News May 2009

New probe promises ozone answers
31 May 2009
A highly selective new probe should help address controversial claims that cells make ozone

The natural approach to winning at drug discovery
31 May 2009
How to bias high throughput screening libraries

Supercool microfluidics
29 May 2009
Improved understanding of life and technology at extreme temperatures thanks to a microfluidic device that studies ice formation

The worm turns - into graphene
29 May 2009
Chinese scientists have found a new route to high-quality graphene sheets for making flexible electronics

Nanotube transistors swing both ways
28 May 2009
Combination nanotransistors turn on and off in response to light

Salt nanowire surprise
26 May 2009
Normally brittle salt crystals can be pulled into nanowires that extend by more than twice their own length without breaking

Wine's chemical memory
26 May 2009
Even 10 years after bottling, wine still holds a chemical imprint of the forest from which the wooden barrel it was aged in came

A concrete solution to climate change?
26 May 2009
Concrete absorbs CO2, but can it solve the cement industry's carbon problem?

Toxic mushroom molecule discovered
24 May 2009
A simple compound has been found to be the toxic culprit in a highly poisonous Asian mushroom

'Fountain pen' injects nanodiamonds
22 May 2009
Researchers have demonstrated a tool that can pattern nanodiamonds at high resolution and inject them into single cells

Viruses count quantum dots
22 May 2009
Measuring quantum dot concentrations using viruses could lead to improved cancer imaging

'Printing' organs with hydrogels
22 May 2009
Tissue grafts could one day be grown on cell-containing scaffolds printed using a polymer hydrogel 'ink'

Electricity generates implant coating with potential
22 May 2009
A way to make medical implants last longer makes them more biocompatible than at first thought

Exposing explosive fingerprints
22 May 2009
Fingerprints' chemical history revealed by infrared spectroscopy

Catalyst kinetics revealed
21 May 2009
Researchers identify key step in reaction mechanism of a silver-alumina catalyst used in lean burn engines

Big Pharma set for generics boost
21 May 2009
Novartis and Pfizer look to generics as the patent cliff looms

FDA gets new chief
21 May 2009
Incoming commissioner Hamburg is a bioterrorism preparedness expert with significant public health experience

Long-awaited structure of famous enzyme challenges the textbooks
21 May 2009
'Microenvironment' concept corrected for AADase, the enzyme often cited as a classic example of the theory

Cell sorting sorted
21 May 2009
Catching cells in droplets has enabled scientists to make a highly efficient microchip to separate cells

Chips and alcohol - a powerful combination
21 May 2009
An on-chip fuel cell powered by a variety of fuels

Chemical pollution gets personal
20 May 2009
Researchers have measured the rise and fall of chemicals in their own bodies after using everyday products

Skills in industry: change needed from within
20 May 2009
Leading industrialists call for companies to invest in training and development

New ceramic dating process unearthed
20 May 2009
By measuring moisture recombination in ceramics, scientists have found a new way to date ancient pottery and brickwork

Instant insight: Agents of destruction
20 May 2009
Ivan Parkin and Michael Wilson from University College London, UK, look at how to make hospital-acquired infections a thing of the past

Quick-switching carbon nanotube displays
19 May 2009
Chinese researchers have shown that thin carbon nanotube films can serve as incandescent displays that switch on and off faster than LCDs

Major increase in Australian science spending
19 May 2009
Australian government ups science and innovation spending by 25 per cent in latest budget

Introducing cellosomes
19 May 2009
Scientists have made living cell clusters that could explain evolution

Tailored colours for photonic crystals
18 May 2009
Swelling and freezing method used to permanently fix colour of block copolymer photonic crystals

Instant insight: Squashing cancer cells
18 May 2009
Could stretching cells be the way to diagnose cancer? Claudia Brunner takes a biomechanical approach to medicine

Carbon electrodes help form high capacity lithium-sulfur batteries
17 May 2009
Next generation of high-capacity rechargeable batteries comes one step closer

Non-stick approach to regular polymer vesicles
17 May 2009
By being confined to small islands in a 'non-stick' sea, self-assembling polymers can form into uniform vesicles of a pre-determined size

Tripping over red tape
15 May 2009
Therapeutic treatments based on street drugs could be creeping closer as a cannabis-based drug hopes for UK approval

Forget drugs, get inhibited!
15 May 2009
Promising compounds which may help patients overcome drug addictions have been identified by US scientists

Two metals better than one for fuel cell catalysts
14 May 2009
Palladium-platinum nanoparticles for use in fuel cells more than twice as effective than current state-of-the-art catalysts

Bloodshed for blood substitute makers
14 May 2009
Regulator ruling on artificial blood products causes companies to haemorrhage cash and cut staff

A simple route to a complex cluster
14 May 2009
Chemists have made and characterised a compound containing 136 metal atoms

Insight into RNA origins
13 May 2009
Researchers have offered a chemical explanation for the origin of RNA, saying nucleotides may have emerged from 'hybrid' precursor molecules

Combination nanoparticles to fight cancer
13 May 2009
Multitalented nanoparticle can track down, illuminate and treat cancer cells

Holography generates porous crystals
13 May 2009
A polar solvent is the key to making polymeric photonic crystals that could be used as biological sensors

ChemSpider finds new home
12 May 2009
ChemSpider, the open access chemical structure search engine, has been bought by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Activating peptides to target cancer cells
12 May 2009
Activatable cell penetrating peptides are unlocking new opportunities for targeted entry to cancer cells, say Roger Tsien and colleagues

Printing solution to hydrogen production
12 May 2009
An inkjet printer could be the answer to getting our energy from water

Instant insight: Molecular shuttle power
12 May 2009
Smart dust biosensors may be smaller than a grain of sand but they have big potential, say Henry Hess and colleagues

Chemical data forums latest stumbling block for Reach
11 May 2009
Information exchange forums that form part of Reach chemical legislation are not functioning effectively

Pulling membranes off cells
11 May 2009
German scientists are ripping cells apart to study their elasticity

Nanocrystals stop blinking
10 May 2009
US researchers have created the first semiconductor nanocrystals that do not intermittently 'blink' while emitting light

US biofuel funding boost
08 May 2009
Biofuels and renewables get funding and policy makeover in the US

Climbing mercury levels prompt US action
08 May 2009
US EPA warns rising mercury levels in the Pacific Ocean could have implications for fish and human health

Interview: Catching counterfeits
08 May 2009
Facundo Fernández talks to Jennifer Newton about the fight against counterfeit drugs and whitewater kayaking

Nanoparticles nurse neurodegenerative diseases
08 May 2009
Silica-based gene delivery stimulates nerve cell formation in the brain

New EU members missing out on research funding
07 May 2009
SMEs and new EU member states under-represented in EU's seventh framework programme, says report

Polymers release insulin in response to glucose trigger
07 May 2009
Polymer nanoparticles that release insulin in response to changes in glucose concentration offer improved treatment for diabetes

Australia delays carbon trading scheme
07 May 2009
Australia has put back the start of its emissions trading scheme to 2011, in a bid to reduce pressure during the global economic crisis

Biosensor in a briefcase tests toxicity
07 May 2009
Safer drinking water thanks to portable screening device

Sunshine cleans up rivers
07 May 2009
Natural light removes pharmaceutical pollutants from river water
Polymers feel the force
06 May 2009
A force-sensitive chemical moiety embedded in a polymer chain triggers a colour change when put under pressure

Nano-boxes from DNA origami
06 May 2009
Danish researchers have made a nano-sized box out of DNA that can be opened and closed in response to 'key' molecules

UCLA fined following fatal lab accident
06 May 2009
Regulators find deficiencies in university's safety procedures, training and recordkeeping

Raman catches a killer
06 May 2009
Raman microscopy could improve and simplify malaria diagnosis in remote locations

Attacking Alzheimer's disease
06 May 2009
Fresh hope in battling Alzheimer's disease with three-pronged attack

EPSRC turnaround on blacklisting policy
05 May 2009
The EPSRC today announced changes to its controversial blacklisting policy for persistently unsuccessful grant applicants

Keeping MOF pores open wide
05 May 2009
Chemists have found a way to prevent metal-organic frameworks from 'clogging up' during synthesis

Sustainable research creeps closer
05 May 2009
New regulations mean labs will have to become greener - but the benefits could be financial as well as environmental

Don't FRET over broken polymers
05 May 2009
Protein-based nanosensors use fluorescence to show damage in polymer materials

Cell-cell communication systems
05 May 2009
Two-cell computers that transfer metabolic information from one cell to the other could lead to therapeutic hormone systems

Hydrogen fuel tank gets cooler and cleaner
01 May 2009
Researchers solve problems to improve performance of ammonia borane as a hydrogen storage material

Efficient solar cells could work in tandem
01 May 2009
An efficient new dye-based solar energy system could built into a doubly-active solar cell




