RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Chemistry World

 

News November 2006


Morning-after tumour treatment

Abortion pill might prevent breast cancer

30 November 2006

Mifepristone prevents the development of tumours in mouse mammary cells


Car exhaust fumes

Vehicle emissions dominated by nanoparticles

30 November 2006

Air quality study during rush hour raises questions about the current UK standards for particulates.


Canned sports drinks in a fridge cabinet

An on-chip look at taurine in energy drinks

30 November 2006

A microchip method to reliably determine taurine levels in energy drinks has been developed by scientists in the Netherlands.


A material that mimics bone could be used to mend and numb the pain of broken limbs.

Bone-building scaffold

30 November 2006

A material that mimics bone could be used to simultaneously mend and numb the pain of broken limbs.


Potatoes

BASF touts GM spuds for starch

29 November 2006

German chemical giant awaiting EU approval for feedstock crop.


Pontia protodice butterfly

Pterins, sex and the single butterfly

29 November 2006

Male butterflies dazzle females


Alasdair Smith/U. Sussex

Early departure for Sussex vice-chancellor

29 November 2006

Author of chemistry department controversy calls it quits


Photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis

29 November 2006

Harnessing light energy by mimicking photosynthesis could be the future for energy systems.


An HPLC column positioned in front of an HPLC spectrum

Click on to HPLC

28 November 2006

The power of 'click chemistry' has been extended to the world of separation analysis by a team of scientists in China.


Moenomycin

Synthesis success after 30 years

28 November 2006

Chemists finally make moenomycin antibiotic from scratch


Cold war missiles

Cold war clean-up

28 November 2006

Researchers are working out how to decommission aging rockets


Micro-spherical heart-like pump

Batteries not included

28 November 2006

A wireless pulsating heart, with potential as a miniature pump in medical implants, has been constructed by Japanese technologists.


Fossilised leaf

Home-baked plants solve petrol mystery

27 November 2006

Artificial leaf fossils confirm origins of petrol's precursor.


Intel chip

Getting the dope on a single atom of dopant

27 November 2006

The quantum state of a single atom of dopant in a silicon semiconductor has been measured.


Polonium

Q&A: Polonium-210

27 November 2006

Polonium-210 is reported to have caused the fatal poisoning of former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko.


Vancomycin dimers are more effective against bacteria than the single form.

Two heads are better than one

27 November 2006

A doubled-up drug could be the answer to superbugs.


European Union flag

Reach talks break down

24 November 2006

Year-long discussions between the European parliament and EU states have broken down.


Nanotube

Cooking up nano-fusilli

24 November 2006

Organic molecules curl up into helical nanotubes


Washing machine

Washing machine triggers nanoparticle regulation

24 November 2006

Anti-microbial silver nanoparticles labelled 'pesticides'


Breath sampler for disease diagnosis

Blow for disease diagnosis

24 November 2006

Doctors could one day give health check-ups by analysing our breath, UK chemists say.


Clostridium

Bacteria that help fight cancer

23 November 2006

Bacterial protein treats cancer by releasing drugs from liposome carriers.


Unfolding protein

Unfolding peptide watched in real time

23 November 2006

Infrared spectroscopy captures processes taking mere millionths of a millionth of a second


Hesse Crucibles

Scientists crack ancient crucible recipe

22 November 2006

Alchemists of the Middle Ages used modern ceramics


ICI

ICI sells flavours and fragrances business

23 November 2006

Billion-pound deal boosts industry leader Givaudan


A pile of compact discs

Can recycling become a PC term?

23 November 2006

An efficient method for recycling polycarbonate (PC) waste has been developed by researchers from Taiwan.


Anticancer compounds protected by an organic jacket should prove more effective.

Curbing cancer

22 November 2006

Anticancer compounds should prove more effective if they are protected in an organic jacket, claim researchers in Australia.


Interstitial hydride complex

Hydride ion finds new home

22 November 2006

Metal clusters that can encapsulate hydride ions might offer a new hydrogen storage strategy.


blood supply to carcinoma

Side-effect-free chemotherapy

21 November 2006

US researchers have developed an enzyme could eliminate the damage that chemotherapy does to healthy tissue.


A bundle of dynamite

Porous films detect TNT

21 November 2006

Fluorescent films that can sense explosives have been developed by Chinese scientists.


Phase transition

Microscopy enters the fourth dimension

20 November 2006

Ultrafast electron microscope records atomic movies in real time.


Race horse

Detecting designer steroids

20 November 2006

Detecting designer steroids used to cheat in horse racing and other sports has been made easier thanks to Australian scientists.


Solar system

Solar system's super beginnings

17 November 2006

Improvements in samarium detection could tell us more about how the solar system formed.


Institute logos

Uniting to preserve Germany's heritage

17 November 2006

Two of Germany's largest scientific organizations have created an alliance to better preserve and restore items of cultural significance


Zinc finger proteins can be used to detect mistakes in DNA.

Engineered fingers spot mistakes in DNA

17 November 2006

Exposing errors in the DNA hidden deep inside our cells could help doctors diagnose certain diseases earlier and more accurately.


A bright, white LED

Getting brighter and whiter

17 November 2006

Chemists in Taiwan have made a high performance and stable organic LED that gives out white light.


