Chemical & Engineering News is a professional chemistry journal published weekly to keep the 158,000 members of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, informed of important developments in chemistry, industry, and business. Through special arrangement with the ACS, the Journal of Chemical Education is now able to provide its members with online access to C&EN articles that have been chosen specifically for secondary science instructors and their students. More information about C&EN CLICs
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2009
January:
Title: Methane On Mars Description: On Earth, methane is produced almost entirely by living organisms, so the possibility that recently observed plumes of the gas emanating from Mars might also be biogenic has set the planetary science community abuzz. Issue: January 19, 2009, p. 11
Title: The Greening Game Description: Detergents and other cleaning materials have always promised to rid the home of dirt and grime. But now many products vow to protect the environment as well. Issue: January 26, 2009, pp. 13-19
Title: Up From The Slime (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Algae are challenging their more popular cousins, corn and soy, to become the biofuel feedstock of the future. Issue: January 26, 2009, pp. 22-23
Title: Engineered Animals (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The FDA is currently reviewing applications for at least two genetically engineered animals, transgenic pigs and salmon, that could end up on dinner plates later this year. Issue: January 26, 2009, pp. 25-28
February:
Title: Materials For The Modern Gladiator Description: Thanks to innovations in materials science and engineering, NASCAR drivers can crash at 200 mph and walk away from the wreckage. Issue: February 2, 2009, pp. 12-15
Title: Authenticating Food (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Analyzing food for DNA can authenticate upscale products and identify adulterated ingredients, bacterial contaminants, allergens, and genetically modified organisms. Issue: February 2, 2009, pp. 30-31
Title: Living With Limits Description: The global financial crisis and recession is providing those who do not want to address global climate change another excuse for inaction. It is a familiar refrain. It is also a tired one. Issue: February 9, 2009, p. 3
Title: After-School Chemistry (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The high school chemistry club program of the American Chemical Society puts clubs in touch with one another, provides ACS resources, and has been embraced by chemistry teachers around the country. Issue: February 9, 2009, p. 37
Title: Making Water Step By Step Description: Using scanning tunneling microscopy and quantum calculations to aid image interpretation, researchers have succeeded in producing a video illustrating the intermediate steps in a catalyzed reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to form water. Issue: February 16, 2009, pp. 10
Title: Greening The Farm Description: Safer and environmentally friendlier pesticides and agricultural practices are becoming increasingly popular on U.S. farms. Issue: February 16, 2009, pp. 13-20
Title: The Foul Side Of ‘Clean Coal’ (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Coal-fired plants have cut smokestack emissions of soot, particulates, and sulfur dioxide by capturing and putting them and other waste ash into huge reservoirs. Recent studies are finding that carcinogens and other contaminants in ash can leach into water supplies, and no federal regulations control the storage or subsequent use of this material. Issue: February 23, 2009, pp. 44-47
Title: Off-Balance Ocean Description: The pH of the ocean’s surface waters has been dropping steadily for decades, the result of increased CO2 emissions. As the ocean becomes more acidic, scientists anticipate a myriad of changes to the ocean’s chemistry. Issue: February 23, 2009, pp. 56-58
March:
Title: Graphene: Carbon As Thin As Can Be Description: Graphene’s strength and unparalleled electrical conductivity may allow engineers to construct a variety of unique electronic devices, such as computers that can be folded like a sheet of paper to fit in your pocket. Issue: March 2, 2009, pp. 14-20
Title: Synthetic Grass Description: The chemistry behind the manufacture and properties of synthetic grass. Issue: March 2, 2009, Web exclusive
Title: Instant Film Description: Examines the chemistry of instant film. Issue: March 23, 2009, p. 42
Title: Lying In Wait Description: Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. military disposed of huge quantities of weapons and hazardous materials into world’s oceans. Scientists are now searching for these disposal sites and evaluating their environmental impact. Issue: March 30, 2009, pp. 24-26
April:
Title: Virus Power Description: Using an environmentally benign process, scientists have coaxed a genetically engineered virus into building and wiring the cathode of a lithium-ion battery. Issue: April 6, 2009, p. 6
