A new book published by the RSC, Lust and Love: Is it more than chemistry? examines the age old questions of why people fall in love and what makes people attractive.

Providing a fascinating insight into these questions, through the eyes of science, it explores the way we feel and behave from first meetings to long term partnerships. Written by a husband and wife team, the book was a popular best seller in Germany. Rolf Froböse explains why they decided to write it, '"Love is as harmless as a spoon of hydrochloric acid on an empty stomach," the French writer Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) once said. We don't agree with him but - as chemists and scientific journalists - we wanted to find out why people fall in love and how the famous "chemistry between people" works.'

Drawing on all areas of science including chemistry, biochemistry, neurology, psychiatry, psychology, physics and medicine, the book takes a light-hearted approach to the subject using fictional characters for illustration. 'The readers will find some answers to a lot of burning questions and we also present the most interesting results from international researchers, who could enlighten the science behind love, desire and passion,' adds Froböse. From physical attraction to emotional connections this fascinating book is a must read for young and old.

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News that the National Library of Medicine has selected Molecular BioSystems, the RSC's chemical biology journal, for indexing and inclusion in their MEDLINE database brought the journal's first year of publication to a highly successful conclusion.

Visibility of the journal in the community is certain to increase as a result, as the MEDLINE database is searched by researchers and health professionals worldwide through search engines such as PubMed. 

This latest news follows the announcement that 3D visualisation of complex protein structures has become a simple click-through process for the journal's readers. Anyone can view and appreciate key biomolecular structures in three dimensions, whatever their level of expertise.

The PDB identification code of the molecule is used to generate an image using FirstGlance in Jmol. The resulting image is viewed in a free online applet - enabling you to rotate the molecule, customise the view and zoom in to specific areas of interest. One of the views displays colour-coded amino acid sidechains and nucleotide bases. Guidance and explanations are always visible on screen, whatever the view you have selected or operation you are performing.

For more on this, and the other online features available to authors and readers, visit:

Lab on a Chip and Corning Incorporated and are launching a new prize, called Pioneers in Miniaturisation, to encourage research at the micro- and nano-scale. Aimed at mid-career scientists, the prize will recognise outstanding achievements and contributions to the field of miniaturisation.

'Through this award we are hoping to support and encourage innovation in lab on a chip research', says Harp Minhas, editor of the Lab on a Chip journal. 'Encouragement of young researchers is one of the key objectives of this prize'.

The deadline for nominations is the 30th September 2006 and the recipient will be announced at the µTAS meeting held later on this year in Japan.

For more information about the prize visit: