Magazine (Back Issue)
Happy Holidays!
C&EN will not publish an issue on Dec. 27, 2010. Our next issue will be Jan. 3, 2011. C&EN staff members wish all of our readers a happy holiday season.
Chemical Year Review
Quote of the Week
"I do think the scientific community dropped the ball on the climate-change issue."
NAOMI ORESKES, PROFESSOR, SCIENCE STUDIES PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO – p. 40
December 20, 2010
In This Issue:
Jump to Table of Contents ↓
Highlights
Cover Story
Chemical Year In Review
C&EN highlights the major research achievements of 2010. (pp. 13-17)
» C&EN Revisits 2000
Business
Year In Review
After the Great Recession, chemical firms welcome the new normal. (pp. 24-30)
Government & Policy
Insights: Legislative Neglect (Member Content)
Science legislation in 2010 took a backseat to congressional elections and partisanship. (p. 34)
Table of Contents
Quotes Of The Year
Quotes Of The Year
In our inaugural Quotes of the Year feature, we reprint the quotes that we think give the best look back at the past 12 months. Our choices are necessarily subjective. But we believe they illuminate the nature of chemistry as a science and the challenges that lie ahead.
Coverstory
Chemical Year In Review 2010 pp. 13-17
The annual Chemical Year In Review reveals our choices for some of the superlative achievements that we featured in 2010.
C&EN Revisits 2000 p. 18
A decade ago, in its annual Chemistry Highlights feature, now called Chemical Year in Review, C&EN looked at some of that year's key research advances in chemistry. Now, C&EN reporters have revisited six of those highlighted discoveries to see what became of them.
Self-Assembling 3-D Electronics p. 18
Targeting Genes With 'Zinc Fingers' p. 18
Functionalized Nanoparticles For Clinical Diagnostics p. 19
Catalytic Reaction Activates Alkanes p. 19
High-Speed Organic Electro-Optics p. 20
Fluoropolymer Processing Breakthrough p. 20
News Of The Week
Thermo Fisher To Buy Dionex p. 6
Instrumentation: Deal will help Thermo grow in water quality, consumer safety, and life sciences.
Tax Deal Benefits R&D p. 7
Economy: Bipartisan measure will boost investments and create jobs, industry says.
Chemists Gather For Pacifichem 2010 p. 7
International Meetings: Hawaii once again hosts congress for Pacific Rim chemical societies.
Pharma Leadership Changes Continue p. 8
Management: Former NIH director Elias Zerhouni to head R&D at Sanofi.
Detecting An Elusive Modified DNA Base p. 8
Epigenetics: Method maps 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in genome.
Enzyme's Dual Nature Revealed p. 9
Enzymology: Structure shows taxadiene synthase contains domains from two enzyme classes .
Duke University Wraps Up Misconduct Inquiryp. 9
Investigation: School draws ire for not disclosing results of its probe of a faculty biochemist.
Agreements Emerge From Cancún Talks p. 10
Climate Change: Deals on forest protection, adaptation fund seen as showing global negotiations still viable.
More Polysilicon For Solar Cells p. 10
Manufacturing: OCI and Wacker expand raw material capacity in South Korea and U.S.
Business
Year In Review pp. 24-30 (Member Content)
After the Great Recession, chemical firms welcome the new normal.
Business Concentrates pp. 22-23 (Member Content)
- Agribusinesses Harvest Crop Of Research Deals
- Three agribusiness giants have begun research collaborations to develop improved crops...
- Lanxess Nabs DSM’s Elastomers Division …
- Lanxess has reached an agreement to buy DSM’s elastomers business for more than $440 million...
- … Plans China Leather Chemicals Plant
- Lanxess will spend $40 million to build a leather chemicals plant in Changzhou, China...
- Air Products Ups Airgas Offer Again
- In what it is calling its best and final offer, Air Products & Chemicals has increased its bid for Airgas....
- Yule Catto Will Buy PolymerLatex
- British chemicals maker Yule Catto has agreed to acquire rival PolymerLatex from TowerBrook Capital Partners for $595 million...
- Olin Will Exit Mercury-Cell Chlorine
- Olin plans to end its use of mercury-cell technology to make chlorine and caustic soda...
- Evonik EYEs More Isophorone Capacity
- Evonik Industries plans to build a new facility for isophorone and isophorone diamine by 2013...
- Toyota Arm Slates Indian Rare Earths
- Toyota Tsusho is considering the construction of a 4,000-metric-ton-per-year rare-earth-oxides plant in Orissa, a state in India...
- Solvay Plans Chinese Epichlorohydrin Via New Route
- Solvay is planning to build an epichlorohydrin plant in China based on a process it developed that starts with glycerin generated during the production of biofuels...
- U.S., Europe Differ On Use Of Avastin
- FDA plans to remove the breast cancer indication for Genentech’s Avastin after concluding the drug is not safe and effective for that use...
- Merck Partners With Two Drug Consortia
- Merck & Co. has joined with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and New York University’s Langone Medical Center to develop a vaccine to prevent malaria infection...
- Aesica Will Purchase Three UCB Facilities
- Contract manufacturer Aesica Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement to acquire three sites from Belgian drug company UCB...
