RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News February 2007


Graphene

First graphene transistors may herald future of electronic chips

28 February 2007

'Flat' carbon sheets also found to be corrugated


AFM

Individual atoms' chemical ID revealed

28 February 2007

Atomic force microscopy can now identify atoms


Antioxidants

Antioxidant supplements do more harm than good

28 February 2007

Survey of studies finds that some supplements increase the risk of mortality


A glass of ouzo

Keeping the 'ooh' in ouzo

28 February 2007

Understanding the photochemistry of anise-flavoured drinks could help to extend their shelf life, say researchers in France.


Relay

Molecular pH sensor inspired by relay runners

27 February 2007

pH detection range is widest yet for a precise chemical test


Neolithic skeletons

Neolithic Europeans were lactose intolerant

27 February 2007

Rise in dairy farming drove genetic changes to allow milk digestion


False-colour map representing the Earth

Is solar UV frying fish?

27 February 2007

A UN report into the impact of ozone layer depletion on aquatic ecosystems reveals wider links between UV levels and global warming.


NanoBuds

Nanotubes sprout fullerene buds

26 February 2007

Hybrid molecules show promise for microelectronics


Parallel channel acoustic separator

Instant insight: A sound idea

26 February 2007

Thomas Laurell, Lund University, Sweden, explains how ultrasound can be used to separate and move cells and particles in microfluidic devices.


A microdroplet

Dropping cells in it

23 February 2007

Miniature drops can make ideal reaction vessels for single cell experiments, say researchers from the UK.


Tortoiseshell cat

X labelling springs a surprise

23 February 2007

Researchers surprised to find that active genes on X chromosomes are more heavily methylated than inactive versions.


Folding hydrogel

Hydrogels make programmed chemical origami

22 February 2007

Israeli scientists have created elastic sheets which buckle into pre-programmed 3D shapes on command.


Woman honoured with international prize

Women honoured with international prize

22 February 2007

The 2007 L'Oreal Unesco awards honour women in materials science.


F A Cotton

F. Albert Cotton

22 February 2007

Inorganic chemist dies at 76


David Clary

Interview: Theoretically speaking

22 February 2007

David Clary talks molecular quantum dynamics with Hilary Crichton


A landfill site

Monitoring tin in our environment

22 February 2007

French scientists have devised a strategy to completely analyse and quantify all alkylated tin compounds arising from landfill sites.


iodine

Complex organic molecules teamed with iodine

21 February 2007

Enantioselective synthesis opens route to marine natural products


Gold tip

Organic electricity generator is hot stuff

21 February 2007

US researchers show thermoelectricity in a carbon-based molecule


Immobilisation of molecules on gold electrode

Supramolecular biosensor

21 February 2007

Cuban chemists have made a biosensor to detect the stimulant xanthine, found in drinks such as coffee, tea and cola.


Galena, a silver-bearing lead ore, discovered on La Isabela

Columbus' explorers failed to strike silver

19 February 2007

Lead isotope analysis of ore from the Dominican Republic reveals an unexpected provenance for the material.


Tooth grafts for mice

Researchers sink their teeth in

19 February 2007

Reports of tooth grafts in mice have sparked debate.


Corn fuel

Against the grain

16 February 2007

PREVIEW: As policymakers rush to promote biofuels, can the US break its obsession with corn ethanol?


Nuclear power station

UK nuclear policy setback

15 February 2007

Public consultation on government's nuclear power plans condemned as 'inadequate' by High Court judge .


Generics

Novartis contests India's patent law

15 February 2007

Drug company accuses India of failing to comply with WTO patent regulations.


Serine

Serine: simply sublime

15 February 2007

Researchers in the US have come a step closer to understanding how some of the earliest biochemistry on Earth began.


Viagra

Prescription-free Viagra

14 February 2007

High street sales of Viagra fuel marketing controversy.


pnc-Si membrane

Slim-line silicon speeds up protein separation

14 February 2007

Ultra-slim silicon membranes: from labs on chips to artificial kidneys.


A bacterium with a reduced number of pili on the surface

Bacteria come unstuck

14 February 2007

Pilicides reduce the number of hair-like pili on bacteria, but do not alter their physical properties.


