Bisphenol A
Quote of the Week
"I'm selling the emperor's new clothes."
ROBERT H. MCMULLIN, MANAGER, NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – p. 26
June 6, 2011
In This Issue:
Jump to Table of Contents ↓
Highlights
Cover Story
BPA Debate
Researchers disagree about potential toxicity of the estrogen mimic bisphenol A. (pp. 13, 14-19, 20-22)
Business
Stretching Paint Performance (Member Content)
Functional additives push water-based paint into applications that were once unheard of. (pp. 26-28)
Science & Technology
New Base On The Block (Member Content)
Discovery of a modified cytosine in DNA with possible roles from cancer to cognition triggers a new research field. (pp. 40-41)
Table of Contents
Cover Story
Bisphenol A p. 13
A rift persists between safety assessments of the man-made estrogen mimic.
Debating BPA's Toxicity pp. 14-19
The precautionary principle serves as a dividing line in arguments over the safety of bisphenol A.
Exposure Routes Confound BPA Debate pp. 20-22
Beyond bisphenol A in food and drink containers, people face many sources of endocrine disrupters in everyday life.
BPA Is Indispensible For Making Plastics Web Exclusive
Chemists struggle to find endocrine-disrupter-free alternatives that match bisphenol A's cost and performance.
BPA Chronology Web Exclusive
Dozens of C&EN articles published since 2007 have covered the BPA story.
News Of The Week
Arsenic Bacterium Debate Continues p. 7
Research: Science publishes rebuttals to a sensational claim about DNA biochemistry.
Report Slams Science Agency p. 8
Congress: Senator alleges wasteful spending at NSF, which the agency and others reject.
Compound Prevents Neurodegeneration p. 8
Neurochemistry: Small molecule alleviates Alzheimer's, Huntington's symptoms in animals.
Ashland Dives Into Specialties p. 9
Acquisitions: Purchase of ISP will sharpen focus on personal care, drug ingredients.
R&D Globalization p. 9
Belgium's Solvay teams up with South Korean university.
More Science, Online Only p. 10
ACS News: Synthetic biology, polymer science will be the focus of two new ACS journals on the web.
Trio Receives Wolf Chemistry Prize p. 10
Honors: Three professors in the chemical sciences are cited for their work on organic materials.
A New Look At Protein Misfolding p. 11
Protein chemistry: Fluorescence method reveals details of disease-related process.
Clean Technology p. 11
Investors latch on to biobased-chemical makers.
Business
Stretching Paint Performance pp. 26-28 (Member Content)
Functional additives push water-based paint into applications that were once unheard of.
Nanoparticles: Research Firm Tries Its Hand At Making Self-Healing Paint p. 28 (Member Content)
Benchtop Informatics pp. 30-31 (Member Content)
Accelrys is pushing to expand its market with electronic laboratory notebooks.
Urea's Unlikely Role p. 32 (Member Content)
Emissions reduction is new application for chemical best known as a fertilizer.
Business Concentrates pp. 24-25 (Member Content)
- Italian Firms Move On Green Chemistry Complex
- Oil and chemical firm Eni and bioplastics maker Novamont, both of Italy, have formed a joint venture to build a $720 million plant...
- Styrolution Gets Government Stamp
- The European Commission has approved the Styrolution styrenic polymers joint venture between Ineos and BASF...
- New Jersey Drops Carbon Trading
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says his state will withdraw from the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative because...
- Air Products Inks Carbon-Capture Deals
- Air Products & Chemicals has signed agreements allowing it to move ahead with a project to capture carbon dioxide...
- Mitsubishi And SABIC Advance Saudi Pact
- Mitsubishi Rayon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. have formed a joint venture to build a 250,000-metric-ton-per-year...
- Lanxess Firms Up Asian Rubber Plan
- Lanxess has chosen Singapore’s Jurong Island as the site for a new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant...
- Zeachem, P&G Sign Renewables Deal
- ZeaChem has signed a multiyear agreement with Procter & Gamble to develop biobased chemicals and...
- LG Will Build Polysilicon Plant
- LG Chem plans to enter the polysilicon business by building a plant in Yeosu, South Korea...
- Heptares Will Work With AstraZeneca
- AstraZeneca and U.K.-based Heptares Therapeutics will collaborate on the discovery and development of compounds...
- Bruker Opens Service Center In Shanghai
- Bruker has opened an applications, training, and service center in Shanghai...
- Elan, Proteostasis Ink Research Agreement
- Elan and Proteostasis Therapeutics are joining to advance Proteostasis’ technology for the discovery and...