Title: Genes Take A Back Seat Description: Some researchers are convinced that genes have enjoyed an overblown place in biology’s explanatory framework; epigenetics may be the software that runs genetic hardware. Issue: April 6, 2009, pp. 28-32
Title: Orchestrating Genetic Expression Description: Chemical modifications to chromatin, the macromolecular stage inside a cell’s nucleus that bears DNA and constitutes chromosomes, can influence gene expression. Inherited primarily at conception, such modifications can also occur during gestation, early childhood, and perhaps throughout life, and can even be passed down to the next generation. Issue: April 6, 2009, Web Exclusive
Title: Harnessing Light Description: Despite centuries of research and several Nobel Prizes for discoveries, photosynthesis still harbors many unsolved mysteries. Issue: April 13, 2009, pp. 46-50
Title: In Cahoots: Fungi, Ants, And Bacteria Description: Symbiotic systems involving fungi, ants, and bacteria could be a source of useful drugs and enzymes for biofuel production. Issue: April 13, 2009, Web Exclusive
Title: Self-Darkening Eyeglasses Description: The science behind dual-purpose lenses. Issue: April 13, 2009, p. 54
May:
Title: Battery Thrills And Chills (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: $2 billion of federal stimulus money has been designated for the development of more powerful, more reliable, and less expensive batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. However, other countries are competing with the U.S. to lead the world’s electric car battery market. Issue: May 4, 2009, p. 34
Title: Extreme C–C Bonds (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The carbon-carbon bond is arguably the most fundamental connection in all of chemistry. Yet a century after chemists began in earnest to unravel the mysteries of chemical bonding, the intricate details of C–C bonds are still unfolding. Issue: May 11, 2009, pp. 32-33
Title: DNA’s First Language (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: DNA may operate in some important ways like proteins; the three-dimensional shape of short sections along the DNA strand may be as important to its function as its sequence of bases. Issue: May 18, 2009, pp. 47-49
Title: Dudley Herschbach (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: This Nobel Laureate finds himself continuously impressed by the scientific research that high school students are capable of accomplishing, while students learn that Nobel Prize winners are not that different from anyone else. Issue: May 18, 2009, p. 50
June:
Title: Keepers Of The Gate Description: Advanced imaging and detection technologies help to quickly and reliably identify threats––particularly explosive materials––in airports. Issue: June 1, 2009, pp. 10-13
Title: Seeking Saltiness Description: When it comes to imparting saltiness to food, there is pretty much one choice: sodium chloride. The food industry would like to change that. Issue: June 1, 2009, pp. 29-30
Title: Clarion Call For Marine Life Description: Computer models suggest that the world’s coral reefs and polar ecosystems will be seriously harmed by ocean acidification by 2050 if CO2 emissions are not curtailed. Issue: June 8, 2009, p. 9
Title: Future Of Metals Description: Developing sustainable supplies of metals will rely on improved product design and more efficient recycling. Issue: June 8, 2009, pp. 53-57
Title: Sneaky Solar Description: Solar energy firms and building-material suppliers are working to integrate solar cells into building materials. At some point, invisible cloaks of solar collectors may be capable of generating much of a building’s electrical needs. Issue: June 15, 2009, pp. 17-18
Title: Climate-Change News Description: The science of anthropogenic climate change is becoming increasingly well established. The scientific consensus on the reality of climate change has become increasingly difficult to challenge, despite the efforts of diehard climate-change deniers. Issue: June 22, 2009, p. 3
Title: Feeling The Heat Description: The climate of the U.S. is changing and human activities are driving these shifts, says a new scientific report compiled by 13 federal agencies. It also predicts further changes in U.S. climate as greenhouse gases from human activities continue to build up in the atmosphere. Issue: June 22, 2009, p. 10
Title: Dental Anesthetics Description: With names like benzocaine, lidocaine, articaine, and mepivacaine, it’s easy to guess that the anesthetic mainstays of any dental practice are all derivatives of the original naturally occurring local anesthetic, cocaine. Issue: June 29, 2009, p. 33
July:
Title: Chemicals To Help Coal Come Clean (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: By capturing carbon dioxide emitted from coal-fired power plants and storing it in underground geologic formations, power generators believe they can continue to use the plentiful fossil fuel while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Issue: July 13, 2009, pp. 18-20
Title: Embracing ‘Mad Science’ Description: Kids who are destined to become scientists have always liked to burn things down and blow things up, and “Theo Gray’s Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do At Home––But Probably Shouldn’t” caters to that inclination in spades. Issue: July 13, 2009, pp. 32-33