The de Brécy Tondo

Raphael revealed by Raman spectroscopy

13 February 2007

Forensic analysis of paint scraps dates picture to before, not after, the Sistine Madonna


Landfill

Leaking landfill site

13 February 2007

Monsanto faces inquiry into PCB disposal up to the 1970s.


A red LED

Simply biofuels

13 February 2007

A simple enzyme-based biofuel cell has been made by a team of Japanese scientists.


Polymer nanocapsule

Nano-pumpkins fitted for drug delivery

12 February 2007

Surface modification of polymerised nanocapsules.


Optical micrograph of neuron population

Nervous response to drugs

12 February 2007

A non-destructive way to monitor cells reveals potential Alzheimer drug's effect on neurons.


Planet Earth

A positive side to ozone depletion?

12 February 2007

Ozone depletion is not all bad, say an international team of scientists.


Self-exploding microcapsules

Instant insight: Delivering the goods

09 February 2007

Stefaan De Smedt and Bruno De Geest of Ghent University, Belgium, weigh up the pros and cons of using polyelectrolyte capsules as drug delivery vehicles


US Visa

Foreign postgrad vetting proposals 'absolutely unnecessary'

09 February 2007

US educationists urge 'Don't do it the way we did'.


HIV virus

Africa's first large-scale HIV vaccine trial

09 February 2007

US and South African scientists announce the first large-scale clinical trial of an HIV vaccine on the African continent.


Bubbles on track

Bubbles put the logic into lab-on-a-chip

08 February 2007

Microfluidic processors use bubbles as 'bits'


Spot the marine phytoplankton

Simple hormone treatment cures lethal heart condition

08 February 2007

Heart disease cured with a hormone-based drug already prescribed for breast feeding mothers.


Phosgene detection

Choking the threat of death by phosgene

08 February 2007

Simple detection of a colourless chemical warfare agent.


NSOM image of a chiral crystal

A close look at chirality

08 February 2007

Chirality on nanoscopic surfaces can now be seen using optical microscopy.


A microarray of oligonucleotide probes

The genetic detective

08 February 2007

Will a selective way to detect genetic variations lead to personalised medicine?


Beta bundle

Protein's non-natural alternative

07 February 2007

Chemists have synthesised what they say is the first 'remarkably protein like' beta-peptide quaternary structure.


Printer with microfluidic chip

Hot wax and peel

07 February 2007

Microfluidics research is expensive. Or is it? Canadian researchers have made prototype microfluidic chips using only a simple off-the-shelf wax printer.


Radioactive waste

Nuclear storage: ready, willing, able, and undecided

06 February 2007

No insurmountable technical barriers to storing nuclear waste deep underground.


Protein filaments (shown in green) attached to the extracellular environment at cell-matrix contacts (shown in red).

Instant insight: The soft cell

06 February 2007

Ulrich Schwarz, soft matter researcher at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, explains why softness matters for cells.


Uranium sensor

DNA-based detection for uranium

05 February 2007

High sensitivity and selectivity claimed for a portable sensor that detects most common form of uranium.


Spot the marine phytoplankton

Hafnium oxide helps make chips smaller and faster

05 February 2007

New transistor materials keep 'Moore's law' on track


Colony of aspergillus

Microbial school monitors

05 February 2007

Renovating moisture-damaged schools reduces the number of microbes present and can improve pupils' health, according to researchers in Finland.


AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca follows Pfizer in slashing workforce

02 February 2007

Job cuts herald turbulent times for pharmaceutical industry.


Spot the marine phytoplankton

Bacterial gene generates seaside smell

02 February 2007

Dimethylsulfide synthesis pathway pinned down.


Structure of N-methylazaferrocene iodide

How iron chops up DNA

02 February 2007

Insights into how iron sandwich compounds cleave DNA could help scientists trying to develop anticancer drugs, say European researchers.


Laptop on a learning curve

Computers learn chemistry

Do androids dream of electric dipoles?


Some moudly plumbing

Finding the cause of building-related illness

01 February 2007

Swedish scientists have developed a more sensitive and selective method for detecting the toxins produced by a fungus common in damp buildings.


Spine

Spinal injection to cut out surgery

01 February 2007

Microgels could be used to repair damaged spinal discs, say UK scientists.