Levitated ionic liquid

Reactions without walls

16 November 2006

Containerless chemistry in levitating droplets of ionic liquids.


The array can monitor the effects of drugs and disease on living cells.

Device monitors expression

15 November 2006

A 'living cell array' to monitor cell responses to drugs could lead to a greater understanding of liver disease.


Damascus sabre

Carbon nanotubes: Saladin's secret weapon

15 November 2006

Carbon nanotubes are no longer the proud boast of 21st century materials scientists - mediaeval sword-smiths got there first.


Graphene nanoribbon

Nanoribbons put electrons in a spin

15 November 2006

Calculations predict that some graphene nanoribbons behave as half-metals, making them a useful material for spin-based electronics (spintronics).


Barometer

Mercury legislation rises then falls

15 November 2006

Plans for European Union restrictions on mercury have been thrown into confusion


Photosensitising dye

Giving the red light to cancer cells

15 November 2006

A water-soluble dye has all of the properties needed for use in a non-invasive form of cancer treatment, say scientists in Turkey.


A solid state reactor

Solid future for green synthesis

15 November 2006

Solid-state reactions can be scaled up for industrial chemical production in a waste-free and environmentally benign manner, claims a German chemist.


Makeup

New world of cosmetovigilance

14 November 2006

Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have taken steps to identify health risks from chemicals in cosmetics


Nerve cell

New natural painkiller discovered

13 November 2006

A short peptide isolated from human saliva has potentially powerful painkilling properties


Arthritis

Do you get the message?

13 November 2006

Understanding the signals produced by clumps of proteins will help find a cure for multiple sclerosis, say US scientists.


A magnified image of some glass fragments

Shards of glass give up their secrets

13 November 2006

Glass fragments collected from a crime scene can be accurately matched using a mass spectrometry technique, according to forensic scientists in the Netherlands.


Host-guest network

Keeping guest molecules in order

13 November 2006

Trapping a guest in a corner prevents disorder, according to scientists in Japan.


Lord Sainsbury

Lord Sainsbury quits as UK science minister

10 November 2006

Legacy praised by scientific community


The threads that heal

Healing threads spun from living cells

10 November 2006

Biological threads made from polymers containing living cells could make wound-repairing scaffolds


Falling liquid drop

Ionic liquids control pH

10 November 2006

An ionic liquid that could be used to control pH in chemical reactions has been developed by scientists in China.


Trapped algae dissolve their silica cages.

Materials from captured algae

10 November 2006

Algae tunnelling out of glass jails could lead to new materials for biomedical devices, say French scientists.


Test your health with a breath

Feeling ill? Just breathe here

09 November 2006

New mass spectrometry method could diagnose patient's health from breath


Prussian blue pigment

Paint me a computer

09 November 2006

Chemists in Poland have constructed logic gates, the 'atoms' of computation, out of well-known pigments.


The micro-patterned sensor surface

Interface detects explosives

09 November 2006

An interface that can be used to detect explosives has been developed by Swedish scientists.


Biomarkers could improve schizophrenia diagnosis

Molecular signals of schizophrenia identified

08 November 2006

Chemical indicators of psychosis found in cerebrospinal fluid


A new route to better-binding RNA molecules.

Aptamers with aptitude

08 November 2006

Scientists have developed a route to better-binding RNA molecules and found a binder for HIV-1 RNA.


Are developing brains at risk?

Industrial chemicals accused of causing 'silent pandemic'

08 November 2006

But neurotoxicology fears may be alarmist, say scientists


Some pre-packaged ham

How fresh is your food?

07 November 2006

A material that changes colour when exposed to oxygen could be used to indicate whether packaged food is still fresh, its inventors claim.


Molecular wire

Longest single molecule wire

07 November 2006

A single molecule wire, claimed to be the longest yet, has been made by UK scientists.


Frogs

Keeping mosquitoes at bay

06 November 2006

Poison frogs' natural defence system revealed


Inactive apoenzyme (left) is converted to active holoenzyme (right) in the presence of the metal ion indicated here by a colour change from red to yellow.

Mimicking nature's signals

06 November 2006

Scientists have drawn inspiration from nature to develop a method for detecting DNA.


Bacteria

Bacteria out to lunch on soil pollutants

06 November 2006

Microbes can clean up persistent environmental contaminants.


Bonfire

Crack-down on bogus bonfires

03 November 2006

UK Environment Agency patrols out in force to stop pollution caused by the illegal burning of waste under the guise of Guy Fawkes


Cells expressing green fluorescent protein

A longer lasting message

03 November 2006

Monitoring mRNA stability could light the way to new cancer treatments.


Alois Alzheimer

Alzheimer's century

02 November 2006

Researchers worldwide are commemorating the centenary of Alois Alzheimer's first description of the dementia named after him


Mesoporous solid gate

Open and shut case

02 November 2006

Chemical gate controls catalytic reaction inside porous solid.


Folded mutant ILBP lacking alpha-helical motif

Protein structure all wrapped up

01 November 2006

A protein that dramatically alters its shape could have implications in fields ranging from new materials to drug design.


Ceramic microreactor

Microreactors for hydrogen fuel cells

01 November 2006

Ceramic microreactors show promise for portable electrical power sources, say US scientists.