RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News September 2004


Public understanding of nanotech is low

Government-commissioned report on nanotech released.


ChEBI

From molecules to proteins, chemistry meets biology

The European Bioinformatics Institute has launched a freely available dictionary of 'small molecular entities'.


Bartering for biotech

The US Government has taken the unprecedented step of authorising a licensing agreement between biotech firms in the US and Cuba.


Free for all?

Learned societies at risk from 'open access'.


Global warming debate heats up

Controversy over new method to cut atmospheric CO2 levels.


Francis Harry

Francis Harry Compton Crick (1916-2004)

Francis Crick, joint winner of the 1962 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for the groundbreaking discovery of the DNA double helix structure has died at the age of 88.


The deep blue sky's the limit

True blue-sky research is becoming a thing of the past, fears Donald Braben, visiting professor at University College London, UK, who wants to see the trend reversed.


The effects, if any, of antidepressants

Recent reports that the most popularly prescribed class of antidepressants.


Results signal market improvement

This year's round of second quarter results from the US chemical industry signals a much needed improvement on last year's performance.


Controlling clumping

Blocking ?-sheet formation offers hope for diseases from diabetes to Alzheimer's.


Arthritis pain relief proves ineffective

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory creams are only helpful in the short term.


From bathroom cabinet to battlefield

Polymers found in aloe vera extract could save the lives of trauma victims.


Reacting to chiral separation

Surfactant-enzyme complexes successfully separate enantiomers.


Wrapping up a helix

Metal ions make it possible to control molecular folding and unfolding.


A customised SECM can be used to measure individual living cells

Mini probes for looking at living cells

A new microscope with tiny probe tips makes looking at single cells easier.


Cuba synthesises blockbuster vaccine

New innoculation offers affordable protection for children in developing countries.


Spicy pest control

Cinnamon oil extract may control the spread of malaria.


Frying tonight?

Eating fish is good for the heart, but watch how it's cooked.


Synthesising sponge's secrets

US researchers improve the biological activity of compounds from sponges.


Guess the weight of the protein

Gel filtration chromatography should not be relied upon in isolation.


Novel solution for hydrogen storage

Titanium could help solve a long-standing barrier to fuel cell technology.


Fluorophore

New gateway to logic devices

Molecular logic gate function is easily altered by rearranging its components.


Carbenes clean up

Laser light avoids side-product formation in ligand synthesis.


Establishing the structure of hydrates

Researchers develop novel diffraction techniques for structure determination.


Probing proteins with surface chemistry

Synthetic probes can track activity of proteins in cells.


Switching on to food gone off

Better out than in: a new ink might help to betray the presence of oxygen in pre-packed food.


ETM

Metal without a cause

Specially designed ligands are being called upon to try to control the chemistry of the maverick early transition metals (ETMs).


Biological support for fuel cells

Could cyanobacterial proteins hold the key to the 'hydrogen economy'?


Ionic liquids provide new temperature controls

Central heating for microdevices

Ionic liquids provide new temperature controls


Greener dechlorination

A greener way to dechlorinate the pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is being developed by Japanese researchers.


Radical view of protein damage

Some peptides are more susceptible than others to damage by radicals.


Tracking drugs in single cells

A non-invasive method to quantify water in living cells is being pioneered in Germany.