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June 30, 2006

House Approves Offshore Drilling Plan

Chemical manufacturers say bill will boost natural gas supply and make energy affordable.

Polymer Feedstock Made From Biomass

Method effectively converts fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

NRC Approves New Enrichment Plant

Foreign-owned nuclear fuel facility would be first of its type to be built in U.S.

June 29, 2006

Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Drug Antitrust Case

Case involved collusive deal between brand-name and generic drug firms.

J&J Eliminates More R&D Jobs

Cutbacks in California follow layoffs in New Jersey earlier this year.

German Companies Expand Polysilicon

Projects are a response to high demand from makers of solar cells.

June 28, 2006

House Panel Approves Alternative Energy R&D

Lawmakers reject bid to establish a high-risk research agency within Energy Department.

June 27, 2006

Presidential Awards

Honors recognize chemical innovations that promote pollution prevention and sustainability.

June 26, 2006

Pfizer Will Sell Consumer Unit To J&J

Deal leaves drug giant to focus on its prescription pharmaceuticals business.

Supreme Court To Hear Greenhouse Gas Case

EPA says it lacks authority under federal law to regulate CO₂ emissions from motor vehicles.

Nanoparticles By Design

Simulations predict wide range of geometries possible via polymer grafting.

Waxman Proposes Tough Climate Bill

Legislation would cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050.

Fifteen-Tin Clusters

Largest tin clusters may pave way to broader range of metalloid nanoparticles.

Plant Safety Bill Delayed In Senate

Jurisdictional dispute, fears of inherently safer technology provisions block bill.

June 23, 2006

Will Congress Clear The Water?

Calls for legislative action follow Supreme Court's fractured ruling.

Pollutants Made Worse By Bacteria

Soil microbes turn stable brominated flame retardants into more toxic forms

Superfund Data

Sen. Boxer accuses EPA of withholding data on hazardous waste site cleanup

June 22, 2006

Activate On Command

Self-splicing domain used to control protein function in mammalian cells.

Dow Launches Big Ad Campaign

Leading chemical maker seeks to emphasize its role in global problem solving.

Canada Bans Imports Of Four Fluorotelomers

Evidence of bioaccumulation and potential toxicity leads to action.

June 21, 2006

BP And DuPont To Make 'Biobutanol'

Firms say they are close to producing a biofuel more advanced than ethanol.

NSF Names New Head Of Math & Physical Sciences

UCLA dean set to take reins of agency directorate that includes chemistry.

June 20, 2006

Chevron, Georgia Tech Form Fuels Alliance

Chevron commits up to $12 million for research into biofuels and hydrogen.

Blast Kills 16 In China

Accident was not the first to occur at plants that make explosives.

June 19, 2006

Albemarle Expands In China

Company will build flame-retardant plant to meet growing demand in Asia-Pacific market.

Triple Cascade

Asymmetric reaction constructs three new C-C bonds and four stereocenters.

Greener Cleaners

EPA initiative urging phaseout of NPE surfactants receives mixed reviews.

Aging Cells Get New Lease On Life

Small molecule is found to extend lifetime of mammalian cells.

June 16, 2006

Plant Security Bill Advances

Senate panel approves measure to establish national security standard for chemical plants.

Sames Retracts More Papers

Columbia U. professor publishes notices that former grad student's work cannot be reproduced.

India Goes West

Nicholas Piramal continues its global expansion with purchase of Pfizer facility in the U.K.

Georgia Gulf Will Buy Royal Group

Deal will create a large, back-integrated vinyl products supplier.

June 15, 2006

State Department Names 2006 Science Fellows

Third group of six Jefferson Science Fellows includes one chemist.

Regulating Ammonium Nitrate

Bipartisan legislation would create a tracking system to help keep explosive fertilizer out of the hands of terrorists.

House Committee Scrutinizes NIH Scientist

Report raises concerns about researcher's consulting fees, human tissue samples sent to industry.

Schering Shares

Merck's threat to derail Bayer's acquisition of Schering is resolved.

June 14, 2006

AIChE Recovers Its Footing

Chemical engineering society announces 'dramatic financial turnaround'.

Railroads Ask Congress To Limit Financial Risk

Chemical industry opposes liability cap for rail shipment of hazardous materials.

Pollution Woes Mount In China

Environmental degradation continues, but government claims some progress.

June 13, 2006

Biofuels Are Poised To Displace Oil

Ethanol, biodiesel could provide 37% of U.S. transport fuel within the next 25 years, Worldwatch Institute says.

June 12, 2006

Amide With A Twist

The archetypal bicyclic twisted amide 2-quinuclidone is finally synthesized.

June 12, 2006

Industry Backs Asbestos Fund

Manufacturers support Senate bill to end litigation over compensation.

Zeroing In On Active Catalytic Sites

Method reveals mechanistic details of chemical reactions on surfaces.

Pharma's Comeback

Targeted small-molecule therapies rule at major meeting of oncologists.

June 9, 2006

FDA Combats Counterfeit Drugs

Agency will require wholesalers to begin tracking drugs throughout supply chain.

Herzenberg Will Receive $446,000 Kyoto Prize

Prize honors the developer of the Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter.

House Passes Refinery Siting Bill

Bill is approved on 238-to-179 vote, but fate in Senate is unclear.

Whitesides Named Priestley Medalist

Harvard professor is honored for lifetime of achievements and service to chemistry.

A Sense Of Touch

Nanoparticle-based thin-film device could help robots sense texture.

ACS Honors

Heininger, Hoffman Selected For ACS Service Awards; CAS To Be Chemical Landmark

Formosa Plastics

Legendary founder and chairman of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group steps down

June 8, 2006

San Francisco Restricts Bisphenol A And Some Phthalates

Substances are banned in child care articles and toys for young children.

Novartis Goes On Biotech Buying Spree

Swiss drugmaker offers to buy one firm and signs development deal with another.

June 7, 2006

FDA Approves Resumed Sale Of MS Drug

Tysabri will be allowed back on the market, but agency imposes restrictions on distribution.

June 6, 2006

Natural Diabetes Treatments

Gardenia fruit compound and estrogen disrupt disease process.

Degussa Taps A Chinese Partner

German firm buys stake in pharmaceutical chemicals maker Lynchem.

June 5, 2006

Shippers, Railroads Differ On Tank Car Design

'Heavier is better' approach to rail tanker safety fails to consider potential problems, shippers argue.

Nobel Laureate Raymond Davis Jr. Dies At 91

Brookhaven chemist detected solar neutrinos.

Enzyme Redesigned Computationally

Calculated structural change modifies enzyme's DNA-cleaving selectivity.

Particle Size Matters

Aerosol particle size, not chemical composition, has the greatest influence on cloud formation.

Butadiene Bonds

Combination of theory and experiment confirms the influence of delocalization on structure.

June 2, 2006

Chevron Creates Business Unit In Emerging Biofuels Sector

Oil giant wants to find new ways to make ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable fuels.

Poison Ivy Could Get Worse

Plants grown under elevated CO₂ levels pack a more allergenic punch.

R&D In China

AstraZeneca's Innovation Centre China anchors firm's three-year, $100 million R&D investment.

Engelhard Agrees To BASF Takeover

Catalyst and pigment maker capitulates after four months of resisting buyout.

June 1, 2006

Major Grant For Science Education

Howard Hughes Medical Institute provides $86 million for undergraduate instruction.

Glaxo Will Cut AIDS Drug Prices For Poor Nations

Drugmaker also signs licensing agreement to allow South African firm to make generic versions of two medicines.

Unculturable Bugs Yield To Genome Sequencing

Genetic information is obtained from organisms that can?t be grown in culture