Noteworthy chemical developments abounded in fields such as nanotechnology, biochemistry, catalysis, genomics, and organic chemistry

STU BORMAN, C&EN WASHINGTON

Scientific developments reported in the media are often impressive advances with significant potential importance, not only to science but also to society at large. In the next pages, C&EN remembers some of the major developments we covered in the year 2001.

Our annual review of research highlights doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive list of significant scientific advances. Our selections are generally restricted to research in the field of chemistry, to stories we've already reported on, and to developments reported in the primary scientific literature through November. So there are undoubtedly many essential advances that are not included, and we apologize if we've left out some of your favorites.

But despite inevitable flaws in the selection process, we believe that recalling the major chemical advances of the year is a worthwhile endeavor. Although individual developments may often seem incremental, it's amazing to see how much is actually accomplished over the course of an entire year. We hope that placing these advances in context with each other provides a better sense of the enormous progress made by the thousands of researchers who try each year to make "better living through chemistry" not just a shelved slogan, but a reality.