard

23 October 2008

The EPA's new limit ten times more stringent


Bananas glow blue under UV light

Ripe bananas glow bright blue

23 October 2008

Bananas' colourful chemistry revealed by UV light


Merck cuts yet more jobs

Merck to slash more jobs

23 October 2008

Merck is slashing more than 10 per cent of its workforce as it tries to increase efficiency.


Ruthenium complex for amines

A greener route to amines

22 October 2008

Ruthenium complex provides environmentally friendly route to key industrial intermediates


Chemistry Education

Investment rekindles interest in science

22 October 2008

Upturn in England's student science demand sees £350 million plan heralded a success


OECD

OECD urges China to innovate

21 October 2008

China is investing heavily in R&D but failing to foster innovation


A spider hanging on a dragline silk thread

INADEQUATE analysis of protein structure

21 October 2008

US chemists use solid-state NMR spectroscopy to probe the structural features responsible for spider silk's strength


RNA used in molecular logic system

RNA computers built in yeast

20 October 2008

Molecular logic inches towards smart therapeutics for living cells


Scientist working in lab

UK chemists warn of funding crisis

20 October 2008

Sharp drop in grant numbers hits young scientists and blue skies research


Spiros Pergantis

Interview: The flying chemist

20 October 2008

Spiros Pergantis talks to May Copsey about metals in biology and the environment, the future of metallomics and how he nearly became a pilot


Supernova

Results that are out of this world

20 October 2008

A test for chromium in meteorites could reveal details about the evolution of the Solar System


Stock market graphs

Chemical industry braces for downturn

17 October 2008

Plants closed as global financial crisis begins to bite


Botulinum toxin A

Microfluidics joins fight against bioweapon

17 October 2008

A new bead-based sensor can detect trace levels of a lethal neurotoxin


Stanley Miller

Miller's legacy: new clues to origins of life

16 October 2008

Stashed vials from Stanley Miller's iconic 'primordial soup' experiments re-examined


Yuan

Credit crunch may boost Chinese science

16 October 2008

Worries over diminishing exports could fuel government spending on research


Cell imaging

Long-life light illuminates cells

15 October 2008

Platinum-based dyes for cell imaging glow for hundreds of times longer than conventional probes


Modified egg beater

Lab-on-an-egg-beater

15 October 2008

Scientists whip up new centrifuge using kitchen utensil


Crystal structures of inhibitors binding to enzymes

Enzymes hit with double punch

14 October 2008

Small molecule designed to block two key cancer enzymes simultaneously


Radioisotopes

Radiopharmaceutical shortage raises long-term supply questions

14 October 2008

Blip in Europe's supply of medical isotopes highlights ageing nuclear reactor network


Douglas Kell

Interview: Quick on the uptake

14 October 2008

Douglas Kell tells Elinor Richards about his findings on drug uptake and the implications for drug discovery and development


Penny Brothers

Interview: A total mismatch

14 October 2008

Penny Brothers tells Michael Brown about porphyrins and their potential role in neutron capture therapy


Cantilever detecting drugs binding to targets

Cantilevers bend over for drug detection

13 October 2008

Silicon diving boards used as high-throughput screening arrays to study action of antibiotics


Deborah Swackhamer

Exclusive interview: Deborah Swackhamer

13 October 2008

New head of EPA's science advisory board expects more influence on environmental policy


gecko

Glue beats gecko's sticking power

10 October 2008

Carbon nanotubes yield powerful dry adhesive that can be easily peeled away


Flames

Environmentally friendly explosives

09 October 2008

Scientists in Germany have made lead-free detonators for reducing the environmental impact of military explosives.


