News August 2011
Smallpox vaccine virus puts cancer in its sights
31 August 2011
Anti-cancer virus can infect tumours but leaves healthy tissue unharmed
Graphene memorises data in a flash
31 August 2011
A prototype graphene flash memory material is already outperforming its commercial silicon counterparts on data storage
EPA's laboratory management weaknesses persist
30 August 2011
EPA urged to revamp its lab system for decades, but GAO finds the agency still lacks coordination
ACS aims to stimulate creation of 100,000 jobs
30 August 2011
US chemical society hopes lobbying on tax and R&D credits will boost chemistry entrepreneurial spirit
G-quadruplexes take the strain in cancer drug search
30 August 2011
Measuring how small molecules interact with structures such as telomeres could throw up cancer drug targets
Synthetic self-assembling collagen for tissue engineering
28 August 2011
Carefully designed peptide chains can undergo hierarchical assembly into a collagen-like hydrogel - potentially useful for tissue engineers
Chemical activism targets big clothing brands
26 August 2011
Greenpeace has provoked promises from Nike that it will take action on supply chain chemicals
Meteorites are a chip off the old asteroid block
25 August 2011
Dust scraped from an asteroid 300 million km away will help researchers to form a picture of the solar system's history
Poking aspirin with a sharp stick
25 August 2011
A method to distinguish between polymorphs, which is important for drug design, involves making dents in the polymorphic crystals using a sharp implement
Rapid route to huperzine A
25 August 2011
Chemists have devised a synthesis of a scarce, but valuable, natural product
New source of Tamiflu
25 August 2011
Isolating Tamiflu starting material from Ginkgo biloba trees could avoid future Tamiflu shortages
Chemists dying to uncover historic textiles' secrets
24 August 2011
Spectroscopic analysis allows identification of dyes in heritage clothing and offers insights into technological sophistication
Expanded genetic alphabet could spell out new genes
23 August 2011
DNA with six, rather than four, bases could be used as the genetic code for synthetic life
Breaking open boranes to power fuel cells
23 August 2011
A new reusable ruthenium catalyst can efficiently extract hydrogen from ammonia borane for potential use in fuel cells
London rolls out dust suppressant technology
23 August 2011
Chemical dust suppressant cuts small particulate levels by up to 14 per cent by 'gluing' them to the road
Japanese government opens dialogue with public
23 August 2011
The nuclear disaster at Fukushima has led the Japanese government to court public opinion on science
Chemical profits nibbled by oversupplies
22 August 2011
Although China's chemical industry posted good figures in their mid-year reports, there could be a shadow looming on the horizon
Manmade molecular machine goes to work
22 August 2011
A small, manmade molecule can produce similar forces to natural molecular machines
Bacteria responsible for missing 'atmospheric brooms' that sweep the sky clean
19 August 2011
The puzzle of where key chemical species that remove pollutants from the atmosphere come from may have been solved
Two for one - cleaning water and generating energy
18 August 2011
A dual-purpose system degrades organic compounds in wastewater, powering a fuel cell that generates electricity
Sugar injection to beat hospital infection
18 August 2011
A potential vaccine against the deadly bacterium Clostridium difficile
Worms modified to express unnatural amino acids
17 August 2011
Tiny worms engineered to add unnatural amino acids to their proteins could help uncover disease pathways
Plasma treatment to use patient's proteins to improve medical device biocompatibility
17 August 2011
Sticking a patient's own proteins onto medical devices should help stop rejection of implants
Chemists vent anger at funding body in letters to UK government
16 August 2011
More than 200 top chemists have signed two letters complaining of their frustration at how the EPSRC makes funding decisions
Trifluoromethylation made easy
15 August 2011
A simple way to insert fluorine into organic compounds could help chemists manufacture improved drugs
Making light work of disassembling capped nanotubes
15 August 2011
Researchers have designed self-assembling nanotubes can be taken apart using just light
Unravelling cell membranes to understand drugs
12 August 2011
Researchers have created more accurate models of cell membranes containing transmembrane proteins
Enzyme inspired nickel complex races to produce hydrogen
11 August 2011
Catalyst that mimics hydrogenase enzymes turns out hydrogen 10 times faster than its biological counterparts
Getting to the core of a tumour for drug study
11 August 2011
Regions of tumours that are difficult to target with drugs are being studied to help scientists to develop more effective drugs
'Dial a molecule' approach controls antibiotic production
11 August 2011
The structure of the pacidamycin antibiotics can be refined by genetic tinkering
Sapphire scaffold builds flexoelectric film from the ground up
10 August 2011
A film that generates an electric field when bent will be useful for making better photovoltaics and diodes
Toyota create first magnesium-sulfur rechargeable battery
10 August 2011
An electrolyte that pairs magnesium with sulfur is a crucial step on the road to new efficient rechargeable batteries
US debt deal is a mixed bag for researchers
09 August 2011
The US debt ceiling agreement offers good news for science in the short-term, but could spell trouble longer-term
DuPont halts sale of wayward herbicide
09 August 2011
Complaints of damage to trees have led the US chemical major to suspend sales of Imprelis, approved in the US in August last year
Ligand could trap actinides from spent nuclear fuel
09 August 2011
A new ligand may solve the biggest problem of high-level nuclear waste - separating lanthanides from actinides
A solar torch to fit in your back pocket
08 August 2011
Scientists have developed a solar powered torch that looks like a credit card
Possible origin of chirality in the RNA world
07 August 2011
Chemistry and physics join forces to make single-handed RNA precursors from nearly racemic starting materials
EPA in political tug of war over environment
05 August 2011
House Republicans face criticism for attaching rider to US EPA's funding bill that appear to dismantle environmental protections
Filming the roundabout production of cells' chemical fuel
05 August 2011
Japanese researchers have used atomic force microscopy to film the enzyme that synthesises ATP
Calcium ion is the key to plant's water splitting secret
05 August 2011
A model of the heart of the photosynthetic complex plants use to split water has provided new insights
MOFs ready to gulp down radioactive iodine gas
04 August 2011
A metal-organic framework has been created that could trap radioactive isotopes of iodine produced by nuclear power plants
Targeting DNA packaging to treat leukaemia
04 August 2011
A drug that can attack leukaemia by interfering with DNA organisation is set to start clinical trials soon
Diagnosing tumours in the nasopharynx without surgery
04 August 2011
Early disease diagnosis and favourable prognosis go hand-in-hand with a new tumour detection technique
Merck continues restructuring and cuts 13,000 jobs
03 August 2011
The US drug giant plans to make savings of $4.6 billion by the end of 2015
Liquid crystals rearrange to glow in three colours
03 August 2011
Scientists describe the first liquid crystal system that can luminesce in three colours from a single light-emitting centre
Hacking into chemical cell phone calls
02 August 2011
Researchers have listened to a cell's chemical whispers using a nano-engineered device
