RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News April 2009


Potatoes

German spud go-ahead inflames GM row

30 April 2009

German approval of GM potato Amflora just weeks after banning a GM maize crop sparks accusations the ban was politically motivated


Ion channel in bilayer

Long live lipid membranes

30 April 2009

The lifetime of lipid membranes has been extended from mere hours to three weeks thanks to work by US scientists


President Obama

Obama issues scientific call to arms

30 April 2009

President's scheme has US spending over 3 per cent of GDP on R&D in bid to maintain its position in science and technology


Fluorescence image of ruthenium complex uptake in breast cancer cells

Ruthenium probe puts the spotlight on RNA

30 April 2009

Fluorophores join forces for cell imaging


MRI scan

Nanocolloids identify blood clots

30 April 2009

US and UK scientists have discovered a safer contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging


Molecular sieve

Huge pores in zeolite molecular sieve

29 April 2009

Researchers have synthesised a new zeolite-based crystalline molecular sieve that is chiral and almost mesoporous


Uranium-rhenium complex

World's first 'naked' uranium-transition metal bond formed

29 April 2009

The first unsupported uranium-rhenium bonds have been created by UK scientists


Yeast

Methyl halides from biomass waste

29 April 2009

Man-made genes help yeast turn agricultural waste biomass into methyl halides


Alan Crozier

Interview: Bearing fruit

28 April 2009

Alan Crozier on flavonoids, David Bellamy and good wine. Carl Saxton investigates


hydrogen

New catalyst means cheap hydrogen from power stations

28 April 2009

New catalyst could be used to convert methane to hydrogen during power generation


Double-threaded rotaxane

Metal ions give rise to threaded molecules

28 April 2009

Researchers use metal ions to guide synthesis of 'double-threaded' [3]rotaxane


Sulphate anion cage

Tailor-made cage for sulfate anions

27 April 2009

Computer aided design has helped make the strongest synthetic sulfate-encapsulating receptor ever


Plum-throated Cotinga

Attracting a mate, nano-style

27 April 2009

Birds' beautiful colours may not be due to pigments


Fluorescent proteins in button polyps are well characterised

Glowing protein in 'animal photosynthesis'

26 April 2009

Green fluorescent marker protein found in exotic marine animals can convert light into chemical energy


Coal power station

UK carbon capture and storage gets government boost

24 April 2009

All new coal-fired power plants to be fitted with carbon capture and storage technology under new government rules


EPA logo

EPA decision threatens chemical industry

24 April 2009

Chemical facilities could face increased regulation and costs following EPA proposal on greenhouse gas health risks


A bendy, twistable polymer

Stretch, bend and twist

24 April 2009

A bendy, twistable polymer could improve oil refining


spider on a web

Metal toughens up spider silk

23 April 2009

Scientists further strengthen a biomaterial already tougher than most man-made fibres


Pakitsoq ice margin, Greenland

Wetlands caused ancient methane belch

23 April 2009

Analysis of methane in ancient ice suggests wetlands emitted vast quantities of the gas


Maize

Germany bans GM maize

23 April 2009

Germany's ban of a GM maize strain raises industry fears the country may reverse its GM-tolerant stance


A heart and infrared spectrum of a serum sample

Pattern recognition spots heart attack markers

23 April 2009

Infrared spectroscopy gets to the heart of chest pain


budget box

Darling budgets for high tech growth

22 April 2009

The UK's 2009 budget leans on the high technology sectors to drag the country out of recession


Indian flag

Call for Indian plagiarism watchdog

22 April 2009

Indian experts are still calling for a national agency to tackle plagiarism, one year on from a major case of scientific fraud


Blood being driven through the main channel of the micropump

Microfluidics pumps it up

22 April 2009

Chemists in Taiwan have developed a bubble-activated micropump that can transport blood on a microchip


biotech starved for cash

Survival of the fittest

21 April 2009

UK biotech companies are worryingly low on funds


A cancer cell spheroid

Slow uptake for effective drugs?

21 April 2009

Anticancer drugs: the balance between cell uptake and tumour penetration


HIV

GSK and Pfizer join forces in fight against HIV

20 April 2009

Unique HIV joint venture formed by two pharma heavyweights


RNA

New method reveals small molecule-RNA conjugates

20 April 2009

New screening techniques uncover co-enzyme-A linked RNA


Clouds

Lead-lined clouds

19 April 2009

Lead in the atmosphere causes clouds to form at warmer temperatures and with less water


Palladium

Chiral metals shape up for catalysis

19 April 2009

Palladium catalyst free of organic material gains chiral features through morphological memory


Shaped bodies made from metal-organic frameworks

Instant insight: Nothing but surface

17 April 2009

Alexander Czaja and colleagues discuss the possible applications of metal-organic frameworks for the chemical industry


Blood Falls in Antarctica

Isolated microbes survive for millions of years

16 April 2009

Hidden beneath an Antarctic glacier microbes have survived for millions of years feeding on iron and sulphates


Flu virus

Mass spec pinpoints flu virus types

16 April 2009

High resolution mass spectrometry could provide a new strategy in preparations for influenza outbreaks


