» December Latest News

December 27, 2004

Keeping Sharks At Bay

Dead sharks play role in bringing new shark repellent closer to market.

December 22, 2004

Potential New Use For Paclitaxel

Cancer-fighting agent shows promise as an Alzheimer's treatment.

Environmental Risks To Gulf War Veterans

Institute of Medicine review finds some link to lung cancer from exposure to smoke, fuels.

AstraZeneca To Overhaul Clinical Processes

Decision follows bad news for two of the British company's drugs.

Painkillers Raise Doubts

Pfizer's Celebrex and other pain medicines are associated with heart problems.

December 21, 2004

Herbert C. Brown Dead At Age 92(Updated December 23, 2004)

Exeter Axes Chemistry

Governing body of British university votes to cut chemistry degree programs.

December 20, 2004

Orbital Imaging

Using ultrafast lasers, researchers can make 3-D images of molecular orbitals.

Phosphate Donor

Scientists find a second cellular molecule that donates phosphate groups to proteins.

Gates Fights Malaria

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding research to develop an antimalarial.

Spheres With Pores

Supercritical fluid emulsion technique yields hollow spheres of mesoporous silica.

DMS Buys Neoresins

Acquisition of Avecia's coating resins business is an almost $680 million transaction.

December 17, 2004

Ukrainian Mystery

Was presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko poisoned with a dioxin-like compound?

Suspect Nanomaterials

Purchasers of nanomaterials may be getting contaminated product, at best.

December 16, 2004

Bayer To Sell Plasma Business

Deal with private investors will reap $590 million.

Legislation Raises PTO Fees

Patent application and maintenance fees increase by up to 25%.

Idemitsu, Mitsui Firm Up Venture

New company will be Japan's largest polypropylene maker.

December 15, 2004

Does Conjugation Stabilization Exist?

In the case of diynes, chemists find that the answer isn't clear-cut.

December 14, 2004

Metal-Free Suzuki Coupling Retracted

Trace palladium contamination accounts for 'metal-free' C-C bond formation.

Bush Taps Nominees To Head DOE, HHS; NASA Chief Leaving

Chemical engineer Samuel Bodman, once CEO of Cabot, would head Department of Energy.

Sprung From MediChem

Former employees of Chicago-area contract research firm strike out on their own.

December 13, 2004

Thin Film Self-Assembly

Technique could lead to low-cost, high-speed switching devices for broadband telecommunications systems.

Treating TB

A new compound to treat tuberculosis has entered human clinical trials.

Sulfation In Cells

Control of the machinery for carbohydrate sulfation could lead to human health benefits.

DuPont And PFOA

Once again, the company is being cited by EPA for withholding data on exposure.

Custom Chemicals

At annual trade show, fine and custom chemicals producers view 2005 with cautious optimism.

December 10, 2004

ACS Takes Legal Action Against Google

Google search service is said to infringe SciFinder Scholar trademark.

NIH Scientists Protest

Staff scientists want to have input as agency considers ethics oversight changes.

ACS Board Meeting

The board approves a $442 million 2005 budget and reelects James D. Burke as chair.

Shintech PVC

Firm's decision to build Gulf Coast PVC plant solidifies its top-spot market position.

December 9, 2004

Science Policy Advice System In Crisis

Federation of American Scientists report offers practical steps to improve the situation.

Rohm and Haas Restructures, Will Buy Stock

Some 200 jobs to be lost in administration and three businesses.

Companies Firm Up Business In China

Degussa and Lonza invest in performance plastics and fine chemicals.

Noninvasive Detection Of Breast Cancer

Three-part technetium probe could eliminate the need for mammograms or confirmatory biopsies.

December 8, 2004

Treating Paralysis

Dogs treated with polyethylene glycol overcome spinal injuries.

Putting Wishes Into Effect

University spin-off looks for work for its polymers featuring living controlled polymerization.

December 7, 2004

Visa Addendum

Provision would grant 20,000 work visas to foreign citizens who hold U.S. graduate degrees.

Qualified Success

Challenges remain in effort to test high-production-volume chemicals.

December 6, 2004

Benzene Toxicity

Study of workers in China shows blood cell damage at levels below 1 ppm.

After Bhopal

Protests and a scientific conference mark the 20th anniversary of the largest-ever chemical accident.

Nanocrystals By The Batch

Low-cost method yields large quantities of uniform-sized nanocrystals.

Modified Wheat

Plant geneticists develop a method to produce strains of wheat rich in amylopectins.

Trade Tariffs

Retaliatory sanctions on U.S. goods are okayed by the WTO.

December 3, 2004

Dow Settlement On Bhopal A Hoax

Bogus BBC report quickly exposed but not before hurting stock price.

Japan Pharma

Dainippon Pharmaceutical will acquire Sumitomo Chemical's drug business for $2.2 billion.

Aging Accelerator

Women's stress is linked to telomere shrinkage and perhaps shorter lives.

U.K. R&D

Britain is spending $200 million for research on emerging science and technology.

December 2, 2004

Light Makes Cells Stick

Cell engineering efforts will be aided by a practical way to use light to control cell adhesion.

Pfizer Boasts Strong Pipeline

Leading drug firm says it will weather patent expirations.

Large Methyl Bromide Exemptions Granted

The U.S. can continue to use fumigant, which is targeted for phaseout under the Montreal protocol.

BP Adds And Subtracts in U.K.

Company enhances a polyethylene plant but closes others

December 1, 2004

Microreactors For The Chemical Masses

From gram-scale to multiton output, start-up firm anticipates $100 million market for tiny device.