National Chemistry Week
Quote of the Week
"It's pretty tough to be creative
at something you have no passion for."
SONG GAO, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF CHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR ENGINEERING, PEKING UNIVERSITY, CHINA – p. 36
December 13, 2010
In This Issue:
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Highlights
Cover Story
Chemistry In The Spotlight
National Chemistry Week demystifies the role of chemistry in movies and on television. (pp. 14-21)
» NCW Poster Contest Winners
Science & Technology
Our Microbial Selves
Projects to tabulate communities of bacteria that cohabit our bodies reveal unexpected roles in health and disease. (pp. 32-35)
Science & Technology
For Gathering Storm, Clouds Ahead (Member Content)
China must overcome significant challenges to become the innovative scientific powerhouse it wants to be. (pp. 36-37)
Table of Contents
Point/Counterpoint
Academic Chemical Research 26-29
Divergent opinions on what should motivate chemists in today's research universities.
News Of The Week
Arsenic Bacteria Breed Backlash p. 7
Controversy: Claim that microbe weaves arsenic into its DNA comes under fire.
Chemical Sector Recovers Slowly p. 8
Outlook: A sluggish U.S. economy outweighs the bright spots.
Berg To Leave NIH p. 8
Head of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will take a new job in academe.
Peering Into A Battery p. 9
Materials Science: Technique enables direct look at electrode transformations during charging.
House Republican Leadership p. 9
Michigan Rep. Fred Upton wins battle to lead the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
Industry Hails U.S.-Korea Deal p. 10
International Trade: Chemical makers say agreement will boost exports to growing Asian market.
Ian Read Is Pfizer's New CEO p. 10
Pharmaceuticals: Thirty-year company veteran takes over from Jeffrey Kindler.
Cell-Mediated Computation p. 11
Synthetic Biology: Engineered cells can be combined into complex circuits, researchers show.
Arkema Bulks Up On Coatings p. 11
Firm will buy three coatings ingredients businesses from its former parent, Total.
Business
Outfitting The Full Disposable Kit pp. 18-19 (Member Content)
Providers of single-use bioreactors seek to expand flexibility while keeping costs low.
Kraton Gets Its Bounce Back pp. 20-21 (Member Content)
The CEO of the newly public polymer firm says it has rediscovered its technological origins.
Tech Test-Drive p. 22 (Member Content)
Early success with a screening technique highlights GSK's external partnering strategy.
Business Concentrates pp. 16-17 (Member Content)
- BASF And Petronas Study Specialty Chemical Plant
- BASF and Malaysian oil refiner Petronas have signed a memorandum of understanding for a $1.3 billion complex that would produce a range of specialty chemicals in Malaysia...
- Bayer Picks China For Materials Plants
- In what it calls one of the biggest investments to date for its MaterialScience business, Bayer plans to spend about $1.3 billion on new polycarbonate and isocyanate plants in China...
- ZeaChem Starts Building Biorefinery
- Biofuels start-up ZeaChem has begun construction on a cellulosic chemicals plant in Boardman, Ore....
- EC Clears DSM Sale Of Benzoates Unit
- The European Commission has approved DSM’s sale of its DSM Special Products business in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to Sun Capital Partners....
- DSM Buying Stake In UV-Cure Resin Firm
- DSM intends to acquire a 51% stake in Taiwan’s AGI Corp. for about $64 million...
- Israel’s ICL Moves To Acquire And Expand
- Israeli fertilizer and chemical maker ICL has signed a letter of intent to acquire the specialty fertilizer business of Scotts Miracle-Gro for $272 million...
- Nalco And Lukoil Form Joint Venture
- Nalco has formed a joint venture in western Siberia with Russian oil firm Lukoil to supply oil-field chemicals and services to local companies...
- Dow Venture Powers Electric Trash Truck
- Dow Kokam will supply lithium-ion batteries to the French industrial vehicle firm PVI for use in what the partners are calling the first-ever electric garbage trucks...
- Albemarle, Petrobras Plan Catalyst Plant
- Albemarle and Petrobras plan to build a “world scale” hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) plant on the site of their existing fluid catalytic cracking catalyst joint venture in Santa Cruz, Brazil...
- AB Sciex Will Probe Water With Mass Spec
- Scientific instrument maker AB Sciex is collaborating with Landeswasserversorgung Water Supply, a leading European water supply and treatment organization...
- GSK Will Acquire China’s MeiRui
- In a move to strengthen its position in China, GlaxoSmithKline will acquire Nanjing MeiRui Pharma for $70 million in cash...
- Cephalon In Stem Cell Pact With Mesoblast
- Cephalon and Mesoblast have teamed up to develop adult mesenchymal precursor stem cell therapies for cardiovascular and central nervous system conditions...
- Layoffs Announced At West Pharma And Enzon
- West Pharmaceutical Services, a Lionville, Pa.-based firm specializing in drug delivery technology, is closing its Montgomery, Pa., manufacturing facility and trimming operations in Cornwall, England...
