RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News June 2004


The smell of death

Volatile metabolites provide vital clues in murder investigation.


Argenta set to license oncology programme

Argenta's oncology programme is now ready for licensing and the company is 'having serious conversations' over this with several companies.


Nano-engineering crystal arrays

Materials chemists in the UK have made important advances in understanding how to control the growth of films of zinc oxide crystals on a range of substrates.


Opening the access debate

The final evidence session of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiry into scientific publishing has exposed wide gaps in the understanding of issues surround...


Emissions trading goes global

Emission reduction worldwide will count towards EU credits.


Sanofi-Aventis emerges

Aventis has finally accepted a bid from its French rival Sanofi Synthélabo.


Publishing on the edge

With moments to spare before the official launch, the Royal Society has published the first paper in its new journal dedicated to research at the physical-life science interface.


Skyepharma - down but not out

Rumours of an enforced exodus among senior management at SkyePharma.


Biotech report fails to impress industry

EU biotechnology strategy reports limited progress.


Beware the 'lucrative' research grant

Academic researchers world-wide need to get up to speed with ongoing changes to patent legislation or face potentially grave financial consequences.


Ionic liquids: what the Heck is the promise?

Ionic liquids (ILs) are often hailed as the green saviours of organic chemistry.


Reaching for an opportunity

The UK chemical industry should see the impending Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) legislation as 'an opportunity, not a threat'.


Chemical concerns for MEPs

Being a member of the European Parliament (MEP) could be a risky occupation.


EU sets limits for pesticides in food

Judging by the workload facing the new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a move to Europe could be a smart decision for scientists looking for long-term job security.


Superbug buster

The publication of results using a novel bio-decontamination technique has pumped up the share price of the British company that developed the technology and could advance the figh...


Fire at Acordis plant

Fire investigators are probing the cause of a blaze at a chemical plant in Derby, UK.


Rising interest in cholesterol reduction

Billion dollar sales set for a shake up.


Just an accident?

A second inquest into the death of a British serviceman involved in nerve agent trials at Porton Down fifty years ago began on 5 May 2004.


History of chemistry

Chemical bounty in the bargain basement

The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF), Philadelphia, US, has acquired a priceless collection of textbooks chronicling the past 600 years of chemistry.


Detecting pathogens on a micro-scale

US researchers develop portable genetic analysis device.


Crystals go under cover

Fooling the human body by camouflaging inorganic particles as proteins.


Protein target for natural cancer treatment

Enzyme holds key to anti-cancer properties of bacterial product.


Spicing up a cystic fibrosis solution

Opening therapeutic options for lung disease.


Contact lenses

Keeping an eye on diabetes

Modifying contact lenses will allow easy monitoring of blood glucose levels.


Come fly with me

Acoustic levitation of micro droplets leads to test tubes without walls.


Robins spark a pigment of the imagination

Evidence suggests that radical-pair theory guides migratory birds on their way.


Raising a toast to cholesterol

Spanish researchers suggest that sherry can help lower cholesterol.


Rapid cleavage leads to better liver drugs

Novel compounds help the body accept DNA-based drugs.


RNA catalyses inorganic particle formation

Chemists use biological compounds to assemble nanoparticles.


One giant leap for lunar minerals

US and Russian scientists discover new mineral in moon rocks.


Total recall for T cells

Scientists track down protein which helps the immune system remember.


A rosette for surgical structures

Nanotechnology helps bone regrowth around artificial implants.


Nanotube conveyor belts

Carbon nanotubes shuffle atoms and molecules into place.


Secrets of the active site

Effects of fluorine on enzyme-inhibitor interactions.


Belt up for new nanomaterials

Simple method to prepare conducting polymer nanostructures.


DNA computers go medical

New automaton promises to diagnose cancer and administer a therapy.


Sensitively measuring radiation

Radiation doses can be measured and calculated more sensitively thanks to a new material being developed by Norwegian researchers.


Chemistry and the war on terror

A recent report from US scientists concludes that biologically inspired sensors and lab-on-a-chip devices will be at the heart of future counter-terrorism technologies.


Non-explosive route to green reagent

Hydrogen peroxide can be efficiently synthesised from hydrogen and oxygen without the need for strong acids or the risk of explosion.


Shedding light on protein structure

Scientists from Umeå University in Sweden have come up with a straightforward way of measuring distances within protein molecules using fluorescence spectroscopy.


Haute-couture catalysts

Tailor-made ligands have allowed researchers to develop a unique catalytic system.


Linking large and small

Connecting microfluidic devices may not be as problematic in the future as it is now.


Growing smarter

Materials are becoming increasingly smart and now, by utilising known biological applications, a 'smart Petri dish' is being developed.