News September 2011
Messenger shines light on Mercury's formation
30 September 2011
Nasa probe may rewrite the books on the birth of the solar system's smallest planet
Colourful research
30 September 2011
Jeremy Smith tells Ruth Doherty why choosing inorganic chemistry was a case of columns versus colour
Solving a tangled polymer problem
30 September 2011
A new model can predict flow behaviour of branched polymer melts like LDPE
Breathing life into medical devices
29 September 2011
Tiny piezoelectric polymer belts produce electricity from respiration
Conjuring up gram quantities of a stabilising anion
28 September 2011
German chemists have made gram quantities of an extremely useful anion via a rather scary route
Interview: Gilles Cottier
28 September 2011
The president of SAFC has set ambitious growth targets that he plans to meet by sticking close to his customers
Bacteria: the ultimate secret agent
27 September 2011
Chemists have hidden secret messages in fluorescent bacteria using colour couplets to encode letters and punctuation
Patching up patients with a heart of gold
27 September 2011
Cell communication in a patch designed to heal damaged hearts can be improved using gold nanowires
Electric vehicles set to charge ahead
26 September 2011
Batteries may be the future for cars but there are still a number of technical hurdles to overcome
Ammonium radical is atomic pretender
23 September 2011
Computational simulations have demonstrated that the neutral ammonium radical behaves like a sodium atom
Growing protest against Chinese chemical plants
23 September 2011
As environmental awareness in China grows, so too is the number of protests against chemical plants
Bio-based chemicals under environmental scrutiny
23 September 2011
Technological improvements are needed to make some bio-based chemicals environmentally competitive
Faster acting drugs
22 September 2011
Ionic liquid versions of current drugs could reach their targets in the body more quickly
Pitcher plant inspires ultimate non-stick surface
22 September 2011
Scientists have created a surface so slippery that oil, jam and even insects just slide straight off it
Laser can detect explosive traces at a distance
21 September 2011
US researchers have developed a laser technique that can spot nanogram quantities of TNT centimetres away
Catalytic polyoxometalate plays hide and seek in MOF
20 September 2011
Inserting a polyoxometalate into the pores of a metal-organic framework can turn it into a surprisingly good catalyst
Higher education funding rises around the world
19 September 2011
Between 2000 and 2008 funding for universities rose, while private funding of institutions increased substantially
Senate looks to trim $162 million from NSF
19 September 2011
US Senate's proposal to cut National Science Foundation's budget by 2.4 per cent prompts concern at universities
Chromium slag contamination in China
19 September 2011
Illegal dumping could have introduced hexavalent chromium into the water and soil of Yunnan province in China
Zeolites under the fluorescence microscope
18 September 2011
A fluorescence imaging technique borrowed from the life sciences illuminates catalyst particle performance
Science budget ringfence questioned by report
16 September 2011
Changes to what is defined as science could see the UK science budget fall by as much as £1.7 billion
US job concerns hamper environmental rules
16 September 2011
Obama retreats on ozone and greenhouse gas regulations amid economic concerns, earning the ire of traditional sympathisers
Sound approach to unclicking click chemistry
15 September 2011
Click chemistry reaction thrown into reverse using ultrasound and could lead to new protection strategies
Polymer side chains on the slide
15 September 2011
Rotaxane research inspires polymer materials with dynamic, stimuli-responsive structures
Electricity - any time, any place
15 September 2011
A device that harvests solar and movement energy could be incorporated in clothes, bags or flags
Corn microchips
15 September 2011
A corn by-product has been used to make microfluidic sensing devices
Making nerve pathways in chips for brain studies
15 September 2011
A microfluidic device could help scientists to study the progression of neuronal damage in degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's
World's longest carbon-carbon bond created
14 September 2011
Balancing attractive and repulsive forces allowed chemists to make longer C-C bonds than ever seen before
Brewing up synthetic yeast
14 September 2011
Yeast with a part synthetic chromosome have been created and could be used to manufacture drugs or polymers
Aspirin still has some secrets left to give up
14 September 2011
Researchers discover an overlooked chemical interaction in aspirin that could help understand protein structure
Carbon capture schemes pose low risk to people
13 September 2011
A new study estimates the health risks associated with carbon capture and storage
Turkish academics fight government interference
13 September 2011
Academics will meet with the Turkish president to try to halt controversial government reforms
Ireland still attractive to pharma industry
12 September 2011
An educated workforce and low tax means the pharma industry is still keen to invest despite the economic upheaval
Nanopore structures could tune drug crystallisation
12 September 2011
The shape of nanopores on surfaces alters crystallisation rates, which could be important for fine chemical production
High-throughput catalyst screening for the masses
09 September 2011
Rapid reaction screening approach automates the accidental discovery of new catalytic reactions
King's College resurrects chemistry department
09 September 2011
After an eight year hiatus chemistry will return in a new course combining the discipline with biomedicine
Seaweed extract gives lithium batteries a boost
08 September 2011
Polysaccharides from brown algae offer a cheap way to stabilise silicon anodes and improve battery capacity
Wonder material not so wonderful
08 September 2011
Researchers discover that graphene isn't so quick to transfer electrons in electrochemistry
Smart glass for energy efficient windows
08 September 2011
In the future, we may not need air conditioning units or central heating - our windows could keep us cool or cosy instead
Colourful toxin detection
08 September 2011
A visible detector to reveal neurotoxic chemical warfare agents
First Pfizer spinout at Sandwich
07 September 2011
The seven person company will broker the outsourcing process for client drug companies
_67_tcm18-206962.jpg)
Bringing DNA to life
07 September 2011
Clyde Hutchison became a biologist almost by accident. Joanne Thomson learns that physics' loss is genomics' gain
Analytical techniques employed in art forgery case
07 September 2011
Science will take centre stage in art forgery court case starting in Germany
Dimerised drug leads two pronged attack on HIV
06 September 2011
HIV drug dimer can both cross into the brain and inhibit protein pump that expels it
Crystallising safer explosives
06 September 2011
Co-crystallising two explosives has allowed researchers to make a compound that is safer but still highly energetic
Spiders, Grubbs' and polymer-powered nanomotors
05 September 2011
A chemical spider uses a Grubbs' catalyst to spin its polymer web and power its movement
Microscopy reveals why ketchup squirts
02 September 2011
Researchers claim to have uncovered the particle dynamics behind 'non-Newtonian' fluids
Unreported emissions link to EU chemical industry
02 September 2011
A top down analysis of atmospheric HFC-23 suggests that countries are releasing up to 140 per cent more than they are reporting
Offsetting the cost of a green solvent
02 September 2011
Waste carbon dioxide shows promise as source of supercritical solvent
Small molecules open gates to the brain
01 September 2011
A new chemical toolbox will help researchers tease out how the brain operates
Green fire retardant swells to suppress flames
01 September 2011
Environmentally friendly polymer coating expands to form a flame-proof foam in the face of fire
Self-cleaning fabrics now even cleaner
01 September 2011
A self-cleaning fabric that lasts longer, shows better antibacterial action and is more comfortable to wear than current materials
Vitamin scaffold turns silent killer into a healing hero
01 September 2011
Carbon monoxide for therapeutic use could be administered safely in biocompatible carriers
