Features August 2006
Down on the plastics farm
Soaring oil prices could see biomass become competitive as a source for chemicals traditionally derived from petroleum. Andrew Scott investigates
Catalysts of creation
In the quest to understand the origins of life on Earth, scientists are finding fresh evidence that bundles of RNA called ribozymes were the first truly biological molecules.
Ions in the open air
Ionisation techniques that remove the need for sample preparation are taking mass spectrometry into new and exciting research areas, reports Steve Down