Title: Periodic Table Settings Description: Former organic chemist turned multimedia artist Langley Spurlock and former ad writer turned poet John M. Tarrat got it into their heads a few years back that they would recast the entire periodic table of chemical elements with the bold, interpretive license that makes artists so valuable to society. Issue: July 13, 2009, Web Exclusive
Title: Extended Family (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: By conservative estimates, trillions of bacteria live in your gut, on your skin, up your nose, and on your teeth—that’s 10 times more bacterial cells than human ones in the body. Because human cells are much larger and bulkier than bacterial cells, we end up looking like people, but in reality, we are actually “multispecies superorganisms.” Issue: July 20, 2009, pp. 43-46
Title: 21st Century Armor (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The increasingly sophisticated successor to an ancient material—ceramic—is saving lives on today's battlefields. Issue: July 27, 2009, pp. 48, 51-53
Title: Knockout Rats The Easy Way Description: Zinc finger nucleases are allowing scientists to “knock out” very specific genes in animals. Issue: July 27, 2009, p. 15
Title: Climate-Change Dissent Description: C&EN editor-in-chief Rudy Baum is startled by the vehemence of chemists who do not think human activity is causing Earth’s climate to change. Issue: July 27, 2009, p. 5
August:
Title: The Curious Case Of Caloric Restriction Description: Something about eating a diet that is low in calories but nutritionally complete causes a dramatic reprogramming of cellular metabolism that can't be replicated by exercise or by eating smaller amounts of high-calorie foods. A flood of recent discoveries has brought scientists closer than ever to the elusive Fountain of Youth. Issue: August 3, 2009, pp. 36-39
Title: Hydrogen From Sun And Water Description: Sunlight can readily liberate hydrogen from water with the help of a novel, solid catalysts that mediates the reaction with unprecedented efficiency. Issue: August 10, 2009, p. 7
Title: The Grim Auto Reaper Description: Engine-killing by chemistry is vital to the federal government’s Cash-for-Clunkers program. Issue: August 10, 2009, Web Exclusive
Title: Trouble In The Tundra Description: Features formed by melting permafrost provide clues to a changing Arctic landscape and climate. Issue: August 17, 2009, pp. 39-43
Title: Mining The Sea of Plastic Description: Researchers are exploring ways to recover and perhaps recycle plastics from a patch of the Pacific Ocean the size of France where maritime winds and currents are causing plastic litter to congregate. Issue: August 17, 2009, Web Exclusive
Title: Coming Back To Nuclear Energy Description: A resurgence of interest in new nuclear power plants is driving the development of advanced materials capable of safely functioning for longer periods of time at higher temperatures and under more intense radiation. Issue: August 24, 2009, pp. 14-18
Title: Reining In Brown Clouds (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: So-called brown clouds, thick with lung-choking pollutants and containing particles that are potent agents of global warming, are covering thousands of square miles of the planet’s surface. Issue: August 24, 2009, pp. 26-27
Title: On The Road To Core Standards Description: A drive is under way in the U.S. to develop national education standards in math and English; science could be next. Issue: August 24, 2009, pp. 37-38
Title: Human Rights And Science (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Scientific organizations have an obligation to work towards improving people’s lives. Yet only a few have organized efforts dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights. Issue: August 24, 2009, pp. 28-29
Title: Sports Drinks Description: Balanced mixtures of sugar, salt, and other additives keeps athletes going strong. Issue: August 24, 2009, p. 36
Title: Worm Inspires Medical Adhesive Description: A bit of chemical magic wrought by a little worm that lives in the sea might one day be used to knit broken human bones back together in the wet environment of the body. Issue: August 24, 2009, p. 32
Title: Glycine Found In Comet Description: Scientists have detected the simplest amino acid, glycine, among the particles gathered from the comet Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft, which returned samples to Earth. Issue: August 24, 2009, p. 32
Title: Chemical Leaching From Packaging Description: Plastic, rubber, cardboard, metal, and glass packaging act as a barrier against all sorts of contamination, but they are also a source of contamination. Speak with anyone who produces, studies, or regulates packaging, and you will hear this point repeated: It is not a question of whether packaging components will leach into a product, it’s a question of how much. Issue: August 31, 2009, pp. 11-15
