Recently added articles from Chemistry and Industry:
Disaster or not?(chemical industry)
May 25, 2009; ... 'Fragile' was the word used to describe the UK chemical sector recently by Steve Elliott, the chief executive of the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) (C&I 2009, 9, 4). And at the same joint SCI/CIA Business Outlook Conference, Chris Stirling, head of European chemicals at ...
To switch vaccines or not.(swine flu)
May 25, 2009; ... The main vaccine manufacturers are still waiting for guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) on whether to switch from making vaccine for seasonal flu to swine flu. In the event of a severe pandemic, however, current production capacity will not be sufficient and alternative ...
The human nose is too cold for avian flu viruses, according to a new study.(Report)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... The human nose is too cold for avian flu viruses, according to a new study. The researchers from Imperial College London, UK, and the University of North Carolina, US, grew cells from the human respiratory tract and infected them with human and avian flu viruses, including H5N1 (PLoS ...
Origin error?(Smithfield Foods Inc.)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... The swine flu virus that is currently sweeping the globe did not originate from the Smithfield Foods operation in Veracruz, Mexico, according to test results from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Ranching, ...
Nine POPs banned.(News)(persistent organic pollutants)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... More than 160 world governments have agreed to add nine new chemicals to the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) banned under the Stockholm Convention. The banned chemicals are known to be toxic to humans and other animals and can cause cancer, interfere with development and ...
Better GMOs using enzymes.(agricultural biotechnology)(genetically modified organisms)(Report)
May 25, 2009; ... Scientists have reported carrying out precise genetic modifications at specific locations in crop plant genomes using technology that promises to improve the development of new GM plant species. Two groups of researchers used zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs)-enzymes engineered to cleave DNA at ...
Budget expanded to aid food, drug safety.(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009; ... The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting a budget of $3.2bn in 2010 to 'protect and promote the public health'--a 19% increase over the current FDA fiscal year budget. From Oct 2009 to Sept 2010, the FDA plans to invest substantially in protecting America's food supply and ...
Renaissance for RNA.(prebiotic chemistry)(ribonucleic acid)
May 25, 2009; ... A chemical explanation of how life began has come one step closer, thanks to the synthesis of key RNA building blocks from a prebiotic mixture of chemicals. The development is likely to spark fresh interest in the 'RNA world' theory of the origin of life, in which RNA was a forerunner to ...
US ban for BPA in baby bottles.(chemical regulation)(bisphenol-A)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009; ... Minnesota has become the first US state to ban babies' bottles that contain bisphenol A (BPA), to fierce criticism from the chemical industry. The bill, signed by governor Tim Pawlenty on 7 May 2009, will affect products intended for use by children under the age of three, ...
Austria has announced that it plans to pull out of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN because the project is taking up too much of the country's funds allocated for international research.(European Organization for Nuclear Research)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... Austria has announced that it plans to pull out of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN because the project is taking up too much of the country's funds allocated for international research. The Austrian science minister, Johannes Hahn, said that the LHC takes up ...
Archaeologists have discovered that Stone Age people made glues by mixing and manipulating materials, suggesting they were capable of complex, abstract thought.(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... Archaeologists have discovered that Stone Age people made glues by mixing and manipulating materials, suggesting they were capable of complex, abstract thought. The researchers found glues made from red ochre mixed with plant gum on 70,000 year-old stone tools found in South African caves ...
The Coca-Cola Company has unveiled PlantBottles--plastic bottles made using plant material--which the drinks giant plans to start using later this year.
May 25, 2009 ... The Coca-Cola Company has unveiled PlantBottles--plastic bottles made using plant material--which the drinks giant plans to start using later this year. The bottles ...
Beans, beans good for your heart.(nutrition)
May 25, 2009; ... Daily consumption of pulses such as beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils could reduce your chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Scientists at the University of Manitoba in Canada found that eating half a cupful of mixed pulses daily for eight weeks reversed one of the major symptoms ...
Hormone mimic could save crops from drought.(agricultural biotechnology)
May 25, 2009; ... A synthetic chemical that mimics the action of a plant hormone could be the answer farmers need to protect their plants from yield-sapping droughts. And as climate change puts greater strain on water resources it could be an invaluable tool in preventing food shortages. Five ...
Safer gene therapy from evolutionary relic.(medical biotechnology)
May 25, 2009; ... Scientists have developed a new approach for gene therapy based on transposons, genes that can move within DNA. This could lower the risks of serious side effects, such as cancer, associated with the treatment. The European researchers inserted green fluorescence genes into ...
Graphene finds possible applications.(material science)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009; ... A flurry of recent developments in graphene research could pave the way to applications for this zeitgeist material in computing, photovoltaics and other electronics. The US groups have grown centimetre scale areas of graphene on copper, n-doped graphene for the first time and ...
US researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered potential weaknesses between the sheets of molecules that comprise lignocellulosic biomass offering new approaches to the cost-effective production of biofuels.(biofuel in brief)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... US researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered potential weaknesses between the sheets of molecules that comprise lignocellulosic biomass offering new approaches to the cost-effective production of biofuels. Paul Langan, a Los Alamos researcher, examined cellulose's ...
The process integration laboratory of Logos Technologies in Arlington Virginia, US is to manage a project team of 21 organisations from nine US states with funding of up to $35m from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).(biofuel in brief)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... The process integration laboratory of Logos Technologies in Arlington Virginia, US is to manage a project team of 21 organisations from nine US states with ...
Preparing for outbreaks.(News)(viral enzymes involved in replication)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009 ... With concern over viral outbreaks at an all time high once again, with the emergence of swine flu, a European Commission funded project is quietly working on ways to prepare for the next big event. The Viral enzymes InvolvEd in Replication project (VIZIER) has been seeking to ...
Decentralising power.(energy revolution)
May 25, 2009; ... A third industrial revolution is called for if the world is to move to carbon neutral energy systems and attempt to avert dangerous changes to the world's climate. The gauntlet was thrown down to the European research community by Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic ...