News June 2005
30 June 2005: The colour of strawberry allergy
The mystery of why some people are allergic to strawberries is about to be revealed.
30 June 2005: SMEs need more support to develop sustainable products
Small- to medium-sized businesses in the UK are not getting the support needed to address key challenges in green product design, say leading strategists.
29 June 2005: Wet work most important risk factor for skin disease
The harmful effects of 'wet work' on large parts of the population have been neglected for far too long
29 June 2005: Novel ion-exchange technique for zeolites
UK chemists have demonstrated a novel electrochemical method for exchanging ions in zeolites.
28 June 2005: Block co-polymers dictate pattern of 2D cell growth
The unusual properties of a block co-polymer make living cells grow in a precisely defined two-dimensional pattern.
28 June 2005: UK updates regulations on hazardous substances
Amended UK regulations covering ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and petroleum products will come into effect at the end of June, the Health and Safety Executive has announced.
27 June 2005: Patience wears thin for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
New European Union legislation requires tyre manufacturers to reformulate their products by 2010 in order to curb emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
27 June 2005: Protein synthesis under the spotlight
US chemists have developed a technique for investigating protein synthesis using light-responsive 'caged compounds'.
24 June 2005: Evacuation not always the best option in chemical incidents
Evacuating people from their homes might not be the best course of action in the wake of a chemical incident, experts announced today.
24 June 2005: Cancer research benefits from Scottish Executive awards
Cancer research at three institutions is to benefit from the latest Proof of Concept awards announced by Scottish Enterprise.
23 June 2005: Waltzing lipids slow under heavy polymers
Membrane-bound lipids slow down - like heavily-laden porters - when large molecules land on top of them, report US chemists.
22 June 2005: World's fastest ice cream freezes in seconds
It's official; the world's fastest ice cream maker is polymer physicist Peter Barham from the University of Bristol, UK.
22 June 2005: Prime Minister addresses RSC meeting
The central position of science and technology at this year's G8 summit was driven home when Prime Minister Tony Blair made an unprecedented appearance at an RSC meeting.
20 June 2005: Films of functionalised nanotubes display a wide range of resistivity
UK researchers have measured electrical resistance of films of single-walled carbon nanotubes whose sidewalls have been functionalised with different chemical groups.
17 June 2005: Depleted mantle has been around since the start
Current models for the formation of the Earth's mantle are probably incorrect, report US geochemists.
17 June 2005: Nanospaces for molecular computation
Chemists have created what is probably the smallest ever computational device, by incorporating a molecular logic gate inside a sphere with a radius of only 3nm.
16 June 2005: Bad breath - disease or cure?
Garlic extract offers an innovative treatment for patients with advanced gum disease, report UK researchers.
14 June 2005: Scottish research institute faces falling funds
The Hannah Research Institute (HRI) in Ayr, Scotland faces an uncertain future.
13 June 2005: Chemistry of space dust
Assumptions about how certain key molecules behave on the surface of dust grains in deepest space might be wrong, report UK chemists.
13 June 2005: Scientists FRET over neurotransmitter measurement
Molecular biologists have developed a biological nanosensor that can accurately measure levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in live nerve cells.
10 June 2005: Chemicals firm won't play Russian roulette
State-of-the-art ammonia production safety training has arrived in Russia, where a chemicals company has opened an integrated computer training facility.
9 June 2005: Fuel cells that don't feel the cold
US material scientists have developed a small, propane-powered solid oxide fuel cell that acts as its own heat source.
9 June 2005: Causing a stir in microfluidics
The time it takes to analyse a blood sample could be slashed with a device that, in the words of its inventor, looks like a plastic coffee stirrer.
8 June 2005: Kroto institute opens in Sheffield
RSC past-president Harry Kroto has officially opened a nanotechnology research institute in his name at his alma mater the University of Sheffield.
7 June 2005: Non-scientists use their heads to make germ-free varnish
A group of high school pupils, a retired railroader and three second world war veterans have created a self-sanitising varnish.
7 June 2005: Future of nanotech on the high street unclear
It is far too early to herald the arrival of a nanotechnological revolution on the high street, cautions leading German nanotechnologist and textiles expert, Eckhard Schollmeyer.
6 June 2005: A third strand for DNA
The DNA double helix can under certain conditions accommodate a third strand in its major groove.
3 June 2005: Catalyst recycling on tape
Certain classes of catalyst can be efficiently and simply recovered from and released into reaction mixtures using commercially available Teflon tape.
2 June 2005: UK U-turn on boycott of Israeli universities
An academics' union in the UK has voted to overturn its highly controversial, widely publicised boycott of two Israeli universities.
2 June 2005: Molecular conductors gated by a single atom
A simple system of molecular conductors has been built on a silicon surface and can be controlled via the charge in a single silicon atom.
