In Brief

• US physiologist, Eric Poehlman, could face up to five years in prison for misconduct. The news comes after he admitted fabricating data in published works and falsifying grants applications worth nearly $3 million (£1.5 million) to the National Institutes of Health. Poehlman resigned from his post at the University of Montreal, Canada in January 2005.
• The £56 million headquarters of the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) in Buxton, UK, will be officially opened on 18 May. The new 550 acre site will bring HSL's activites together. The laboratory is the UK's leading industrial health and safety facility that carries out research into work-related accidents and ill-health.
• A promotion agreement for the prescription drug Xenical (orlistat) has been reached in the US between Roche and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare. Xenical is a leading prescription drug for weight loss worldwide and works by reducing the amount of fat absorbed in the digestive system. GSK will also apply to the Food and Drug Administration to sell Xenical over the counter.
• The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, have ordered $4 million (£2.1 million) of lab equipment from Agilent, Palo Alto, US. The equipment will help develop the CDC's Chemical Terrorism Laboratory Network, a nationwide project in the US which promotes awareness of chemical terrorism and public health threats.
• A collaborative venture to help Scotland raise its profile internationally in chemistry has been set up. ScotCHEM will enable joint access to resources by the seven universities involved and aims to enhance research activities. The initiative has secured £23 million of funding over the next four years.
• Chemistry World has been shortlisted for the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) 2005 award for monthly business and professional magazine of the year. The winner of the award will be announced in May.