News December 2009

Opening the gate for molecular electronics
23 December 2009
Proof that tweaking molecular orbital energies regulate can control single molecule transistors

English university funding squashed again
23 December 2009
Universities lose another £135 million for 2009/10 academic year, bring the total cuts to £518 million

2009 marks the start of the great divide
23 December 2009
Chemistry World's roundup of the year's chemical industry activities shows the growing strength of emerging economies

Blood cell analysis on the highway
23 December 2009
Analysing one million cells per second could improve disease diagnosis and treatment

SlipChip serves up protein crystals
22 December 2009
A simple microfluidic device for testing multiple reaction conditions has been designed

Self-healing networks mimic nature
22 December 2009
Organic inks draw a positive picture for the future of tissue engineering

French researchers get funding boost
21 December 2009
French universities have been given an early Christmas present of extra funding to boost their competitiveness

'Two-legged' molecular walker takes a stroll
21 December 2009
A small molecule motor that can walk in a straight line has been made UK scientists

Single catalyst gives two products from racemic mixture
17 December 2009
Yttrium-based catalyst accelerate the transformation of both enantiomers in a racemic mixture to yield two distinct enantiopure products

Nanoscale 3D imaging in a single shot
17 December 2009
A quick and easy way to take 3D images at the nanoscale with a single measurement has been developed by US researchers

STFC funding axe bodes ill for UK science
17 December 2009
UK Science and Technology Facilities Council reprioritises, slashing studentships and facility funding as budgets are cut

Research funding plan should be abandoned, say academics
16 December 2009
18,000 researchers sign petition calling for economic impact assessment in research funding applications to be scrapped

Interview: At home with microfluidics
16 December 2009
Andrew deMello discusses lab-on-a-chip devices, the changing face of medicine and spin-out companies

Pharma's year of merger mania
15 December 2009
Our round-up of the pharmaceutical industry in 2009 shows the fallout from this year's mega-mergers has swept across the sector

Floating colloid carpets
15 December 2009
UK scientists create a two dimensional colloid that can float above a surface

New approach for EU research called for
14 December 2009
Experts call for EU leaders to make 'radical improvements' in research policy following an assessment of the current state of European science

Interview: A glowing career
14 December 2009
From jellyfish to cancer diagnostics, Roger Tsien discusses the challenges of looking into a cell with Harp Minhas

Breaking the strongest bonds
13 December 2009
Chemists have severed one of the strongest bonds in chemistry - in dinitrogen - and reacted it with carbon monoxide to make useful organic compounds

Hundreds of millions to be slashed from UK science budget
11 December 2009
UK pre-budget report announces £600 million to be slashed from science, research and higher education

'Climategate' resolution underlines concern over data falsification
11 December 2009
US politicians raise pressure on scientists to ensure research legitimacy after email leak suggesting unethical practices at University of East Anglia

SlipChip serves up protein crystals
22 December 2009
A simple microfluidic device for testing multiple reaction conditions has been designed

Bright self-cleaning surfaces inspired by nature
11 December 2009
Chinese scientists describe a simple method to create colourful and water-repellent surfaces

Solving fibril formation
10 December 2009
Researchers solve the equations governing the self-assembly of fibrils, such as beta-amyloid in Alzheimer's disease

Flexible organic flash memory
10 December 2009
Researchers have cracked one of the big remaining problems in organic electronics - a flexible flash memory transistor

Mussel proteins inspire new diabetes treatment
10 December 2009
Glue that sticks mussels to rocks inspired scientists to develop a new medical adhesive for an experimental diabetes treatment

Two techniques are better than one
10 December 2009
Inorganic dyes allow simultaneous fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy of cells

Calls for US chemicals reform
09 December 2009
US senator argues it is time 'to sound the alarm' over the country's regulatory system for chemicals, and plans to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act

New hep C breakthrough
09 December 2009
A new microRNA-based hepatitis C treatment that could avoid drug resistance is being tested on humans after encouraging trials in chimps

Imaging tissue growth
09 December 2009
Swiss scientists have investigated how regrowing tissue using scaffolds affects the cell's environment and properties

Japan's research funds at risk
08 December 2009
Japanese scientists vocal in battle to protect research funds from plans for drastic cuts

Expanding the infection research kit
08 December 2009
Two complementary assays examine how bacteria cause infections

Cold reception for new EU chemical security drive
07 December 2009
Concern new counter-terrorism measures to strengthen chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security will cause administrative headaches

Metal atoms in carbon nanotubes caught on film
07 December 2009
High-resolution electron microscopy films individual metal atoms as they move around and react inside a carbon nanotube

Potent two-pronged antibiotic provides hope for future drugs
04 December 2009
Two-headed compound found to shut down crucial bacterial enzymes

Easier ester synthesis
04 December 2009
Oxygen-coated gold nanoparticles can selectively oxidise a variety of alcohols and aldehydes

Bio-inspired catalyst design could rival platinum
03 December 2009
New nickel-based catalyst shows impressive stability under fuel cell conditions

C-H bond activation takes the relaxing route
03 December 2009
US researchers discover that C-H bond reactivity is linked to whether the bond's activation will reduce strain in the molecule

Lab on a piece of paper
03 December 2009
A cheap and disposable microfluidic device can test if water is safe to drink

Interview: Setting the climate control
03 December 2009
John Beddington discusses science, politics and the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen

Chemical barcodes made from MOFs
02 December 2009
Metal-organic frameworks incorporate 'rainbow barcodes' into their structure

The many faces of a single molecule
02 December 2009
The electronic behaviour of single molecules changes according to their shape and environment