- Business Roundup
- Sasol, PolyOne, Braskem, Sigma-Aldrich, Eastman Kodak, LS9, Merck & Co., Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Forest Laboratories...
Books
Toxic Power pp. 38-39
Exploration of the evolving politics of dealing with the hazardous by-products of industrial development.
Government & Policy
Boiler Battle pp. 24-25 (Member Content)
Chemical industry, lawmakers fear job losses from costly air toxics rule.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 23 (Member Content)
- High Court To Weigh In On Climate Case
- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to reconsider a lower court decision that would allow states to limit greenhouse gas emissions under federal common law as a “nuisance....
- Reforms Sought For Agrochemical Data
- USDA’s failure to collect agricultural pesticide and fertilizer usage data from 2007 to 2009 because of budget constraints had a big impact on data users...
- Sealants Are Source Of Lake Pollution
- Coal-tar-based pavement sealants are the largest source of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in many urban lakes...
- New Strategy For Nanotech Safety
- The National Nanotechnology Initiative, an interagency program that coordinates federally funded nanotechnology R&D, has released its draft strategy for environmental, health, and safety (EHS) research...
- Interior Mulls Rules For Fracturing Chemicals
- The Interior Department is considering a policy change that would require energy companies to disclose the identity of the chemicals they use when extracting natural gas from shale on federal lands...
» more government & policy news...
People
Obituaries pp. 49-51 (Member Content)
Social Networking And C&EN
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Science & Technology
Our Microbial Selves pp. 32-35
Projects to tabulate communities of bacteria that cohabit our bodies reveal unexpected roles in health and disease.
For Gathering Storm, Clouds Ahead pp. 36-37 (Member Content)
China must overcome significant challenges to become the innovative scientific powerhouse it wants to be.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 30-31 (Member Content)
- Model Self-Assembly
- Molecules that self-assemble form 2-D networks through a discrete series of intermediate stages
- Water Destabilizes Protein-Hydrophobic Ligand Complexes
- The first quantitative comparison of dissociation rates of solvated and nonsolvated complexes gives surprising results
- Chemical ‘Nanofuse’
- A conducting molecule that switches off when jolted with electricity functions as a molecular fuse
- Porous Compounds Prefer Paraffins
- Metal-organic frameworks can selectively separate paraffins from mixtures with olefins
- DESI Probes Reactive Intermediates
- Desorption electrospray ionization tracks reactions that are otherwise difficult to follow by mass spectrometry
- Drought Boosts Resveratrol In Cabernets
- A water deficit boosts production of one form of the beneficial compound resveratrol in wine grapes
- Metal-Free Selective Oxidations
- Boron-doped polymeric carbon nitride mediates oxidation of aliphatic C–H moieties under mild conditions
- One-Pot Sulfonylated Pyridines
- Process chemists report a concise synthesis of valuable building blocks used in medicinal and agricultural chemistry
» more science & technology news...
ACS Meetings
2010–11 C&EN Calendar Web Exclusive
C&EN's latest list of meetings and events of interest to those in the chemical community.
Editor's Page
Basic Versus Applied p. 3
The Departments
Letters pp. 4-5
Newscripts p. 56
The Golden Age Of Plastics In C&EN
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Environmental SCENE News
Fertilizer May Help Bacteria Slip Into Groundwater
Water Safety: High phosphate levels allow deadly microbes to pass through soil.
Bisphenol A Is Ubiquitous In Receipts
Endocrine Disrupters: Researchers detect BPA in every receipt that they collected from seven U.S. cities.
Sunlight Is An Effective Disinfectant
Public Health: Field work shows that a cheap water treatment method improves children's health.
House Takes Aim At Clean Air Act
Pollution: Industry backs cost-benefit analyses of EPA rules, but critics fear assault on public health.
Analytical SCENE News
New Method Isolates Membrane Proteins
Protein Purification: Technique separates proteins on a lipid bilayer.
Bisphenol A Is Ubiquitous In Receipts
Endocrine Disrupters: Researchers detect BPA in every receipt that they collected from seven U.S. cities.
Mapping Drugs In Human Tissue
Clinical Chemistry: Mass spectrometry imaging provides view of an inhaled drug in human lung tissue.
Skeletons Come To Light
Fluorescence Imaging: Monitoring cells as they dissolve bone may lead to disease treatments.
Analyzing Nuclear Processes
ACS Meeting News: Analytical chemists devise ways to watch radioactive streams.
JACS Research In C&EN
Indole Changeup Yields Elusive Alkaloid
ACS Meeting News: Cyclization and nitrene insertion star in synthesis.
Prefab Synthesis Moves Ahead
Organic Chemistry: First stable alpha-boryl aldehydes ease preparation of complex small molecules.
Multiple Bradykinin States Revealed
The peptide adopts at least 10 conformers in solution, explaining why its structure had only been partially characterized.
Scaling Up The Axinellamines
A quicker, more efficient, and stereocontrolled route to a key intermediate streamlines natural product syntheses.
A Revamped Vancomycin
Medicinal Chemistry: Modified compound shows promise against hard-to-treat bacteria.
CENtral Science
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