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March 31, 2004

BUCKYBALLS DAMAGE BASS BRAINS

Results of first toxicity study of nanoparticles in aquatic species presented.

MAGNETIC NANOFOAM

Carbon variant exhibits unusual temperature-dependent magnetism.

BREATHING LIFE INTO CORPORATE CORRIDORS

CDMA meeting examines use of new growth techniques to jump-start business development.

March 30, 2004

March 29, 2004

LYONDELL TO COMBINE WITH MILLENNIUM

Merger will consolidate ownership of Equistar joint venture.

MARKING GENE TRANSFER

Enzyme identifies successful gene insertion in plants without antibiotics or herbicides.

NO MUD PIES À LA SUPERFUND

Internal examination of its risk assessment practices supports EPA exposure assumptions

MARS BEACH

Rover Opportunity has been sitting on the shore of an ancient, briny sea.

CIBA BUYING BINGE

Swiss firm agrees to pay about $580 million for Raisio Chemicals.

CRITICAL ASSETS

Department of Homeland Security wants buffer zone protection for facilities.

NEW FUEL CELLS

Innovation allows microfluidic effects to separate reagents.

DOW CORNING

Last major obstacle to silicone breast implant settlement cleared.

PURSUING AVENTIS

Novartis study supports a merger with Aventis, if only the French government will stay out.

PRION SYNTHESIS

Researchers use structural insights to synthesize artificial yeast prions.

NOSING AROUND

Researchers find no evidence to support vibrational theory of smell.

TESTING CATTLE

Two rapid tests for detecting BSE have been approved by USDA.

March 26, 2004

CLOUDING UP THE VALLEYS

Producer of phosphate chemicals does not appear to be very environmentally friendly

March 25, 2004

IFF appeals jury verdict

Distributions to chemical firms dropped in 2003

Hatco signs nanotech deal

Lyondell and Bayer launch venture plant

March 24, 2004

From pathogen's enzyme to sensor

MAD COW TESTING

USDA licenses rapid assay for mad cow disease

IDEOLOGICAL TUG OF WAR

Objectivity in environmental science can turn to subjectivity when human nature takes its course

March 23, 2004

YICHANG: A PLEASANT SURPRISE

First stop after Chongqing reveals a provincial city cashing in on its geography and China's national priorities.

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?

Cell-permeable MRI contrast agent gives scientists a new view inside cells.

PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS REVIEW

EPA seeks to identify any health or environmental risks

AHA! MOMENT ROBERT R. BREAKER

Why doesn't nature use RNA molecules to sense specific metabolites and thus regulate gene expression? Nature does, Breaker thought, but no one realized it.

U.S. VOTE AT TREATY MEETINGS THREATENED

Legislation to make U.S. a partner in persistent organic pollutant pact mired in legal debate.

YOUNG SCIENTISTS

High school students awarded more than $500,000 in prestigious science competition

March 22, 2004

NEW RIBOZYME

Discovery of gene-regulating activity reveals a previously unknown talent of RNA.

PRICE-FIXING PLEA

Crompton agrees to pay fines to settle cases in U.S. and Canada.

COW TESTING

USDA plans to greatly increase surveillance program for mad cow disease prevalence.

INFLAMMATORY EVIDENCE

Chronic inflammation is exposed as a key factor in neurodegenerative disorders.

PHARMA FORECAST

Sector strategists stress efficiency as key to maintaining growth.

REVISED RESEARCH PLAN

Under pressure, Department of Homeland Security allows all national labs to compete equally for research funds.

GREEN CHEMISTRY

Legislation would place a federal focus on green chemistry R&D.

MOLECULAR LIFT

Nanometer-scale elevator demonstrates rapid progress in building molecular machines.

GOING PRIVATE

Investors taking Celanese private stumble but remain confident.

March 19, 2004

BLUEBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

Martian 'berries' are actually hematite spherules

LOVE CANAL CLEANED UP

Site that triggered Superfund program now deemed safe by EPA

March 18, 2004

Electrical Engineers Protest

Petitioners say IEEE is discriminating against members from embargoed countries.

Small Molecule Holds Proton In Chiral Complex

Protonated small molecule both accelerates and directs an organic reaction to enantioenriched products.