German flag

Merger creates German research powerhouse

16 April 2009

New Karlsruhe Institute of Technology hopes to compete on a global scale


Heterocyclic

Heteroaromatic rings of the future

15 April 2009

A new computer program compiles library of untapped aromatic heterocycles


prostate cancer cells

Working together to spot cancer

15 April 2009

Prostate cancer can be detected by combining biology with Raman scattering


Ariel Anbar

Interview: Elemental evolution

15 April 2009

Ariel Anbar talks to May Copsey about fossils, Star Trek and life on Mars


Osmium

Osmium and pyridine ring together

14 April 2009

New Diels-Alder reaction combines osmium carbene and acetonitrile to give first metallapyridinium complex


Modified adenine

DNA electronics a step closer

14 April 2009

Chemical tweaks in adenine-thymine pairs change the electronic behaviour of DNA, opening the way for DNA-based circuitry


Microfluidic radiosynthesis

Instant insight: Probing radioactive research

14 April 2009

Microfluidic reactors could revolutionise radiopharmaceutical synthesis, according to Siemens' Arkadij Elizarov


Laboratory work

UK launches materials chemistry brokering service

09 April 2009

New centre will be one-stop-stop for firms looking to take advantage of research expertise


Mosquitoes carry malaria

Dual-action malaria drug reverses resistance

09 April 2009

Chemists have developed a drug that not only protects against malaria, but reverses resistance to other antimalarial drugs


Banded iron formations

'Nickel famine' caused ancient oxygen rise

09 April 2009

Analysis of ancient rocks suggests nickel shortage could have triggered global oxygen rise 2.4 billion years ago


NADH in cell

Natural biomarker can signal cancer

08 April 2009

Fluorescence and spectroscopy techniques detect NADH spikes in cells that can signal disease


Pills

Polypill promises?

08 April 2009

Can combination 'polypills' fulfil their promise to offer effective all-in-one treatments?


EU flag

EIT KIC-starts research drive

08 April 2009

European Institute of Technology launches first call for research proposals for Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs)


breaking of a dative bond

Back to basics for drug delivery

08 April 2009

Colon cancer drug could reach its target without being destroyed by stomach acid


Abe Lee

Interview: Seeking the killer application

08 April 2009

Abe Lee talks about the fundamentals of micro- and nanofluidics, lab-on-a-chip devices and finding the microfluidics 'killer application'


Metal ion interacting with genes and proteins

Instant insight: What is metallomics?

08 April 2009

Amongst the '-omics' fields, metallomics is a relative newcomer. Ryszard Lobinski and colleagues provide their definition


Seaweed

Mass spec exposes seaweed defences

07 April 2009

The activity of a plethora of anti-fungal chemicals on seaweed has been revealed using advanced mass spec imaging


Magnetic particles herding cells

Cells get in line

07 April 2009

Magnetic particles act as 'shepherds' to herd cells into chains


Pesticides to be banned

Double standard in pesticide ban?

07 April 2009

EU review approves pesticides used in organic farming based on incomplete data, sparking claims of double standards


Microfluidic device

Microfluidics doesn't shock cells

07 April 2009

Frozen cells are more likely to survive with the help of microfluidic technology


diagram of blood vessel

Biocompatible polymers keep the blood flowing

07 April 2009

Korean scientists have found an effective way of making biocompatible implants


Damaged polymer

Torn catalysts help polymers heal themselves

06 April 2009

Catalysts activated by ripping their ligands off may lead to a new type of self-healing material


US and EU flags

US funding boost - a threat to EU science?

06 April 2009

As President Obama announces billions of dollars in science funding, is Europe at risk of a 'brain drain'?


Solar cells

New dye design for solar cells

06 April 2009

Cyclometalated complexes could improve the stability of dye-sensitised solar cells


Salt lake

Did salt lake halogens help cause mass extinction?

06 April 2009

Volatile halogenated hydrocarbons from a huge salt lake could have helped wipe out life on Earth 250 million years ago, say researchers


A cross-section of a head showing the brain

Lab-on-a-tube for brain monitoring

06 April 2009

A spiral sensor sandwich could help patients with traumatic brain injury


Jelly to detect nitric oxide?

Wibbly wobbly diagnostics for lung disease

03 April 2009

A jelly-like substrate is being used to detect nitric oxide in exhaled breath, a telltale sign of diseases like tuberculosis and lung cancer


Hydrogels respond to light

Light-guided hydrogels direct cell growth

02 April 2009

Physical and chemical microenvironment of cells can be manipulated using light-responsive hydrogels


Battery

Biological battery powers up

02 April 2009

Electrodes for lithium-ion batteries can be built upon a virus scaffold


Fluorescent probe

Fluorescent probes take screening to next level

02 April 2009

New screening technique uses fluorescence to shed light on the activities on little-understood proteins


A SNARE complex linking two cell membranes

The strength of protein SNAREs

02 April 2009

Pulling apart the proteins that pull cell membranes together


CO2 eruption

Take carbon dioxide, dissolve slowly in water

01 April 2009

Deep CO2 storage: a safe way to combat climate change?


Henry Rzepa

Interview: Making logical connections

01 April 2009

Henry Rzepa tells Carl Saxton about the potential for creativity in both research and teaching activities


Laser beam blowing cells from one microwell to another

Lasers blow cells over microwalls

01 April 2009

Scientists have used the unusual curving properties of laser beams to hurl microparticles and cells over walls


microfluidic chip for electrochemical conversions

Chip mimics metabolism

01 April 2009

Drug metabolism studies can be conducted on smaller samples than before thanks to an on-chip electrochemical cell designed by European scientists