- Galapagos Compound Unit Goes To Evotec
- Evotec has spent approximately $18 million to acquire Galapagos’ Compound Focus compound management unit...
- GSK, MaRS Innovation Establish R&D Fund
- GlaxoSmithKline and MaRS Innovation, a Toronto-based nonprofit that commercializes intellectual property...
- Business Roundup
- Sumitomo Chemical, BASF, Rhodia, LyondellBasell, Sumitomo Seika, Eastman Chemical, Affymetrix, Sanofi, Centocor Ortho Biotech...
ACS News
Optimize Your Job Search p. 46
Jump-start your job search and professional development on-site and online at the ACS Career Fair in August.
This Week Online
Hawaiian Monk Seals Carry Ciguatoxins
Food Webs: Many members of a critically endangered species of seal bear a heavy body burden of the toxins.
Scientists Estimate Radiation Doses To Wildlife Near Fukushima
Electronic Waste: Recovering lead from discarded printed circuit boards could reduce emissions of the toxic metal.
Getting The Lead Out
Electronic Waste: Recovering lead from discarded printed circuit boards could reduce emissions of the toxic metal.
When Picasso Went Industrial
During the first half of the 20th century, artists like Pablo Picasso began using a newly invented industrial paint called Ripolin instead of traditional oil paints.
Government & Policy
OSHA Targets Combustible Dust pp. 34-35 (Member Content)
Getting facilities to recognize the problem will lead to better controls.
Unraveling The Microbiome pp. 36-37 (Member Content)
Federal agencies struggle to understand how microbes alter chemical exposures.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 33 (Member Content)
- Republicans Continue Heparin Probe
- Members of Congress are expanding their investigation of FDA’s handling of the 2008 crisis...
- EU Targets Seven Chemicals
- The European Union is taking the first step toward strictly regulating seven chemicals, including two phthalates...
- House Panel Advances Chemical Security Bill
- The House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee has given bipartisan support to legislation that would reauthorize the...
- Communication Lapse Fueled Helium-3 Gap
- A serious lack of communication between agencies in the Department of Energy caused the present shortage of helium-3...
- Supreme Court Won’t Review Carbofuran Ban
- The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition to review a case involving EPA’s decision to ban residues of the pesticide carbofuran...
» more government & policy news...
ACS Comment
Challenging Times Require Fresh Approaches To Job Creation p. 44 (Member Content)
Awards
pp. 48-49 (Member Content)
- Franklin Awards Honor Kavli And Nicolaou
- Nichols Medal To Julius Rebek
- Joseph Francisco Receives Morley Medal
- Eni Award Winners Announced
- Chirality Medal To Laurence Barron
- Matthias Beller Wins Sustainable Chemistry Award
- Dale Teeters Is Oklahoma Chemist Of The Year
- Nominations Sought For New Diversity Award
- Applicants Sought For Akron Award
- Call For Nominations For Buck-Whitney Medal
- Southern Chemist Award Seeks Applicants
People
Obituaries pp. 50-51 (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
New Base On The Block pp. 40-41 (Member Content)
Discovery of a modified cytosine in DNA with possible roles from cancer to cognition triggers a new research field.
Mass Spec Imaging Goes To Court p. 42 (Member Content)
Forensic document analysis with SIMS clearly shows which ink is on top.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 38-39
- Cyclic Gradient Copolymers Debut
- This new class of copolymer starts with one monomer, gradually switches to another, then forms a closed loop
- Biomarker Associations Often Overestimated
- Most reported biomarkers proposed to diagnose disease or monitor treatment don’t live up to their initial billing
- Combo Method Yields Chondroitin Sulfate
- A microbiological-chemical approach is the first prep-scale synthesis of the naturally sourced osteoarthritis drug
- Atmospheric Mercury Is On The Decline
- Global mercury concentrations have unexpected decreased by as much as 38% during the past 15 years
- Another Ultrafast Microscopy Method
- Laser-driven method adds femtosecond time resolution to scanning electron microscopy’s spatial resolution
- Cross-Couplings Go With The Flow
- MIT researchers have developed an efficient multistep Suzuki-Miyaura reaction in a continuous-flow microreactor system
- Vaccine Candidate For C. difficile
- A complex hexasaccharide found in the pathogen’s cell wall is the basis of a possible life-saving vaccine
- Volatile Odorants Confuse Mosquitoes
- Brief exposure to a blend of molecules knocks the insect’s CO2-sensing out of whack, hinting at a possible new control method
» more science & technology news...
Meetings
2011 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
None Too Bright p. 5
The Departments
Letters pp. 4, 6
Newscripts p. 56
Catalytic Earwax, The Cost Of Inflation
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"
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