News August 2008

Drinking water safe after China plant blast
29 August 2008
Local authorities say the pollution threat from the Vinylon chemical factory explosion has been contained

Breaking the bonds of global warming
29 August 2008
Catalyst pulls apart unreactive carbon-fluorine bonds at room temperature

Chip test for IVF embryos
29 August 2008
Lab on a chip could improve the success of in vitro fertilisation

A Titan discovery
29 August 2008
European researchers step closer to explaining hydrocarbon formation on Saturn's largest moon.

Interview: Mapping out success
29 August 2008
OBC lecture award winner, Akimitsu Okamoto, talks to Vikki Allen about chemical probes and daydreaming over maps

Cracking down on counterfeit drugs
28 August 2008
A new Tamiflu screening method could help foil counterfeiters, say US scientists

Floral scents trick pollinators
28 August 2008
Plants manipulate birds and insects with a carefully balanced mixture of chemicals

Interview: Finger on the pulse
28 August 2008
Paul Corkum talks to Hilary Crichton about attosecond pulses and how developing new ideas is like skiing downhill

Metabolic markers for diabetes
28 August 2008
Spectroscopic techniques combined for easier metabolite analysis

Drug uptake rule challenged
27 August 2008
Membrane study contradicts a century-old pharmacologists' rule on drug transport

High-throughput protein microarrays on the way
26 August 2008
New method offers a rapid, robust way to make protein microarrays

Industry failing to monitor water quality
26 August 2008
Outmoded equipment lets chemical pollutants slip through the net

Photonic crystal drug detective
26 August 2008
High-throughput sensor quickly spots molecules that disrupt protein-DNA interactions

Biofuels coming to a town near you?
22 August 2008
A new Fischer-Tropsch microreactor could convert agricultural waste into biofuel at small local plants

Chinese sewage plant study raises concerns
22 August 2008
Levels of some toxic pollutants rise after treatment

Rewriting the biochemistry textbooks
22 August 2008
Calculations validate alternative to a much-published enzyme mechanism

Source of Gaza's contaminated water confirmed
21 August 2008
Nitrates that poison newborns come from manure dumped on soil

Skin cancer's unique smell mapped
21 August 2008
Odour profile could lead to hand-held cancer 'sniff test'

Human trials for dyes that make cancers glow
21 August 2008
Lack of contrast agents still holds up surgical application of medical imaging

Gold's magic number
20 August 2008
Gold nanocluster catalysts split oxygen molecules - but cluster size is crucial

Grasslands emit greenhouse gas
20 August 2008
Plants produce significant quantities of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - depending on where they are growing

Spying on self-assembly
20 August 2008
First detailed study glimpses peptides self-organising on nanoparticles

Knockout nanoparticles fight infection
20 August 2008
Septicaemia causing bacteria take a blow from two different types of antibacterial nanoparticles

Flask synthesis promises untainted heparin
19 August 2008
Clinical trials with pure synthetic anticoagulant in five years, says chemist

China keeps pollution in bounds
19 August 2008
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from fuel burning don't stray far ashore 

Circuit boards to building blocks
19 August 2008
Electronic waste made into planks as strong as concrete

Revising the route to a stealthy siderophore
19 August 2008
Surprising result reveals details of potential enzyme target in the fight against anthrax

Patterning promise for next-gen computers
18 August 2008
Self-assembling polymers hold key to computer components of the future

Exclusive Interview: Cal Dooley
18 August 2008
Ex-congressman takes helm of US chemical industry group 

Discovering the secrets of DNA repair
18 August 2008
Scientists are adding lesions into DNA to probe the mechanisms that allow dormant bacteria to come 'back to life'

Propylene oxide gets a green makeover
18 August 2008
An industrially important compound is made in a more environmentally conscious way

Sweet smell of success
18 August 2008
German scientists have used an ionic liquid coating on a hydrogenation catalyst to make sweet smelling chemicals

Arsenic-loving bacteria rewrite photosynthesis rules
15 August 2008
Microbes enlist arsenite to build up fuel stores

Furfural fuels straight from cellulose
15 August 2008
Cheap chemical conversion boosts promise of alternative plant waste biofuels

Gel releases drugs on cue
14 August 2008
Polymer delivery system may help make daily injections unnecessary for diabetics

Colourful waterproofing for anything
14 August 2008
New 'dip and dry' process adds waterproof coatings to a range of materials

Organic liquids capture greenhouse gas
14 August 2008
Organic liquids that can hold twice as much carbon dioxide as current capture agents have been developed

Getting to grips with complex chirality
14 August 2008
A proposal for defining the chirality of octahedral complexes with chelate ligands has been put forward

Instant insight: A golden future
14 August 2008
Ralph Sperling explains why gold is so precious to biological scientists

Chipscreen hits funding barrier for new drug
13 August 2008
Regulators take a tough stance against Chinese pharma firms 

New twist on protein binding
13 August 2008
A fortuitous discovery has led to a new type of probe for protein interactions that could find use in cellular imaging

Reach regulator faces resource stretch
12 August 2008
Concerns persist that the agency implementing Europe's Reach regulation may not have the necessary resources

EU plans to share more science funds and facilities
12 August 2008
European Commission floats voluntary scheme to end duplication of national research efforts

Energy from model enzymes
12 August 2008
Mimicking enzymes with inorganic complexes could offer a new route to catalysing hydrogen fuel cells, claim Japanese scientists.

Instant insight: Tasting the chemistry
12 August 2008
Susan Ebeler, University of California, Davis, US, reveals the science behind the flavour in everyone's favourite tipple

Hot chillis evolved to kill fungi
11 August 2008
Study confirms spicy capsaicinoids defend fruit from microbes

Yeast manufacture morphine precursor
11 August 2008
Chemists mix and match enzymes in yeast to make intermediates of painkillers and cancer drugs

Fabrics reveal their explosive secrets
11 August 2008
A new method to detect explosives and drugs on fabrics could improve airport security

Uncovering uranium's unusual bonding
08 August 2008
First unsupported uranium-aluminium bond reveals radioactive element's complex chemistry

Funding carbon capture
08 August 2008
Calls for incentives to speed development of commercial scale plants

RNA stops HIV in its tracks
07 August 2008
Interfering RNA smuggled into immune cells stops the entry and spread of HIV

Elastic conductor stretches the bounds of electronics
07 August 2008
Nanotube-packed polymer could be used for cheap flexible displays and robot 'skin'

Making seawater easier to swallow
07 August 2008
Chlorine-tolerant membranes could simplify desalination

Instant insight: The wonder of gold
07 August 2008
Graham J. Hutchings, Mathias Brust and Hubert Schmidbaur introduce the newly discovered allure of gold

Closer ties urged between China and IEA
06 August 2008
World energy forum needs China onboard to tackle carbon emissions and high oil prices

Interview: Medicines from the deep
06 August 2008
Mark Butler talks to Elinor Richards about Singapore, sponges and scuba diving

EPA nanosafety scheme fails to draw industry
05 August 2008
Fewer companies than expected sign up to voluntary programme

Faster test for tuberculosis
05 August 2008
Early diagnosis of tuberculosis is now a step closer, say scientists from India and Japan

When convection goes without a bang
05 August 2008
UK researchers have been investigating how to predict whether a reacting mixture will explode

Vaccine failures shake up HIV research
04 August 2008
Cancelled HIV vaccine trials increase the focus on new antiretroviral drugs

Newspaper filters out gold
04 August 2008
Ordinary newspaper can be used to recover precious metals from industrial wastewater, say researchers in Japan

High hopes for new UK neutron source
01 August 2008
ISIS facility launches £145 million second target station