Degussa Divests Thiourea Dioxide

Degussa is selling its $6 million-per-year thiourea dioxide business to Wego Chemical & Mineral Corp.

Mitsui Plans China PTA Plant

Mitsui Chemicals is planning to build a 600,000-metric-ton-per-year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at the Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone in eastern China.

DOE Nuclear Wast Cleanup Faulted

Fears voiced over radioactive contamination of Georgia groundwater and the Savannah River

March 17, 2004

INTERVIEWING IN CHONGQING

Showing up unannounced works best in China's less developed cities

John Pople Dead At 78

Nobel Laureate made seminal contributions to quantum chemical methods

The State Of Chemical Regulation

Conference focuses on planned EU legislation, U.S. policies on new and existing substances.

Critter Chemistry: Puffer Fish

A powerful neurotoxin from puffer fish could provide some cancer patients with non-opioid pain relief

March 16, 2004

MORE MAD COW TESTING

USDA unveils plan to test more than 200,000 cattle

FIRST STOP, CHONGQING

Snapshots from a reporter's river journey reveal today's China

PRODUCTIVITY SLOWS

Chemical output per hour increased in 2003 at lowest rate in five years, and labor costs rose

NOVARTIS PURSUES AVENTIS

News release confirms Swiss drug giant is considering combination

March 15, 2004

NEW TWIST ON WILKINSON'S CATALYST

Chemists report simple synthesis of fluorinated analog

ORGANIC ELECTRONICS

Organic transistors and a green polymer are two key advances for a hot field.

LOWERING CHOLESTEROL

A Bristol-Myers Squibb study shows that a Pfizer drug works best.

UNION STRENGTH

Two established unions for the chemical industry have decided to join forces.

LEAD IN WATER

Lead in Washington, D.C., drinking water is prompting EPA to look at broader issues.

HUBBLE IMAGES

Stunning deep space images provide backdrop for telescope's possible funding cut.

IONIC LIQUIDS

Sweetener anions and organocations are used to prepare "green" solvents.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING

Open access and other issues have caught the attention of policymakers.

DUAL-USE OVERSIGHT

Public- and private-sector efforts emerge to secure life sciences research.

BIOMINERALIZATION

Microbes produce energy by metabolizing iron and creating mineral-encrusted polymer strands.

March 12, 2004

SETTING A PERCHLORATE STANDARD

California sets a level for rocket fuel in drinking water

Superfund Tax Rejected

Federal trust fund for pollution cleanup has been drained nearly dry

March 11, 2004

BUTLER GETS TWO-YEAR SENTENCE

Plague researcher is also fined and ordered to pay restitution

Handful of schools produce large percentage of top faculty

Lack of basic science funding criticized

DuPont buys Chinese firm

'Smart' building materials eyed

March 10, 2004

FRENCH SCIENTISTS PLAY HARDBALL

Research budget cuts and job losses are key issues in face-off with the government

UPBEAT FORECAST FOR INSTRUMENT MAKERS

Analysts present strong case for a recovery that could be unprecedented.

NIH DIRECTOR'S PIONEER AWARD

Agency's new grant program looks for people with good ideas to do high-risk research

March 9, 2004

OUTLOOK IMPROVES FOR JAPANESE FIRMS

After a decade of restructuring, Japan's petrochemical producers are looking less wobbly

March 8, 2004

MARS WATER

Rover Opportunity provides compelling evidence that the Red Planet was once wet.

CASES DECIDED

Workplace exposure suits are resolved; most are favorable toward industry.

TRADE TARIFFS

Foreign sales tax exemption is target of EU trade tariffs; chemicals are excluded.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

White House-led strategy aims to combat illegal Internet sales of controlled substances.

PLATINUM CONTROL

Burrowing particles could provide a useful technique to control catalyst structure.

MODEL CLOTS

Blood clot model is prototype for studies of other complex reaction networks.

IRAQI ARMS SEARCH

Most weapons of mass destruction probably had been destroyed by 1991, UN says.

QUEST UNIT SOLD

ICI, like Rhodia, is selling its food ingredients business.

BIOTECH UPTICK

Initial public offerings for three biotech firms add to flurry of recent activity.