January 2004
Vol 1, no. 1
News and analysis
Saving the Emperor's Blushes
The terracotta army from the mausoleum of the first Chinese Emperor.
Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble
The performance of biosensors can be adversely affected by the formation of small bubbles during their construction.
Middle East talks hailed as 'Pugwash' for chemical sciences at Malta convention
Scientists seek bridge over political divide.
Swift moves close down chemistry at Queen Mary's
After more than 100 years, the doors at Queen Mary University of London have closed to student chemists in a swift move that has angered the staff of its chemistry department.
Rioja's isomers give Spanish oak the nose
Wine connoisseurs may turn up their noses in disgust.
Dreamy spires spin out lab lessons in hard-nosed economics
As his researchers move into a dream lab at Oxford.
Industry off hook over mercury in fish
Research blames Nature for contamination. Maria Burke reports.
Crisp reaction browns off food chemists
Chemists dispute technique for assessing acrylamides.
Terrorists target chemical industry, says warfare expert
Chemicals used by police forces around the world 'violate the basic norm' of the chemical weapons treaty.
Meet the industry chief who could have been a head teacher
Alistair Steel, the new president of the UK's Chemical Industries Association (CIA).
In Brief
The UK government has got together with a number of companies to set up a £10m initiative to encourage students from around the world to study in the UK; DeCODE genetics has isolat...
Chemical science
Gelatine fingerprints mark trail of cheats
After BSE, laser spectrometry looks set to ease policing of contaminated feed.
Model theory unites enzyme actions
At last, computers are beginning to unravel the origins of enzyme catalysis.
Organic catalyst breaks alcohol record
Spanish chemists reveal their 'most efficient' catalyst for crucial transformation.
Identical nanotubes yield production clues
Nanotechnologists edge towards their Holy Grail of controlled fabrication.
A tiny matter of molecular screening
Nano reaction vessels could cut down solvent use and seek out new drugs.
Amino acid smuggles biocide into parasite
Nature lends a helping hand in the fight against parasitic diseases.
Spinning into a new era of computing
Flipping a spin is easier and faster than moving around electrons. So are we going to switch to spintronics? Michael Gross investigates.
Biomaterialists promise 'nanovehicles' to deliver drugs
Custom-built carbon nanotubes can enter human cells as harmless drug-delivery vehicles, speculates a Franco-Italian team of biologists and materials chemists.
New route to antimony compounds
Efficient and simple synthesis of distibenes, the antimony compounds regarded as notoriously difficult and hazardous to make.
Solid evidence of green union
Light so excites crystals of cinnamic acid that they can unite rapidly and undamaged without the need for potentially harmful solvents.
Pores for thought with rigid, contorted polymer
In an exciting communication heralding the discovery of a useful new class of materials, chemists at the University of Manchester introduce 'polymers of intrinsic microporosity'.
Sensitive electrode detects arsenic
Diamond electrodes laced with boron and coated with iridium oxide could provide a cheap and simple way of detecting arsenic at exceptionally low concentrations.
Catalysts for re-use
Simple chemistry can make catalysts recoverable and reusable without affecting their performance, claim two polymer chemists at Texas A&M University.
Moves to molecular switch
A study of how the crystalline environment of a molecule can influence its behaviour over a range of temperatures brings the development of molecular switches a step closer.
Lab fungus to fight cancer
Successful synthesis of a fungal metabolite known to disrupt cancer cells could lead to a wide range of new drugs to fight the disease.
Press (hard) for your new plastic toy
US researchers develop plastics that can be reshaped at low temperatures.
Lanthanoids set shining example to German chemists
In a piece of reverse science, German researchers have made nanocrystals luminesce more strongly by enclosing them in a crystalline shell.
Recent Features
Small is bountiful
'Disposable microreactors', from miniature processing plants to laboratories on a chip, bring chemical manufacturing to the desktop. Cath O'Driscoll reports
Is sustainability a dirty word?
Companies, big and small, must demonstrate the value they bring to society and persuade everyone that they operate responsibly. Or else, says Michael Kenward
Making microwaves
'Let's talk after lunch' is the mantra of the microwave chemist, such is the speed at which the technology is uncovering new, cleaner and more efficient reactions. Nicholas Leadbea...
Timed to perfection
Do we want clocks accurate to one second every 30 billion years? At that precision, gravity weighs down the passage of time - though it might be easier to find your way around the ...
Regulars
Comment: Magazine for a new world order
The challenges of chemical science demand a new publication, says Phil Abrahams.
Flashback
January - 75 years ago; 100 years ago; 125 years ago; 130 years ago; 425 years ago
The Last Retort: When smoke gets in your wine
The bushfires in Australia have been particularly bad of late and the threat they pose to life.
Chemistry World Letters, January 2004
Chemistry World Reviews, January 2004
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