Title: Molecule’s Atoms, Bonds Visualized Description: Although atomic resolution has been attained previously for atomic force microscopy imaging of individual atoms, this is the first time all the atom positions and bonds of a single molecule, including its hydrogens, have been visualized with atomic-scale precision. Issue: August 31, 2009, p. 6
September:
Title: Mapping The Epigenome Description: The pattern of A, T, G, and C nucleotides in the genome remains constant throughout a person’s lifetime, but a variety of factors can chemically modify DNA and its packaging proteins. These epigenetic changes can dramatically influence gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence. Issue: September 14, 2009, pp. 11-16
Title: Getting By On Little Water Description: Advances in breeding and genetic engineering are producing drought-resistant crops that may help farmers continue to meet increasing demand while facing climate change. Issue: September 28, 2009, pp. 60-62
Title: Moon’s Surface Holds Water Description: New data from spacecraft offer convincing evidence that the moon’s surface is lightly permeated with water or its precursor, hydroxyl radicals; some of these molecules may be generated by interactions between lunar minerals and the solar wind. Issue: September 28, 2009, p. 9
October:
Title: Materials For Adventure Description: New fibers and membranes make outdoor gear lighter and more comfortable. Issue: October 5, 2009, pp. 15-21
Title: You Smell Description: Does each human being have an “odorprint” as personalized and identifiable as a fingerprint? Does body odor bear discernible biomarkers that reflect your state of health, such as whether you have cancer or diabetes? Is it possible to smell anxiety or deception, maybe even love and hate, in a person’s personal vapors? Issue: October 12, 2009, pp. 50-54
Title: Chatting Up Chemistry (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: When it comes to communicating about their own discipline’s laudable and pivotal place in the history of the world and humanity, chemists most often don’t get passing grades. Issue: October 12, 2009, p. 55
2008
January:
Title: Greener Cleaners Description: Consumer demand for environmentally friendly cleaning products is proving to be a wake-up call to chemical companies that supply the cleaning products industry. Issue: January 21, 2008, pp. 15-23
Title: Evolution Yes, Creationism No Description: A new booklet from the National Academy of Sciences and available for free download argues that evolution, not creationism, should be part of public school science curricula. Issue: January 21, 2008, p. 44
Title: Treating Sewage for Drinking Water Description: With water shortages growing in parts of the U.S., water utilities are scrambling to find new ways to meet the demand for one. One option is to recycle waste for drinking water. Yes, that means drinking water reclaimed from sewage. Issue: January 28, 2008, pp. 71-73
February:
Title: Welcome To The Anthropocene Description: Geologists argue that anthropogenic changes have ushered in a distinctive phase of Earth’s evolution that satisfies criteria for its recognition as a distinctive stratigraphic unit. Issue: February 4, 2008, p. 3
Title: In Search Of Concrete Evidence Description: Chemical analysis suggests that the ancient Egyptians may have used concrete to construct parts of the Great Pyramids of Giza; if true, they did so over 2,000 years before the Romans discovered concrete. Issue: February 11, 2008, pp. 50-52
Title: Messenger From Mercury Description: Mercury is finally getting some long-overdue attention as the first results from the Messenger spacecraft, which flew by the planet last month, start coming in. Issue: February 18, 2008, p. 39
Title: Lava Lamps Description: Two mutually insoluble liquids of nearly equal density and a heat source are the key to the Lava lamp’s ever-changing, serpentine flow. Issue: February 18, 2008, p. 40
Title: Side Effects Description: Pharmaceuticals are specifically designed to elicit a biological response at very low levels, and scientists are becoming increasingly aware that excreted and improperly disposed of medications may have effects no one ever anticipated. Issue: February 25, 2008, pp. 13-17
Title: Plant Blast Rekindles Dust Debate Description: Many solids, when finely divided into a dust form, become highly explosive. Ordinary sugar was the likely cause of a recent, massive explosion at a plant in Georgia that killed eight; hundreds of dust explosions, many of them lethal, have occurred over the past three decades. Issue: February 25, 2008, pp. 33-35
Title: Teething Lessons Description: Chemistry plays an important role in providing dentists with the materials they need to keep their patients smiling. Issue: February 25, 2008, p. 40
March:
Title: Real-Life Trial Of CO2 Capture Description: A Wisconsin utility has initiated a pilot to capture and remove carbon dioxide from an operating coal-fueled power plant. If successful, the technology could be added to all coal or natural gas power plants to capture CO2 for sequestration underground and potentially eliminate fossil-fuel-fired electric utilities as sources of atmospheric emissions of this greenhouse gas. Issue: March 3, 2008, p. 7