- Novartis Clinches Alcon Acquisition
- Novartis and Alcon have signed a stock deal valued at $12.9 billion that will complete the Swiss drug company’s acquisition of the eye care giant...
- Business Roundup
- BASF, Lenzing, Lucite International, Arsenal Capital Partners, Amvac Chemical, Vertellus Specialties, Bayer HealthCare, Evotec...
ACS Comment
A World View: A Chemist's Perspective p. 44 (Member Content)
Books
Fighting The Resource Wars pp. 41-43
A measured view of the human impulse to mine mineral wealth, despite often terrible consequences.
ACS Scholars
Amy K. Paris p. 45
Following her brother into the ACS Scholars Program, this engineer discovered her passion for chemical process safety.
Reel Science
"Tron: Legacy"
Updates the video-game glam of the original "Tron" while providing commentary on this generation's digital reliance.
Government & Policy
NASA Is Late On Climate Missions pp. 32-33 (Member Content)
Earth Science Programs are in limbo, awaiting Congress' action on the 2011 budget.
Insights: Legislative Neglect p. 34 (Member Content)
Science legislation in 2010 took a backseat to congressional elections and partisanship.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 31 (Member Content)
- CSB Moves On With BP Rig Investigation
- At a Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) hearing last week, offshore oil drilling experts from Norway, Australia, and the U.K. recommended that the U.S....
- Synthetic Biology Has Limited Risks
- Research in the emerging field of synthetic biology should continue without interruption and new regulations are not needed at this time...
- EPA Delays Air Pollution Rule
- EPA says it will delay a new rule under the Clean Air Act to fight ground-level ozone, the primary ingredient in smog, until July 2011...
- EU Lists Substances For Potential Regulation
- The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) last week added seven chemicals and a group of chromic acids to a list of substances that are candidates for stringent control...
- U.S. Diplomacy Needs More Science
- Science, technology, and innovation should play a greater role in the State Department’s diplomacy and development efforts...
» more government & policy news...
Awards
Carlos Barbas Wins NIH Pioneer Award p. 46 (Member Content)
Joe Francisco Honored By Israel Chemical Society p. 46 (Member Content)
Rodney Bartlett Receives Southern Chemist Award p. 46 (Member Content)
Chemical Biology Lectureship To Stuart Schreiber p. 46 (Member Content)
Emmett Award To Bert Weckhuysen p. 46 (Member Content)
People
Promotions pp. 47-49 (Member Content)
Social Networking And C&EN
You can now follow C&EN on Facebook. Become a fan and track the latest news and discussions at facebook.com/CENews.
Science & Technology
Transforming Toxicology pp. 37-39 (Member Content)
Consortium works to accelerate development of 21st-century toxicology.
C&EN Talks With Naomi Oreskes p. 40 (Member Content)
A Science Historian takes on climate-change skeptics and fights off their attacks.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 35-36 (Member Content)
- Soapy Separations
- Detergent film transports one enantiomer of a small molecule
- Nanocrystal Imaging Via X-ray Lasers
- Ultrashort light bursts predicted to outpace lattice damage
- RepeatedIcing Puts The Freeze On Ice-Repellent Surfaces
- Surface properties may limit anti-icing nature of superhydrophobic materials
- Nanoparticles Accumulate In Food Chain
- Gold becomes concentrated as it moves from plants to herbivores
- Long-Proposed Porphyrin Is Finally Made
- Near-infrared absorber may find use optics applications
- New Protein Modification Is Uncovered
- Posttranslational process adds succinyl group to lysine
- Black Carbon Declines With Diesel Emissions
- Stricter regulations in California yield quick results
- New Format For Atomic Weights
- Mass interval reflects natural variations in isotope abundances
» 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
Highlights From 2010 p. 3
The Departments
Letters pp. 4-5
Newscripts p. 56
Chemical Wooing, Configurational Isocats
C&EN Archives
Now the history of the chemical enterprise is instantly accessible online. C&EN Archives holds the complete collection of C&EN issues dated back from 1923, covering world chemical events, breakthroughs in research, technological advances, business and marketing ventures, government policy, career and education trends, and ACS milestones. With more than 500,000 pages of content, C&EN Archives is instantly accessible and fully searchable, allowing you to discover how the chemical enterprise developed into what it is today.
Head here to discover the past via the C&EN Archives, go to http://pubs.acs.org/cen-archives
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
» News, notes, and musings from C&EN
Check out some of the recent posts from C&EN's blog, "C&ENtral Science"
Services & Tools
ACS Resources
ACS Careers
ACS is the leading employment source for recruiting scientific professionals. ACS Careers and C&EN Classifieds provide employers direct access to scientific talent both in print and online. Jobseekers | Employers
» Join ACS
Join more than 161,000 professionals in the chemical sciences world-wide, as a member of the American Chemical Society.
» Join Now!
Popular Sections
ACS, Analytical SCENE, Business, Careers, Economy, Editor, Education, Employment, Environmental SCENE, Letters, Government, Photo Galleries, Policy, Movies, Multimedia, Nanotechnology, Newscripts, Reel Science, Safety Letters, Science, Stem Cells, Stimulus Funds, Technology, Vaccines, Videos, What's That Stuff
