Oldest pigments in ancient fossils 

American researchers have found colourful organic molecules in the fossilised remains of 350-million-year-old sea creatures. Christina O'Malley and William Ausich, from Ohio State University, extracted light-absorbing, complex organic molecules, like quinones, from the fossils of crinoids, or sea lilies, whose modern relatives still swim around ocean reefs today. 

The orange and yellow pigments may allow researchers to track the crinoids' evolutionary history, providing biomarkers for different species. So far, the only way to map the crinoid family tree has been identifying common features on fossil skeletons.  

O'Malley told Chemistry World  that even older crinoid fossils, dating back 420-440 million years, would be analysed for similar pigments. 

UK dragging nanotech heels

The UK government's research to improve understanding of the potential health and environmental impacts of free nanoparticles has been described as disappointing and slow by the Royal Society (RS) and Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng).  

In a report published on 23 October, a working group on nanotechnologies, representing both organisations, strongly criticised the government for its reluctance to commit adequate funding or set a timetable for achieving objectives. Publication coincided with the release of a Department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) progress report on work carried out by the government since 2004. 

This frustration echoes concerns expressed in Chemistry Worldearlier this year, that the government has deferred action in place of carrying out further reviews (see Chemistry World,  August 2006, p2).  

CO₂ storage safety study

A conglomerate of Norwegian research groups plans to set up a field laboratory to monitor the safety of storing CO₂ underground - one possible way of stopping the gas contributing to the greenhouse effect.  

A pilot feasibility study, funded by Gassnova, Norway's national gas-power technology centre, is already under way and will run until December 2006.  

Erik Lindeberg, chief scientist of project leaders SINTEF Petroleum Research, estimated that the land-based laboratory would require funding of around NOK 150 million (£12 million) over three years. The research would assess the ability of monitoring equipment to detect CO₂ leaks in porous rock.

Petrol fumes legislation 

The UK Department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) has introduced 'vapour recovery control' legislation to reduce the release of petrol fumes which leak out of tanks each time a car is filled up.  

From January 2010, large fuel stations - those selling over 3.5 million litres of petrol per year - will be required to have equipment fitted to their fuel pumps to reabsorb petrol fumes and recycle them as fuel.  

Defra cites the fumes' contribution to 'summer smog', a mixture of ground level ozone and particulate matter, as a major reason behind the new law. 

Mercury rising 

Plans for European Union restrictions on mercury use have been thrown into confusion by European Parliament moves to exempt small firms that make and repair barometers. 

British and Dutch MEPs who proposed the exemption argue that those firms typically use recycled mercury, and that the trade serves as a 'knowledge centre for the safe handling of this metal.' 

The exemption could stymie a deal between MEPs and ministers aimed at clinching fast-track agreement of the European Commission's proposal to ban use of the metal in thermometers and other measurement devices, to reduce annual mercury consumption by 33 tonnes. 

Fusion project approved 

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) fusion project was officially approved on 21 November, with the signing of an international agreement establishing a legal and organisational framework for the project. Parties from the European Union, the US, Russia, Japan, South Korea and China are now obliged to realise the project (see Chemistry World, October 2006, p38). Construction of the ?5 billion (£3.38 billion) fusion reactor in Cadarache, southern France, will begin in early 2008.  

Brains to Britain scheme 

The Royal Society has developed an international fellowship scheme that aims to attract the world's best scientists to the UK and give the country a business edge.  

In a speech at the Royal Society on 23 October, the trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling confirmed plans for the scheme, under which researchers will come to Britain in order to work and build a network for future collaboration and business partnerships. 

The number of fellowships and the cash involved have yet to be finalised, but the Royal Society aims to launch the scheme during 2007.  

A similar scheme in Germany, the Humboldt Foundation, has produced over 20,000 scientists and 35 Nobel prize winners. 

Australia plans climate spending 

The biggest photovoltaic solar power station in the world will be built in Victoria state, Australia, at a cost of AU$420 million (£170 million). The Australian government is contributing AU$75 million to the plant, which will reach its full capacity of 154 megawatts by 2013. It is the first in a series of clean energy projects announced by the government, including an AU$360 million pilot project to produce cleaner energy through carbon capture and storage. Australia, like the US, has refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol on climate change, which was dismissed as mere 'symbolism' by prime minister John Howard on 1 November. 

Invisibility cloak unveiled

Scientists have designed a cloaking device that can render an object invisible to microwave radiation - in two dimensions at least. The cloak is a 'metamaterial': an artificial structure with unique electromagnetic properties, achieved by the precise geometrical arrangement of the structure's components.  

The researchers, from Duke University in North Carolina, US, and Imperial College, London, UK, describe the device in Science. It consists of fibreglass rings surrounded by tiny copper elements, smaller than the wavelength of the microwave radiation, which provides a subtle gradient in the electromagnetic properties of the cloak. As microwave radiation strikes the metamaterial, beams are diverted around the object and meet up at the other side, just as water flows around a boulder in a river.  

Just breathe here 

Swiss scientists have developed a way of rapidly analysing breath to shed light on our body's metabolism. The technique might be used for clinical diagnosis or as a basis for biomarker research, and is described in Angewandte Chemie. 

Renato Zenobi and colleagues from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, used extractive electrospray ionisation (EESI) mass spectrometry to detect non-volatile compounds, like sugars and ureas, which are dissolved in droplets of breath. The resulting 'breath fingerprint', collected within a second of a patient breathing into a commercially available mass spectrometer, gives a readout of the body's biochemical processes

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San Fran ban contested 

A group of chemical manufacturers have challenged San Francisco's ban on the sale of toys and childcare products containing phthalates and bisphenol A. Although phthalates are similarly banned in the European Union, San Francisco is the only city in the world to ban bisphenol A, commonly found in hard, clear plastics.  

The measure would have come into force on 1 December, but a filed lawsuit claims that only state lawmakers, not a city government, can regulate chemicals in child products.  

A decision on the lawsuit will take place on 8 January 2007; meanwhile, the ban has been delayed. 

Beta blockers fight cancer 

US researchers have suggested that beta blockers could be used to improve chemotherapy. The drugs reverse the effects of noradrenaline, which, recent research by several scientists has shown, fuels the growth of aggressive tumours in various cancer cell types.  

Ronald Glaser from Ohio State University in Columbus suggested there is now enough evidence to support a clinical trial. 

'Chronic stress could play a role in the progression of cancer and, if this is the case, beta blockers could block these effects,' commented Anil Sood, a physician at the University
of Texas, Houston. 

Imperial goes gree

A one year, full-time Master of Research (MRes) course in green chemistry has been launched by Imperial College London, UK. Students will cover topics as diverse as biotechnology, renewable energy, environmental policy and chemical synthesis; applications are invited now for intake in the academic year 2007/2008. 

Fake pesticides threat

Between five and seven per cent of all pesticides sold in Europe are counterfeit or illegal, warned the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), as it launched the industry's European anti-counterfeit programme in late October.  

The fake products can damage or destroy crops and could harm human health, as well as costing industry up to ?510 million each year, said the ECPA.  

The UK Department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) said that two British firms were being investigated over the supply of illegal agri-chemicals. 

Radioactive waste burial 

The UK Government's environment secretary, David Miliband, confirmed on 25 October that higher-activity radioactive waste will be buried deep underground.  

The decision follows the recommendations of the Committee on radioactive waste management (CoRWM) (see Chemistry World, September 2006, p8). The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will be responsible for the burial process.