Title: Coal: The New Black Description: High prices and diminishing supplies of oil and natural gas are causing industry to turn to coal both as a source of energy and raw material for synthesizing a variety of important substances. Issue: March 17, 2008, pp. 15-22
Title: Agent Orange’s Legacy Description: The use and subsequent legal battles over agent orange and dioxin have spawned numerous regulations impacting chemical manufacturing and disposal and contributed to the general loathing many people feel for “chemicals.” Issue: March 17, 2008, p. 40
Title: Contact Lenses Description: Examines some of the history, composition, function, and future developments regarding contact lenses. Issue: March 17, 2008, p. 47
Title: Extrasolar Gas Discovered Description: Using an infrared spectrometer on the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered evidence for the presence of methane in the atmosphere of a planet 65 light years away. Issue: March 24, 2008, p. 14
Title: Fertilizing The Ocean With Iron Description: Fertilizing the ocean with iron is not a new idea for controlling atmospheric CO2, but the discussion has taken on new dimensions now that profit-seeking firms have entered the picture. Environmental groups worried about the long-term effects oppose artificially stimulating blooms, and ocean scientists say more study is necessary to determine whether ocean iron fertilization is even viable. Issue: March 31, 2008, pp. 30-33
April:
Title: Antibiotics For A Meal Description: Although not human pathogens, hundreds of soil bacteria have been found to thrive on antibiotics as their sole source of carbon. Issue: April 7, 2008, p. 12
Title: Toxic Socks Description: In the first study of its kind, researchers have found that socks impregnated with silver nanoparticles to fight odor release those particles when washed, raising concerns about silver nanoparticles leaching into the environment. Issue: April 14, 2008, p. 10
Title: Bacteria In Clouds Description: Microbial meteorologists are investigating how airborne bacteria may be influencing our weather. Issue: April 14, 2008, pp. 40-42
Title: Dryer Sheets Description: Describes the science that gives clothing a soft feel and fresh scent as it prevents static cling. Issue: April 14, 2008, p. 47
Title: Nano TV Series Debuts Description: A new television series airing on public broadcasting stations aims to inform the public by providing a forum for discussing the risks, benefits, and societal implications of nanotechnology. Issue: April 21, 2008, pp. 40-41
Title: 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed' Description: Ben Stein's antiscience 'documentary' might have been a worthwhile film. It could have examined whether trends or dogma in science squash legitimate lines of inquiry. Instead it is just a messy, illogical, insulting, and poorly researched work of antievolution propaganda. Issue: April 28, 2008, p. 53
May:
Title: The Forever Waste Description: Having the capacity to outlast human civilization as we know it and the potential to devastate public health and the environment, nuclear waste has vexed scientists, Congress, and regulatory agencies for the last half century. Issue: May 5, 2008, pp. 15-21
Title: Guiding Migration (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: British and American scientists have built a chemical model that lends support to the radical-chemistry hypothesis of magnetoreception, which maintains that incident light on photoreceptor proteins in a bird’s retina can create radical pairs. The fate of these short-lived reaction intermediates, such as returning to a resting state or reacting to produce different radical products, could be modulated by Earth’s magnetic field, allowing the system to act as a molecular compass. Issue: May 12, 2008, pp. 46-47
Title: A Tsunami Of Electronic Waste Description: About 15% of some 2 million tons of unwanted electronics is recycled or reused each year in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. However, EPA has little idea where the waste eventually winds up. Many fear that after reusable components and more valuable metals are removed, the rest, including toxic materials, is shipped to poor countries for more dangerous and labor-intensive removal of goods that are harder to retrieve and of lesser value. Issue: May 26, 2008, pp. 32-33
Title: Redefining The Kilogram (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has recommended that the kilogram be redefined in terms of an unvarying property of nature. The new standard could be derived by assigning an exact value either to Planck's or Avogadro's constant. Issue: May 26, 2008, p. 43
June:
Title: A Perfect Landing Description: After a flawless landing near Mars's north pole, the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft is preparing to perform the first-ever wet chemistry experiments on another planet. Issue: June 2, 2008, p. 14
Title: Love Potion Description: European orchids exploit the predilection of male bees for females by releasing odors very similar but not identical to the sexual hormones of the female bee; male bees like the foreign potion so much that they will preferentially chase the flower scent over the female bees' pheromone cocktail. Issue: June 2, 2008, pp. 15
