» July Latest News

July 29, 2005

Chemical Earnings

First batch of second-quarter results shows that growth from last year continues unabated

July 28, 2005

Protein Related To Neurotransmitter Transporters Analyzed

Crystal structure could help discovery of drugs to treat depression, Parkinson's disease, and more.

Plastic Electronics Lab Set For U.K.

Facility to have backing of chemical and electronics makers.

NSF Diversity Gains Termed Uneven

Committee says more effort is needed to improve diversity in science and engineering.

July 27, 2005

CDC Releases Chemicals Survey

Human exposure monitoring reveals sharp declines for some substances.

Profits Are Sweet Pill For Drugmakers

Nonrecurring gains last year skew earnings picture for European pharmaceutical firms.

Asia Dominates Chemistry Olympiad

South Korea and Vietnam place high, while U.S. remains in the middle of the pack.

July 26, 2005

Polymer Brushes Respond To Heat

Water-soluble conducting polymer is an efficient temperature sensor.

July 25, 2005

Teva To Acquire Ivax

Purchase for $7.4 billion will put Israeli firm back on top in generic drugs.

Metathesis On Metal

Separate research teams succeed in carrying out olefin metathesis reactions on metal surfaces.

Mexican Investments

One major project is on hold; other firms in Mexico are building capacity.

Bone Glue

Shock-absorbing biopolymeric glue makes healthy human bones resilient.

July 22, 2005

Teflon Torts

Class-action lawsuits against DuPont claim health hazards from Teflon-coated cookware.

Scanning Mars

New spacecraft will survey Mars for water and possible landing spots for a manned mission.

July 21, 2005

Akzo Nobel Sees Divestments On Track

Dutch firm raises sales and profits in second quarter.

Thienoacenes Now Have Up To Seven Fused Rings

Synthesis could lead to materials with improved semiconducting properties.

Senators Act To Kill Mercury Rule

Democratic senators seek to override EPA's mercury cap-and-trade program.

Roche Makes Biotech Buy

Deal for Swiss firm GlycArt nets antibody technology

July 20, 2005

Emory Gets $525 Million for AIDS Drug

Sale of rights to emtricitabine is called the largest university intellectual property deal ever.

The Ethics Of Stem Cell Research

Senate hearing probes potential alternatives to embryos as embryonic stem cell source.

July 19, 2005

States Thwarted On Greenhouse Gases

Appeals Court upholds EPA discretion not to regulate emissions.

Catching Conflict-Of-Interest Violators

NIH updates Congress on agency's internal review of employee consulting activities.

July 18, 2005

Biochemist Arrested In London Bombings

Traces of powerful explosive triacetone triperoxide found in apartment.

Acetylene Storage

Metal-organic microporous material selectively adsorbs highly reactive gas at room temperature and pressure.

Finding Transients

Ultrafast diffraction is used to determine structures of transient species in reactions of haloalkanes.

Diels-Alder Pyridines

With the help of tungsten, researchers coax pyridines to undergo Diels-Alder reactions.

Disease Bound

Affinity of ubiquitous protein p53 for a mutant protein might explain the neurological damage of Huntington's disease

July 15, 2005

Petrochemical Investments

Multinational consortia are building cracker and refinery facilities for Asia, Middle East markets.

Clean Air Dispute

North Carolina and environmental organizations file suit over EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule

July 14, 2005

Probes Monitor Multiple Genes In Single Cells

Molecular beacons allow cell-to-cell comparison of gene expression.

Solvay Buys Fournier

$1.56 billion deal boosts Solvay's position in cardiovascular drugs.

Agency Eyes Gas Leak Claim

Chemical composition of LNG may be factor in seal problems.

Toray Expands Plasma Materials

Capacity increase will feed global demand for plasma TVs.

July 13, 2005

Carving A Niche In Peptide Production

PolyPeptide Laboratories sticks to what it knows in pharmaceutical chemicals.

From Medicine To Megatrends

Dutch firm to buy IMS Health for $7 Billion.

July 12, 2005

New Chief Technology Officer At Dow

Dow taps General Electric for new head of global R&D.

Summit Addresses Climate Change, Nonproliferation

G-8 leaders noted seriousness of issues, but did not announce new programs.

July 11, 2005

Doping Nanocrystals

Theoretical model guides scientists in preparing doped semiconductor nanocrystals.

Glass Sponges

Latticework structure of glass sea-sponge skeletons offers insights for nanoscale mechanical engineering.

Silicon Ring

First stable all-silicon aromatic ring is synthesized by a group in Japan.

VX Disposal Stops

Army finds that by-product of nerve agent neutralization in Indiana is flammable.

Planning For Emissions

EPA proposal would block public access to companies' plans to deal with operational upsets

July 8, 2005

Phthalate Ban

European Parliament bars use of three phthalate plasticizers for children's toys and child care items.

Selling Borealis

Norway's Statoil is selling its 50% stake in Borealis to existing partners

July 7, 2005

Citic Abandons Bid For TPI

Chinese firm blames involvement of Thai court.

Wildfire Emissions Totaled

Large area of Northern Hemisphere is affected by pollution from Alaska-Canadian blazes.

Chemical Plant Risks Reassessed

Any of 2,500 plants may pose risks to at least 10,000 people from terrorist attack.

SPORT Report Points Way To REACH

Trial run calls for 'adjustments and clarification' to make chemicals policy work

July 6, 2005

Chemtura's Debut

Crompton changes its name as it completes deal for Great Lakes Chemical

July 5, 2005

Celestial Blast

Telescopes capture comet-spacecraft collision.

Spellbinding Data

New online databases combine structure and binding of protein-ligand complexes

July 4, 2005

PFOA Cancer Risk

EPA's Science Advisory Board says the agency should classify the fluorinated compound as a likely human carcinogen.

China Crackers

Two major petrochemical complexes in China are now in full operation.

Energy Bills

Senate has passed an energy bill, but key differences with a House bill await resolution in conference.

Blocking Necrosis

Evidence of a biochemical pathway for necrosis may lead to treatments for conditions such as stoke.

Fertilizer Exit

Two producers of ammonium nitrate fertilizer will cease production because of terrorist concerns.

Notched Nanowires

Carving tiny gaps onto nanowires could become an important tool for molecular electronics.

Human Testing

EPA proposes human testing of pesticides, ignores some safeguards proposed by NRC.

Global Health

Gates Foundation gives $436 million for research on global health issues

July 1, 2005

Oceans turning dangerously acidic

Average pH of seawater has fallen as atmospheric CO₂ has increased