December 2004

Vol 1, no. 12

Chemistry World Letters, December 2004

Chemistry World Reviews, December 2004

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December 2004

News and analysis

Novel formulation for cereal farmers

November 10th was a busy day at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Materials scientists at the University of Oxford, UK, are poised to join the Guinness World Records hall of fame with their latest breakthrough - the world's smallest test tube.

The merger of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo with its Franco-German rival Aventis to create the largest pharmaceutical company in Europe has been formally approved...

Michelin-starred chef builds his own lab and funds a new PhD

Researchers have taken a key step towards rationalising the solvent properties of ionic liquids (ILs), which are composed entirely of ions and have been hailed the 'green' solvents...

Campaigners in India and worldwide have been making plans for a concerted effort to mark the 20th anniversary of the methyl isocyanate gas leak from a Union Carbide (UC) pesticide ...

Historically, members of the Black and Asian communities have been under-represented in clinical trials, but tailoring drug development to race wouldn't redress any imbalance, say ...

UK fact-finding mission to China

Why turn to tens of thousands of pounds-worth of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipment when a standard bench centrifuge will do? It's a question posed following t...

RSC to launch new journals

Paul Boateng, chief secretary to the Treasury in the UK, has called on politicians and scientists to recognise the importance of further education (FE) in the UK.

Those wanting to make a quick buck could do worse than raiding their old schools' chemistry laboratories. An RSC periodic table poster recently sold for a staggering �6000, with a ...

Chemical ecologists have taken a key step towards understanding the sex life of a notorious insect pest. The discovery spells good news for apple growers.

European chemists gathered recently in the former home of late, disgraced RSC fellow Elena Ceausescu to launch the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS...

Forensic Investigation at Kent Police; New chemicals legislation; RSC has applauded Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol; MPs on the UK's House of Commons science and techno...

Chemical science

Understanding half-buckyballs has potential for new materials

It's a diet of toxic beetles for some frogs and birds

New work on information transfer in molecules sheds light on enzyme reactivity

Thyroid hormone therapy could help reverse demyelination

Directed molecular evolution paves the way to decaffeinated coffee plants

Dendrimers with sugar interiors could be used as enzyme mimics

Cirrus cloud formation may be affected by wet exhaust soot

New SERS probe for biological samples

Early peptides could have been formed from amino acids in volcanic gas

Long carbon nanotubes hold promise for new composite materials

Small changes mean big effects for designer catalysts

Aerosol measurements are improved with optical tweezers

Recycling catalysts brings new dimension to carbon-carbon bond formation

Toxic products in biological systems linked to applied magnetic fields

Sapphire provides the ideal surface for templated growth of nanotubes

X-ray studies reveal molten phosphorus existing in two different density states

Complex genetics of platypus sex determination - part bird, part mammal

Natural diatom skeletons form a scaffold for artificial nano constructs

Scientists from the US have adapted standard equipment used for making vinyl records to assemble cell networks and produce microfluidic structures.

Researchers in the US have reported a new robust system to measure accurately very low concentrations of chlorine in fossil fuels.

A new technique looks set to surprise analytical chemists and revolutionise ion chromatography.

A miniature protein with a stable folded boat-shaped structure has been designed by a team of Indian chemists.

German scientists have made progress in the quest to mimic the activity of catechol oxidase, the copper-containing enzyme found in fungi, bacteria and plants.

When the 1996 Nobel prize in chemistry went to the discoverers of C60, or 'buckyballs' as they were affectionately known, the fullerenes suddenly shot to superstar status. And inte...

How polymers, whether man-made or biological, organise themselves into structures ranging in size from nanometres to micrometres was the subject of a Faraday Discussion meeting, Se...

UK scientists have found an alternative to the cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligand, historically the dominating anion in olefin polymerisation catalysis.

Researchers at the University of Hull, UK, have developed a new self-assembly technique to make arrays of microlenses.

A new set of simple empirical rules for drug design that avoids any 'wet' chemistry or complicated calculations has been mooted by chemists in Cambridge, UK.

Recent Features

The public face of chemistry has undergone many changes in recent times. Vikki Allen looks into some past and present perceptions

An erupting volcano is both majestic and terrifying, but now research suggests that these geological wonders might have played a significant part in the evolution of life on Earth....

Developments in organic LED technology could soon revolutionise aspects of patient care, especially for monitoring babies. Andrew West finds out more

Caliper Life Sciences has built on its microfluidics technologies to become a commercially focused life sciences company. Mark Whitfield reports

Throughout his prolific career in chemistry, Paul Sabatier remained faithful to his roots in provincial France. Mary Jo Nye introduces us to the Nobel laureate and investigates the...

Regulars

The public's attitude towards chemistry is improving but what future do art students see?

2004: how was it 4 U?

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