RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News November 2004


Nobels blur the boundaries

Laureates underline the values of a cross-disciplinary approach


Child's play for EU councillors

The European plasticiser industry has expressed concern over a recent EU decision to ban the use of three phthalate plasticisers in children's toys.


Chemistry for life

We couldn't do without chemistry.


Beauty is in the eye of the photographer

The 2004 Visions of Science awards.


Squeeze on success for AstraZeneca

October was a tough and busy month for AstraZeneca.


Europe looks to herbal remedies

New legislation to simplify registration of traditional medicines.


Fizzy drinks maker pours cold water on science prize

In a tradition spanning back to 1991.


Maurice Wilkins 1916-2004

Maurice Wilkins, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine with James Watson and Francis Crick, has died aged 87.


Tumour treatment in the library

The fully-human antibodies that MorphoSys, based in Munich, has synthesised are reportedly able to kill cancer cells in vitro.


Manchester merger completed

Good news for chemists at Manchester.


Fantastic plastic

German-owned chemicals company BASF has put out a call to specialists and 'interested amateurs'.


Speculation for innovation

How are chemists equipped to face the challenges presented by an evermore cut-throat business world?


Shedding light on pathogens

Fluorescent polymers flag bacterial infections.


Catching copper ions

Methane-oxidising bugs sidestep copper uptake.


Peptide cover-up for gold nanoparticles

Nanoparticles stabilised by hydrophilic pentapeptide sheath.


Dahlia structures hold drug promise

Carbon nanohorns could provide a new delivery system for unstable drugs.


Rectifying a problem in nano-electronics

Molecular diodes bring single molecule devices a little closer.


Forensic fingerprinting

Stable isotope mass spectrometry is linking batches of materials used in crimes.


Protein potters at the wheel

Wrapping molecules in organoclay improves their stability.


A small ion in a small capsule

New synthetic capsules may aid cross-membrane ion transport.


Chemistry with its head in the clouds

Evaporation and condensation kinetics of ice clarify confusing observations.


Silver bug-beaters come out of the dark

Light sensitivity is no longer a problem for studying anti-microbial silver.


Culturing the blood-brain barrier

Cell culture on ultra-thin membranes provides a model of the blood-brain barrier.


Image is everything

Thin film deposition is key for optimising thermal imaging.


Organic benefits squashed

Research shows little advantage in eating organic tomatoes.


Toxic buckyballs hang around in clumps

Researchers reduce toxic effects of nanotechnology through chemical change.


LEDs

So much for the afterglow

Low cost LEDs provide promising light for diabetes.


Chemists get a reaction from speed dating

Complementary DNA strands allow novel reaction products to be easily identified.


Fossil fuels without the fossils

Methane gas can be formed from inorganic components.


Not just any old iron for bugs

Drug resistant bacteria have developed a preference for haem iron.


Pinning down a protein to analyse enzymes

Cytochrome c oxidase's active site is preserved when it is immobilised on an electrode.


Cleaning up kerosene

Spanish researchers have optimised a mild method to remove sulfur from fuel.


Demonstrating technology for toxicity

Water quality tests have been scrutinised by UK scientists.


Red blood, yellow skin, blue light

Newborns are unable to process bilirubin, which causes jaundice that is treated by exposure to blue and white light.


Targeting disease

Researchers in Denmark and India have prepared synthetic DNA analogues known as oligonucleotides that have the potential for use as antisense drugs.


Double or quadruple? With DNA it makes a difference

A potential new generation of anti-cancer agents is on the horizon, if different DNA forms can be unravelled using new technology.


Gene clones can lower cholesterol

Part of a natural compound that can lower cholesterol has been made by cloning a fungal gene.


Microwave materials

Chemists at the University of Munich, Germany, have made a new porous material that can be dehydrated with no structural effects.


Chemistry to the rescue

Chemistry gets a bad press for creating 'nasty' molecules, such as chemical warfare agents, or pesticides.


Illuminating light-receptors in plants

The mystery about plants' internal 'light switches' is slowly being unravelled, thanks to theoretical chemists in Sweden.