Recently added articles from Chemistry and Industry:
Rise of (virtual) man.(Leader)
Jul 21, 2008; Eisberg, Neil ... The global pharmaceutical sector is facing a number of serious challenges, ranging from tight funding through increasing risk aversion by regulators, and rapid increases in the incidence of chronic conditions, to a lack of blockbuster drugs in their pipelines and the disappearance of the ...
Dow deal defies credit crunch.(Chemicals)(Dow Chemical Co.)
Jul 21, 2008; Murphy, Marina ... Talk of hard times certainly hasn't dented Dow's ability to raise cash. The US major has announced that it is acquiring speciality chemicals company Rohm and Haas to create a super Dow that will knock German major BASF off the top spot. 'This is by far the biggest chemical deal ...
Pharma to prevent future development failures.(Enlight Biosciences)
Jul 21, 2008; Eisberg, Neil ... A new company has been set up to speed the development of new drugs and avoid failures late in drug development (see opposite). US majors Merck & Co, Pfizer and Eli Lilly have come together with Boston-based venture creation firm PureTech Ventures and prominent academics ...
Tougher times ahead for chemicals.(Economic climate)
Jul 21, 2008; Murphy, Marina ... Demand for products in which chemicals would go is down sharply. German chemicals major BASF cut growth expectations for 2008 from 2.8% to 2.4% citing weak growth. 'In the US and Spain, the housing industry has been over built. In the UK, it has been overbid ... consumers are ...
Russians lock down oil and gas industries.(Foreign investment)
Jul 21, 2008; Dorey, Emma ... Foreign investment in Russian industry could be hampered further by news that regulators have limited foreign investors to no more than 5% of mineral exploration companies. 'They have locked down the loll, gas and mineral] sector completely,' Chris Weafer, equity strategist for Uralsib ...
UK kids to get statins.(Paediatrics)
Jul 21, 2008; Dorey, Emma ... England looks set to follow the US with the recommendation that some children with high cholesterol be treated with cholesterol-lowering statins. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will publish its guidelines for diagnosing and managing familial ...
All change: pricing regimes evolve.(Raw materials)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008; Walter, Patrick ... The soaring price of raw materials means that chemical companies are constantly adopting new pricing systems to try to keep pace with rapidly changing market conditions. Dow Europe has announced that it will end the use of a market index formula to determine prices. This latest ...
Ranbaxy in trouble.(Daiichi Sankyo)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... Ranbaxy, India's largest drugmaker, had its biggest fall in seven years in Mumbai trading after a US legal probe sparked concern that Daiichi Sankyo could scrap its planned $4.6bn takeover (C&I 2008, 12, 5). Ranbaxy dropped 11% and Daiichi Sankyo fell 5.5% in Tokyo. The US is seeking a ...
GSK, Actelion in almorexant deal.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... GSK has agreed to pay up to 1.6bn [pounds sterling] in licensing and developing fees for insomnia treatment almorexant. Almorexant, which was developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Actelion, and targets the orexin system. Orexin is a protein associated with obesity and narcolepsy (C&I ...
Pesticide ban.(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... Cosmetic use of pesticides has been banned across the entire province of Ontario in Canada. The use and sale of pesticides was already banned in the city of Toronto. But a new law which applies across more than 30 municipalities, now forbids the use ...
'Kidney-stone belt'.(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... Increases in temperature as a result of climate change will increase the incidence of kidney stones. Tom Brikowski et al at the University of Texas report that kidney stones may increase across the US by as much as 30% in some areas (PNAS doi: 10.1073/ pnas.0709652105). Total healthcare ...
From darling to dragon.(Biofuels)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008; Walter, Patrick ... The tide appears to have well and truly turned on biofuels. A recent report has recommended that the UK, and by extension the EU, should reconsider the rate of expansion of the use of biofuels. Another report has laid the blame for the recent spike in food prices at the door of biofuels. ...
Some plants adapt to climate change.(Environment)
Jul 21, 2008; Murphy, Marina ... Scientists have found that some infertile grass lands have a stabilising capacity that make them resistant to climate change. This contrasts with fertile lands, which have been found to transform rapidly in response to climate change-like effects. 'From a management and ...
Bio-diesel-powered trimaran smashes round-the-world record.(EarthRace)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Earthrace, the biodiesel-powered trimaran, has smashed the world speed record for a power boat to circumnavigate the world, having travelled 24 000 miles to return to its departure point Sagunto, Spain on 27 June. The trip was completed in 60 days, 23 ...
US agribusiness Cargill has begun construction of its first full-scale BiOH biopolyols facility in Chicago, Illinois, US.(Bioproduct Briefs)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... US agribusiness Cargill has begun construction of its first full-scale BiOH biopolyols ...
The UK National Farmers' Union has welcomed the European Commission's proposal.(Bioproduct Briefs)
Jul 21, 2008 ... The UK National Farmers' Union has welcomed the European Commission's ...
An analysis by Francisco Blanch, a commodity strategist at US financial services company Merrill Lynch, shows that US retail gasoline prices would be $21/bbl higher without the inclusion of bioethanol.(Bioproduct Briefs)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... An analysis by Francisco Blanch, a commodity strategist at US financial services company Merrill Lynch, shows that US retail gasoline prices would be $21/bbl higher without the inclusion of bioethanol. This ...
Serotonin link to SIDS.(Science briefs)(Sudden infant death syndrome)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... The key to cot death could lie in the serotonin system, which brain cells use to communicate with each other. It is possible to survive with no serotonin system. But a new study shows that a dysfunctional serotonin system in GM mice is enough to kill at a similar age at which most cot ...
Artificial DNA.(Science briefs)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008 ... Japanese researchers have stitched together four chemicals resembling the bases found in DNA to create a synthetic version. The creation could find application in information storage in nano-sized computers (JACS 2008, 130, 8762). The artificial DNA employs deoxyribose as the sugar ...
Side effects' silver lining.(Drug discovery)
Jul 21, 2008; Walter, Patrick ... A comprehensive examination of the side effects of over 700 drugs already on the market could help reduce side effects and resurrect drugs that failed in clinical trials by finding new uses for them. German and Dutch researchers carried out a painstaking collation using a ...