RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News August 2004


Biotech giant pulls GM crops from UK

Syngenta plans to transfer GM research to the US.


Obesity gets up your nose

Desperate dieters may find that a new anti-obesity treatment is not to be sniffed at.


British lab succeeds in the interests of fair play

The UK has become one of only three countries worldwide to have more than one laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.


Green challenge rewarded

Many companies wishing to become more sustainable choose to go along the route of solvent reduction.


Synthesising a cancer cure

British chemists are poised to complete synthesis of a molecule they predict could make a significant impact on the treatment of prostate cancer.


Ploughing the UK's oil fields

Researchers at the University of York, UK, have launched a website aimed at teaching farmers about the commercial benefits of growing non-food oil crops.


Novel applications line up like peas in a pod

Research teams in the UK and the US are building up the clearest picture yet of how fullerenes pack into carbon nanotubes to produce a range of different 'peapod' structures


CIA rewards sustainability

Chemical Industries Association awards announced.


Cancer research gets technical

Agilent Technologies has been named the first technology company to become a sustaining member of the European Association for Cancer Research.


Synthetic chemists catch their breath

Clinical candidate for asthma treatment on hold.


Bell labs moves to Ireland

Bell Labs, the research arm of US firm Lucent Technologies, is setting up a research centre in Dublin, Ireland.


Mismanagement on Mars?

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee recently heard evidence from Colin Pillinger and other leaders.


Arctic reception for household chemicals

Chemists unravel reactions pathway for carpet chemicals.


Putting gels in a twist

Chiral handles induce helical nanostructures in organogels.


Anti-theft technology aids diabetics

Film implants could end painful blood sampling.


Making allowances for anthrax

Crystal structure brings researchers closer to using anthrax to fight cancer.


New light on bad beer

Sunlight on isohumulones gives beer a skunky off-flavour.


Naturally trapped enzymes

Enzymes trapped in biomimetically synthesised silica retain their activity.


Gardening on the nanoscale

Silicon carbide nanowires could improve solar cell efficiency.


Polymer microgels that take careful tuning

Altering nanoparticle synthesis for a range of microgel applications.


Shock reactions in deep space

Interstellar aldehydes shed light on how space compounds form.


DNA gets hands and feet

Genetic robots take a walk.


How to stop cells getting a grip

Silica nanoparticles help keep microbes at bay.


As the magnetic worm turns

Magnetite reignites mobile phone radiation concerns.


Desulfurisation goes green

Ionic liquids can remove sulfur from oil refinery streams.


Non-stop homogeneous catalysis

Reactor enables rhodium to be used as a catalyst without decomposition.


Twisting the light fantastic

US researchers develop new, low-cost optical fibres.


Coming soon to a screen near you

Lighting up polymer LED technology.


Robots with a sensitive touch

Organic transistors with pressure sensors prepare the way for artificial skin.


Scaffolding for the DNA building site

Molecular engineers home in on DNA replication.


Taking the guesswork out of ionic liquids

What is it about the structures of ionic liquids (ILs) that make them so promising as alternatives to conventional solvent systems?


Progressing the battle against cancer

There are two closely linked research areas in the fight against cancer: microtubules and epothilones.


Smoky black depths of the ocean

Instruments robust enough to survive the treacherous depths of the ocean are being developed by analytical chemists in the US.


All the herbs in China

Current intense interest in natural products as antioxidants has prompted scientists from China and Singapore to revisit the antioxidant properties of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM...


A malarial miracle?

A better understanding of the activity of malaria and an effective vaccine for the disease are both a step closer thanks to a team of chemists in Switzerland and the US.


What it takes to be an environmental model

Understanding the release kinetics of compounds from complex polymeric matrices is important to medical, agricultural and environmental sciences.


Consistent atmospheric measurements

Operations spanning 10 years have yielded the first review of validation exercises using ozone and temperature lidar measurements from the Network for the Detection of Stratospheri...