Nanotechnology

Quote of the Week
"In the U.S., we're not so much addicted to oil; we are addicted to simple solutions and silver bullets."
SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, PRESIDENT, RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE – p. 29
June 13, 2011
In This Issue:
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Highlights

Education
Reforming Chinese Universities
Challenging China's education system is difficult, as one new institution and its leader are realizing. (pp. 36-37)

Career & Employment
Process Development Shines In Tough Times
Steady employment and a wide range of possible career paths make this sector attractive for chemical engineers interested in biotech. (pp. 41-44)
Table of Contents
News Of The Week
Robert Langer Named Priestley Medalist p. 7
ACS Awards: MIT chemical engineer is honored for his influential work.
Pfizer Expands R&D Network p. 8
Partnership: Eight Boston research institutions will form a third regional hub.
Picking Off Hydrogen p. 8
Organic Synthesis: Use of palladium catalyst yields aromatic molecules from aliphatic precursors.
Court Affirms Inventors' Rights p. 9
Intellectual Property: Majority strikes down university's claim of an inherent right to patents.
New Cracker For Appalachia p. 9
Shell's proposed facility will reverse a petrochemicals exodus from the region.
DNA Folding In Cell-Like Setting p. 10
Structural Biochemistry: G-quadruplex structure in crowded solution revealed.
Recognizing Service To ACS p. 10
University of Puerto Rico chemistry professor Ingrid Montes will receive the society's 2012 volunteer service award.
Business

Degrading Plastics pp. 20-21 (Member Content)
Makers of oxo-degradable additives say they are addressing the litter problem, but others aren't so sure.
Coal Evolution In China pp. 22-23 (Member Content)
Chemical production is highlighted at recent catalysis conference in China.
JSR Plans Ahead p. 25 (Member Content)
The firm aims to compete globally in rubber while developing cutting-edge materials.
Business Concentrates p. 19 (Member Content)
- Virent Makes Xylene, Gasoline From Plants
- Virent Energy Systems, a Madison, Wis.-based biofuels start-up that has backing from Shell and Cargill...
- Geo Acquires BASF’s Monomer Business
- Geo Specialty Chemicals, a privately owned firm based in Lafayette, Ind., will buy BASF’s Bisomer monomer...
- AkzoNobel Invests In TiO2
- Seeking to back-integrate into the white pigment that it needs for its paint production, AkzoNobel is forming a...
- Elevance Buys Plant In Natchez, Miss.
- Bolingbrook, Ill.-based renewable chemicals firm Elevance Renewable Sciences has purchased a biodiesel plant in Natchez, Miss....
- Pfizer Signs Cancer Candidate To Clovis
- Clovis Oncology and Pfizer have signed an agreement under which Clovis will assume responsibility for Pfizer’s oral and...
- Business Roundup
- Rhodia, Sibur, Chemtura, Dow Chemical, Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii, Solutia, FRX Polymers, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lonza...
Education

Reforming Chinese Universities pp. 36-38
Challenging China's education system is difficult, as one new institution and its leader are realizing.
Chemists In Training p. 38
Nonprofit analytical chemistry lab Students 2 Science offers students an industrial experience. With Photo Gallery and Video
This Week Online

Fatty Acids In Red Wine Make It Taste Fruity
Food Chemistry: Compounds known to create undesirable smells in wine also boost an important flavor.
For Preschoolers, Food Is Primary Source of BPA Exposure
Toxic Substances: Scientists detect the endocrine disrupter in the food and urine of young children.
CENtral Science Blog: Hopes Rise For Potential Fragile X Drug
CENtral Science Blog: UC Irvine beefs up safety training for undergraduate inorganic laboratories
Government & Policy

Patent Validity Under Review pp. 27-28 (Member Content)
Drug industry fears Supreme Court may weaken patent protections.
Call For Clean Energy Innovation pp. 29-31 (Member Content)
Summit explores applications of high-performance computing to get more efficient energy use.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 26 (Member Content)
- Energy Department Faces Cuts To Its 2012 Budget
- The Department of Energy is facing major funding cuts for fiscal 2012, according to the 2012 Energy & Water & Related...
- EPA To Ban Rat, Mouse Poisons
- EPA intends to ban the sale of four rat and mouse poisons to consumers and to prohibit the use of...
- Pfizer To Stop Selling Roxarsone
- Alpharma, a subsidiary of Pfizer, has agreed to stop selling 3-Nitro, an arsenic-containing drug fed to a large percentage of chickens...
- One-Year CFATS Extension Passed
- The Department of Homeland Security’s program for protecting chemical facilities against terrorist attacks would be extended...
- EPA Unveils Names Of 150 Compounds
- EPA has lifted some confidentiality claims shielding the identities of chemicals...
» more government & policy news...
ACS Comment
Surveying The Two-Year College Chemistry Landscape p. 39 (Member Content)
Career & Employment

Process Development Shines In Tough Times pp. 41-44
Steady employment and a wide range of possible career paths make this sector attractive for chemical engineers interested in biotech.

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

Electrochromics Hit A Color Milestone pp. 34-35 (Member Content)
Spray-processable conducting polymers are now available in a full palette of colors.
Science & Technology Concentrates p. 33
- Sticky Tape Sorts Nanotubes
- Nanoscientists unveil sticky polymer films that selectively separate metallic and semiconducting SWNTs
- New Elements Make It To The Periodic Table
- Elements 114 and 116 are now officially on the periodic table after an international committee gives its stamp of approval
- Bicyclic Diphosphines Flip Inside Out
- Chemists identify a rare case of isomerism in which a cagelike macromolecule turns itself inside out
- Small Peptide Could Heal Broken Hearts
- Thymosin β4 prods undifferentiated heart cells to morph into cardiomyocytes that could help repair tissue damage
- Single Layer Marks Air-Water Interface
- Researchers find that the transition to bulk water is remarkably thin, occurring within one molecular layer
» 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
A Modest Proposal p. 3
The Departments
Letters pp. 4-6

Newscripts p. 48
Last Year's Top 10 New Species. With Video
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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