Personal Genomes
Quote of the Week
"High-risk, high-reward research is needed to maintain the U.S. position of leadership in science and technology."
NEAL F. LANE, PROFESSOR, RICE UNIVERSITY – p. 29
December 14, 2009
In This Issue:
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Highlights
Cover Story
Your Own Personal Genome
Advances in DNA sequencing technology are making applications of whole-genome sequencing a reality. (pp. 13-15, 16-19)
Business
Big Plans For Succinic Acid (Member Content)
Against the odds, five ventures are pursuing the biobased chemical across the globe. (pp. 23-25)
Government & Policy
Spurring Innovation (Member Content)
Federal agencies try new ways to encourage transformative research, but funding remains scarce. (pp. 29-31)
Table of Contents
News Of The Week
Crossroads In Copenhagen p. 6
Climate Change: First week of talks sets stage for tough work to come.
EPA Moves Ahead On CO2 Controls p. 7
Greenhouse Gases: EPA backs regulation under Clean Air Act.
Business At Copenhagen p. 7
Firms are on-site supporting climate-change action, showcasing green products.
Osmium Is Ancient Marker p. 8
Geochemistry: Rare element can be used to detect past human activities.
Biorefiners Win Government Funds p. 8
Green Goal: Grants will advance fuels and chemicals from renewable raw materials.
Accidents Lead To Refinery Review p. 9
Safety: Chemical board to investigate HF role in accidents.
Water Treatment p. 9
Tata launches low-cost water filter for use in poor countries.
N2 Cleaved, Functionalized p. 10
Synthesis: Hafnium complex enables reaction with carbon monoxide.
Stradivari's Secret p. 10
Conservation Chemistry: Famous violins had mundane varnish, reviving the mystery of why they sound so good.
Business
Big Plans For Succinic Acid pp. 23-25 (Member Content)
Against the odds, five ventures are pursuing the biobased chemical across the globe.
Latching On To A Growth Market pp. 26-27 (Member Content)
Custom chemical manufacturers that can make antibody-drug conjugates see promising business.
Business Concentrates pp. 20-21 (Member Content)
- Dow Corning CEO Burns Calls For Green Jobs
- Dow Corning CEO Stephanie A. Burns was one of about 130 businesspeople, economists, and politicians invited to the White House jobs summit...
- Eastman Drops Gasification Project
- Eastman Chemical is discontinuing its industrial gasification project in Beaumont, Texas...
- Koppers To Buy Cindu Chemicals
- Koppers has signed a letter of intent to acquire Cindu Chemicals, which operates a 140,000-metric-ton-per-year coal tar distillation plant...
- SolviCore Helps Power Yacht’s Fuel Cell
- SolviCore will supply key components for the fuel cell that powers an auxiliary electric engine in Zero CO2...
- Dow And Bayer Sign Biodiesel License
- Dow Water & Process Solutions and Bayer Technology Services have signed a licensing agreement that allows Dow to market Bayer’s BayFAME biodiesel production technology...
- Dow Spins Off Pfenex Business
- Dow Chemical has shed the last of its former Dowpharma operations with the spin-off of its Pfenex business as an independent company...
- Amyris Buys Stake In Brazilian Plant
- Amyris Biotechnologies will acquire 40% of a sugar-based ethanol plant in Brazil for close to $80 million...
- Nalco Opens Asian Technical Center
- Water treatment specialist Nalco has opened a technical center in Shanghai that will serve the Asia-Pacific region...
- Tranzyme And BMS Sign Discovery Deal
- Tranzyme Pharma will work to discover macrocyclic compounds directed against targets that are of interest to Bristol-Myers Squibb...
- Big Drug Firms Exit Biotech Partnerships
- Three big pharma firms are ending biotech partnerships as they reassess their drug pipelines...
- Celgene Will Acquire Drug Firm Gloucester
- Celgene has agreed to pay up to $640 million for Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass.-based firm that buys clinical-stage cancer drug candidates for further development...
- Ranbaxy Ends Pact With Japanese Partner
- Ranbaxy Laboratories has agreed to sell partner Nihon Chemiphar its 50% stake in their Japanese joint venture, Nihon Pharmaceutical Industry...
- ZymoGenetics Licenses Antibody, Cuts Staff
- ZymoGenetics has signed a licensing agreement under which Novo Nordisk will gain worldwide rights to IL-21 mAb, a fully human monoclonal antibody being developed as a treatment for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases...
- Business Roundup
- Tessenderlo, CF Industries, W.R. Grace, Air Liquide, Symyx and the Royal Society of Chemistry, International Flavors & Fragrances, Biogen Idec, La Jolla Pharmaceutical and Adamis Pharmaceuticals...
ACS Comment
2009: A Year To Remember p. 40
This Week Online
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.
Government & Policy
Spurring Innovation pp. 29-31 (Member Content)
Federal agencies try new ways to encourage transformative research, but funding remains scarce.
Watering Down Science? pp. 32-33 (Member Content)
Unconventional water structure theories generate criticism, but don't hamper funding.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 28 (Member Content)
- EPA Reports Decrease In Chemical Pollution
- Toxic chemical releases by the nation's industrial plants, utilities, and mines dropped 6% in 2008...
- Bill Addresses Endocrine Disrupters
- Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced joint legislation on Dec. 3 to examine...
- $100 Million In DOE ARPA-E Grants
- The Department of Energy announced last week that $100 million in funding for "transformational energy research projects"...
- Patent Office To Speed Reviews Of Green Tech
- The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has launched a pilot program to accelerate the examination of patent applications for green technology inventions...
- NRC Finds Savings In Energy Efficiency
- Full deployment of energy-efficiency technologies in U.S. buildings alone could eliminate the need to construct new electricity-generating plants...
» more government & policy news...
People
Obituaries pp. 41-42 (Member Content)
Science & Technology
Revisiting Resveratrol pp. 36-37 (Member Content)
More results question molecular link between red wine compound and its antiaging activity.
Inside Instrumentation p. 38 (Member Content)
Technology and Business news for the laboratory world.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 34-35 (Member Content)
- A Model Of Aerosol Aging
- Tool will be a boon to efforts to model aerosol effects on climate.
- Good Beer Is All In The Fold
- Partially-folded protein from barley steadies brew's tiny bubbles.
- How Thiols Photoswitch Cyanine Dyes
- Mechanism will aid design of dyes for imaging biological systems with super-resolution fluorescence microscopy.
- Nanotube-Based Sensor Detects Gamma Rays
- Carbon nanotube-polymer composite could find practical use in national security or nuclear research.
- Odd Friction Behavior Of Droplets
- Novel instrument probes components of force in sliding droplets.
- Earth's Gaseous Orgins
- Our planet’s gaseous center came from vapor-laden comets, meteorites, and dust.
- Quasicrystalline Tetrahedra
- Computer simulations predict unexpected packing for non-spherical objects.
- Fixing Function In Cystic Fibrosis
- Targeting cell’s protein-processing machinery helps get a flawed channel working
» more science & technology news...
Editor's Page
'Climategate' p. 3
The Departments
Letters pp. 4-5
Newscripts p. 48
Ginkgogate: The Stench Of Scandal
Services & Tools
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