News March 2008
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World's first 'green' linear polyethylene launched
31 March 2008
Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem aim to make 200,000 tonnes of plastic per year from sugarcane
Unbalanced polymers offer route to ultrathin films
31 March 2008
Chinese scientists have demonstrated a different way to make multilayer thin films.
Interview: In the beginning...
31 March 2008
Kenso Soai and Joanne Thomson discuss the origin of chirality in life
Strength in nanoworms
28 March 2008
Scientists in the US have mimicked the structure of bird nests to overcome the extreme fragility of highly insulating aerogels
Membrane sacs made in minutes
27 March 2008
Self-assembling permeable polymer bubbles could hold cells for drug studies
Silicon circuits do the twist
27 March 2008
An integrated circuit can be folded and stretched without compromising its electronic properties
Industrial-scale dendrimer production cracked
27 March 2008
New synthetic route that delivers dendrimers in kilogram quantities could open a new branch of drug delivery and diagnostics
Tumour treatments see the light
27 March 2008
DNA-seeking probes could deliver anticancer agents right to the heart of tumour cells, say chemists in Italy.
Big funding for GM research
26 March 2008
China to spend over a billion dollars on improving crop yield, nutrition and drought resistance
High impact safety measures
25 March 2008
Chemists in France have synthesised new compounds from old, for an alternative for air bag inflation.
The phosphite against cancer
25 March 2008
Phosphorus compounds made by scientists in India and the US have shown anticancer activity without using metals.
Designer thermometers rise to new levels
25 March 2008
Scientists in Europe and the US have used ionic liquids in liquid-in-glass thermometers as alternatives to mercury and ethanol.
Surfactants help reactions work in water
20 March 2008
PTS is an effective new ingredient in the quest to run catalytic organic reactions in water
China's environment gets a health check
20 March 2008
Ground-breaking report maps pollution in unprecedented detail
UK drug firms to slash research and jobs
20 March 2008
Pharma's confidence slumps as UK scraps drug pricing scheme
Pill for car-sick dogs to be launched in Europe
19 March 2008
Pfizer's Cerenia to bring relief to pets from April
'Designer' catalyst fights fuel cell poisoning
19 March 2008
Nanoparticles designed from scratch exhibit outstanding catalytic activity for the selective oxidation of CO
Zooming in on nanoparticles' defects
19 March 2008
Materials scientists obtain new insight into the defects of nanoparticles
Arsenic exposure from rice milk
19 March 2008
Researchers have found that levels of arsenic in rice milk exceed EU and US drinking water standards
OLED displays brighten up
18 March 2008
Soluble iridium complex brings larger display screen a step closer
China announces major government reshuffle
18 March 2008
Energy watchdog established, drug regulator reformed
Instant insight: Organic field-effect transistors
18 March 2008
Marta Mas-Torrent and Concepció Rovira look at how small molecules can be used as processable semiconductors
The science of smell
18 March 2008
Chip technology is helping French scientists to unravel the mysteries behind our sense of smell.
Analysing aneurysms
18 March 2008
In the future, doctors may be able to spot life-threatening blood vessel swelling more accurately, thanks to work by French scientists.
Interview: Flying high with nanomedicine
14 March 2008
Jinwoo Cheon tells Stephen Davey how nanoparticles can be used in medical diagnostics.
Tight US budget hits chemistry research
14 March 2008
NSF cuts university grants, NIST halts chemical lab programme
The amino acid response to stress
14 March 2008
A probe that labels oxidised sulfur atoms in proteins could help researchers studying oxidative stress in living cells.
Planets' birthplace harbours chemical seeds of life
13 March 2008
Organic molecules observed in the planet-forming region of a star resembling our own Sun
Germany set to resolve foreign doctorates spat
13 March 2008
Scientists with US PhDs no longer to face criminal charges for using the title 'Dr'
Safer stent surfaces
13 March 2008
Understanding structural changes of blood plasma proteins at metal surfaces offers hope for new medical implants
Small firms benefit from Darling's first budget
12 March 2008
UK Chancellor announces money for SMEs and school science but abolishes biofuel subsidy
Protein activity tied in knots
12 March 2008
UK scientists have engineered a molecular knot that inhibits an enzyme crucial to foot-and-mouth disease.
Chemical wheel could boost computers
11 March 2008
Researchers in Japan have created a molecular assembly that could allow 16 bit parallel processing
Report outlines low carbon future for China and EU
11 March 2008
Combining efforts on climate change could open huge market opportunities
Diazene takes a side-on stance
11 March 2008
An unusual iron complex may lead to better ways of producing ammonia
Interview: The science of herbal remedies
11 March 2008
Peter Houghton tells Joanne Thomson that there is still much to be learnt from traditional medicine.
To sort, simply stretch
11 March 2008
Researchers in Sweden have come up with a straightforward method for sorting particles in microfluidics - simply stretching the microchannel
New hope for anti-HIV gels
10 March 2008
Promising results for microbicide tenofovir after a string of failures
Cell's protein factory seen in action
10 March 2008
Optical tweezers help scientists watch a ribosome move along a strand of RNA making protein
From oxidation to reduction
10 March 2008
Researchers in Portugal have developed high-valent metal oxides for hydrogenating alkynes and sulfoxides, using inexpensive hydrogen
UK drug pricing system scrapped
07 March 2008
Pharmaceutical price regulation scheme will be replaced by more stringent controls
Ditching fossil fuels could stretch water resources
07 March 2008
Electric vehicles are too thirsty, warn US scientists
Sea cucumbers inspire switchable material
06 March 2008
Composite can flip between rigid and flexible states - just like the skin of the sea-bed scavenger
Synthetic enzymes designed by computer
06 March 2008
New, artificial catalysts not quite up to nature's standard
Soaking spuds cuts cancer-risk chemical in chips
06 March 2008
Washing or enzyme treatment reduces acrylamide formation during potato frying
Detecting a microbe among millions
06 March 2008
A sensor that can discriminate between closely related bacteria has been developed by material scientists in the US.
Miniature mixing inspired by nature
06 March 2008
Dutch scientists have copied nature to develop a faster and more efficient method for mixing small volumes of liquid.
Chemical cues warn ants of invaders
05 March 2008
Chemical barcodes allows ants to tell friend from foe
Arsenic enhances cancer imaging
05 March 2008
Drug labelled with radioactive arsenic could spot even the smallest tumours
Marine inspiration for biofilm break up
05 March 2008
Inspired by natural product oroidin, American scientists have developed compounds to disperse bacterial films linked to infection.
Controlled-release microcapsules
05 March 2008
Gel-based capsules that can be individually opened with a precisely aimed blast from a laser could be a new way to control reactions or deliver drugs
Watching paint die
04 March 2008
The decline of decaying paintings could be reversed thanks to a new technique from German scientists
Newer diesel engines emit more harmful nanoparticles
04 March 2008
Soot from low-emission diesel engines penetrates deeper into lung tissue than fumes from older models
Controversy over EPA removal of top toxicologist
04 March 2008
Letters reveal ACC pushed for 'biased' chairwoman of scientific panel to go
Sulfide sponge could clean up nuclear waste
03 March 2008
Metal sulfide removes radioactive strontium from a mix of ions