Melamine

Chinese melamine crisis prompts call for better tests

09 October 2008

Food testing methods inadequate, say analytical instrument makers


Quantum dot

Quantum leap in chemical sensing

08 October 2008

UK scientists have found that quantum dots can improve optical sensors designed for detecting metal ions in water


CPhi logo

Clever catalysts promise commercial advantage

08 October 2008

Chemical industry showcases cheaper, smarter catalysts for pharma at CPhI trade show


Nobel medal

Green fluorescent protein takes Nobel Prize

08 October 2008

Chalfie, Shimomura and Tsien share 2008 chemistry award


Oxford University

Artificial protein chemistry may be licensed to industry

08 October 2008

Oxford research moves out of the lab


activity based sampling

Instant insight: Asbestos comes naturally

08 October 2008

Martin Harper, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, US, points out a hazard in the natural environment


Kerr microscope reading a barcode-labelled DNA sample

The barcode and the bioassay

08 October 2008

Mini-barcodes are used to track DNA samples like luggage at an airport


Cold water coral

Ocean acidification threat to UK coral reefs

07 October 2008

Two-thirds of cold water corals could disappear by the end of the century, scientists predict


perchlorate molecule and rocket fuel

EPA decides against regulating perchlorate in water

07 October 2008

Almost all public drinking water holds safe levels of propellant chemical, says agency


Disposable chip for non-invasive electrophysiological measurements

Chip measures channel currents

07 October 2008

Non-invasive chip technology offers order-of-magnitude improvement for ion channel studies


Paul Drayson

New science minister in UK reshuffle

06 October 2008

Drayson takes science brief while climate and energy combine in one department


Car exhaust fumes

Global ozone pollution warning

06 October 2008

Efforts to curb ground-level ozone failing, says Royal Society


A molecular model of a diphenyl urea bound to G4 DNA

Quadruplex binding clicks into place

06 October 2008

Ureas that shun the double helix for four-stranded DNA could lead to new anticancer drugs, say UK scientists


A V Rama Rao

Interview: Chemistry is the business

06 October 2008

A V Rama Rao talks to Joanne Thomson about how science has shaped development in India


Heart with heart monitor trace

Diabetic sugar highs trigger heart disease

05 October 2008

Spikes in blood glucose levels can lead to clogged arteries


Dollar superimposed on stars and stripes flag

US science agencies see budgets dip

03 October 2008

Chemistry will feel the pinch


Nanotubes

Nanotube catalysts improve industrial reaction

03 October 2008

Modified nanotubes catalyse milder, safer and more selective butadiene synthesis


Biofuel cells powering an mp3 player

Sugar-powered electronics

03 October 2008

Japanese scientists have made a biofuel cell that produces enough power to run an mp3 player or a remote controlled car


Protein templated nanotubes

Which came first, the nanotube or the egg?

03 October 2008

Egg whites have found a novel use as a template for making inorganic nanotubes, thanks to Chinese scientists.


Explosion of tetrazole compound

Greener explosives show promise

02 October 2008

Encouraging prospects for eco-friendly pyrotechnics and propellants based on nitrogen


The path of an Escherichia coli cell through a ratchet

Sorting swimming cells

02 October 2008

US scientists are using chip technology to make bacteria sort themselves by size


Chlamydia infecting cells in stained image

Chemical knockout for Chlamydia

01 October 2008

Protein-blocking chemicals better than genetic manipulation to uncover pathogen's infectious secrets


Picture of industrial pipes

US to overhaul industrial chemicals inventory

01 October 2008

Outdated list includes over 70,000 chemicals that are no longer in use


Female researcher pipetting subtance

GSK to cut 850 R&D jobs

01 October 2008

More chemists face redundancy as drug giant wields the axe


California state flag

California bill to ban PFCs axed

01 October 2008

Schwarzenegger vetoes perfluorocarbon legislation but signs off chemical oversight programme


A 4 × 4 array of cells trapped in a hydrogel

Tiling yields model tissue

01 October 2008

US scientists are mimicking tissue by fixing together tiles of cells


Candida Antarctica B cells

Underperforming yeasts opt out of life

01 October 2008

Suicide-committing yeasts assist German scientists striving towards the perfect enzyme for catalysing asymmetric organic reactions