RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

December 2011

Vol 8, No 12

December 2011

News and analysis

A shot in the arm for drugs for neglected diseases

01 November 2011

Intellectual property sharing database will give researchers new leads in the fight against TB and malaria

EU proposes nanomaterial definition

21 October 2011

The chemical industry says it's too broad; the environmental lobby says it's too narrow

Escalating drug dearth spooks White House

02 November 2011

Obama calls on FDA and Justice Department to clamp down on pharmaceutical industry after drug shortages triple

The kilogram is dead! Long live the kilogram!

31 October 2011

Four of the base SI units, including the kilogram and mole, are set to be redefined

Europe risks being outstripped by R&D rivals

26 October 2011

Investment in R&D by top European firms grew by 6 per cent last year, but competitors are growing faster

Russia books place at science top table

07 November 2011

New strategy will see the country boost its spending on science to 2.5 per cent of GDP

US universities' lab safety under new scrutiny

24 October 2011

US Chemical Safety Board 'greatly concerned' by frequency of academic lab accidents, recommends nationwide reporting system

EPSRC sticks to its funding strategy guns

08 November 2011

Frustration persists in the UK chemistry community over council decisions on the funding future for the field

UK government pulls the plug on CCS plant

24 October 2011

The UK's first large scale carbon capture and storage scheme has been binned with the government blaming technical problems

Universities around the world prepare to welcome an influx of Brazilian students

14 October 2011

Brazil plans to boost scientific knowhow by sending 75,000 students abroad to study

All eyes turn towards asteroid for fly-by

10 November 2011

Scientists take full advantage of asteroid flying uncommonly close to the Earth to gather information on its structure

European fracking boom 'doubtful'

18 October 2011

The high surface activity needed for shale gas extraction is likely to put off Europeans, says the boss of Shell Chemical

Abbott splits to set pharma portfolio free

21 October 2011

US drug maker divides the firm into two parts as part of a rebalancing strategy

Pilot seeks to thaw methane hydrate promise

01 November 2011

US energy department teams up with oil majors to investigate the viability of extracting methane from gas hydrates

Taming osmosis for steady drug delivery

03 November 2011

A German start up has developed a disposable infusion pump that uses osmosis instead of electrical power

Dow reels from former scientist's economic espionage

19 October 2011

Dow pledges to improve security after a researcher stole trade secrets and passed them to a Chinese university

Business roundup

Industry news, December 2011

Market Place

New products, December 2011

In the papers...

Short items

News in Brief

Short items, December 2011

Note book

Short items, December 2011


Research

Zap and the aromaticity is gone

09 November 2011

Laser pulses can be used to 'switch off' aromaticity in benzene molecules

Pee-powered fuel cell turns urine to energy

31 October 2011

Urine could be processed into power and fertiliser by bacterial biofilms

Exploding cucumbers inspire drug delivery

28 October 2011

A capsule that squirts cancer drug at its target in a new drug delivery strategy

Radical approach to self-healing materials

09 November 2011

Japanese researchers have created a gel that harnesses free radicals to heal without any outside help

Following electrons' chemical reaction quickstep

13 October 2011

Researchers have taken a series of snapshots to watch how electrons rearrange during a photochemical reaction

New power for smart garments

20 October 2011

Batteries could now be integrated into cotton or polyester to power smart textiles

Organic LEDs set to become displays' flexible friend

31 October 2011

Researchers find a way to put OLEDs on flexible plastic while retaining efficiency

Water erodes 'lock and key' drug model

17 October 2011

Protein binding is not ruled by increases in entropy when ligands displace water, contrary to long-held 'hydrophobic effect' theory

World's smallest remote control car debuts

09 November 2011

A single molecule nanocar powered by electrical impulses has been put together by Dutch scientists

Dirty pots reveal ancient fish suppers

24 October 2011

Isotope ratios and fatty acids residues in ancient pottery indicate that Europeans carried on fishing after farming began

Graphene robot has some smooth moves

27 October 2011

Scientists have added a graphene layer to a polyethylene actuator to convert IR into energy to move the actuator

Water-catching spinout from synthetic spider silk

01 November 2011

Bioinspired fibres could harvest water from fog and mist in parched areas

Bubble trouble eliminated in cancer treatment

20 October 2011

A device to make droplets to cut off blood supply to tumours

Heart-on-a-chip

10 November 2011

Replicating heart tissue on a chip could lead to a powerful new platform for drug tests

Chemists put finger on the trigger to attack cancer

04 November 2011

Prodrug uses a boronate to spot cancer cells' oxidative environment and then gases them with nitrogen mustard

A model for the single chirality of life

03 November 2011

Single chirality crystals are generated through a temperature gradient in boiling solutions

Predicting the perfect MOF

06 November 2011

Computer program takes the guesswork out of making MOFs and produces world's best methane-holding structure

Invisible ink for the 21st century

11 November 2011

Water reveals invisible photonic ink on photonic paper as an anti-counterfeit measure

Shrinky Dink origami powered by heat

10 November 2011

A children's toy undergoes heating to generate 3D shapes from 2D patterns

Colourful research

30 September 2011

Jeremy Smith tells Ruth Doherty why choosing inorganic chemistry was a case of columns versus colour


Features

Re-record, not fade away

Emma Davies unreels the blockbuster tale of film preservation

A shade of green

Major retailers are starting to consider the environmental impact of the fabric dyeing and finishing processes used by their manufacturers. Fiona Case reports

Getting stuck in

Nature produces a wide variety of glues that outperform all synthetic adhesives. Michael Gross looks into this sticky subject

A nutritional revolution

Mike Sutton bites into the life of Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, the biochemist credited with discovering vitamins


Opinion

Editorial: The end of a good start

This time last year, we were preparing for the launch of the International Year of Chemistry

Chemistry - our life, our future

Nicole Moreau looks back on a year of chemistry

Forgotten pioneers

Who were the women that first led the way for female professional chemists? Marelene and Geoff Rayner-Canham reveal the story

Column: In the pipeline

Derek Lowes considers the perfect lab environment

Column: Totally Synthetic

(-)-Gymnodimine

Column: The crucible

Philip Ball admires the artistry of contemporary science buildings and a few old masters too


Chemistry World Jobs

The Educated Chemist: Top of the class

Emma Davies learns how Teach First turns exceptional graduates into exceptional teachers

Profile: Anticancer architect

Patrick Gunning tells Yfke Hager how a passion for problem solving and organic synthesis led him to a career in medicinal chemistry

Careers clinic: Address your development

Looking after your professional development is essential to your career, explains Charlotte Ashley-Roberts, and it might be easier to do than you realise

The insider: Ask the experts

Academics' expertise makes them ideal consultants for a variety of projects discovers Manisha Lalloo


Regulars

Reviews

Chemistry World Reviews, November 2011



Letters

Chemistry World Letters, December 2011



Puzzles

Puzzles, December 2011

Chemistry through the lens

In keeping with the Christmas theme

Classic kit: Wheatstone's Bridge

Of all the paradigms of science, the idea of equilibrium is one of the most fundamental

The last retort: Sodium and water

An explosion is the sudden release of gas, creating a sonic report

Flashback

15 years ago, Chemistry in Britain