Title: Bisphenol A Under Scrutiny Description: In the wake of a media firestorm and a congressional investigation centered on the use of BPA in baby bottles, infant formula cans, and everyday consumer goods, many retailers are bowing to consumer pressure and voluntarily pulling BPA-containing products off their shelves. Issue: June 2, 2008, pp. 36-39
Title: Extreme Elements (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Chemists evaluating properties of the transactinides or “superheavy elements” must work quickly because these elements are radioactive and generally have half-lives of seconds at most. They must also run experiments 24/7 for weeks or months in order to produce enough atoms to draw scientifically sound conclusions. Issue: June 9, 2008, pp. 42-43
Title: Interstellar Complexity (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Astrochemists have detected interstellar aminoacetonitrile, a molecular precursor to glycine, the simplest amino acid. Issue: June 16, 2008, pp. 58-59
Title: Liquid Bandages Description: A liquid bandage is a colorless adherent material that can be sprayed or painted directly on a wound. It reduces pain by covering nerve endings and helps wounds heal by maintaining a proper moisture balance and keeping bacteria and debris out. Issue: June 16, 2008, p. 61
Title: Devising Healthier Foods Description: Working collaboratively with nutritionists, food scientists, horticulturists, physiologists, medical experts, and plant breeders, chemists may help to prevent disease by enhancing the beneficial substances in foods and removing the unhealthy ones. Issue: June 23, 2008, pp. 12-16
Title: Pyrotechnics For The Planet Description: Chemists seek environmentally friendlier compounds and formulations for fireworks and flares. Issue: June 30, 2008, pp. 14-18
July:
Title: Kitchen Chemistry (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The next time you prepare dinner for your family, chemistry professor Kent Kirshenbaum hopes you'll be thinking about cooking on the molecular level. He wants the common cook to understand the difference between basting a turkey with an oil-based sauce versus a water-based sauce, to consider how the functional groups on sugar molecules interact when onions brown, and to know that at a certain temperature the proteins in an egg white begin to unfold and coagulate while the yolk remains runny. Issue: July 7, 2008, pp. 26-30
Title: Bowling Balls Description: Knocking down pins and getting strikes involves polymer science and surface chemistry. Issue: July 7, 2008, p. 31
Title: The Bulb Is Flat Description: Even as consumers rush to replace their incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, lighting companies are developing a technology that could render all the bulbs on today's store shelves obsolete: solid-state lighting based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Originally intended for colorful alphanumeric and computer displays, OLEDs promise lighting companies both energy savings and novel design. Issue: July 14, 2008, pp. 20-21
Title: Rebuilding Teeth (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Biomaterials researchers have been examining alternative, longer-lasting restorations that go beyond simply patching holes in our pearly whites. Instead, they are working to perfect the chemistry necessary to mimic nature and help decayed teeth rebuild themselves. Issue: July 14, 2008, pp. 37-39
Title: Lightweight atoms imaged Description: If you think that imaging individual hydrogen atoms in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) is impossible, think again. Researchers in California report success in that endeavor, long considered extremely difficult at best. Issue: July 21, 2008, p. 9
Title: Crime Solving With Chemistry Description: The widespread popularity of both factual and fictional television drama based on forensic science has resulted in a tremendous interest from the general public on how science is applied to solving crimes and, in particular, how chemistry tools are used in the forensic laboratory. The new, aptly titled book "Crime Scene Chemistry for the Armchair Sleuth," by Cathy Cobb, Monty L. Fetterolf, and Jack G. Goldsmith, is aimed at this general audience of adults with little or no previous background in chemistry. Issue: July 28, 2008, pp. 71-72
August:
Title: Dow’s Dioxins Description: Two rivers downstream of Dow Chemical’s flagship plant in Midland, Michigan, are polluted from the chemical maker’s past operations. The company and federal and state regulators have long concurred on that and the need for cleanup work to be done at Dow’s expense. That, however, is where the agreement ends. Issue: August 11, 2008, pp. 15-20
Title: Drugs At The Starting Line Description: The Olympics is the most intense period of analytical testing on the planet, and officials have long sought to prevent doping, whereby athletes inject or ingest drugs to give them an edge in their quest for gold medals and world records. But preserving the ideal of athletes competing only with physical strength, skill, and endurance continues to be a major difficulty that depends on the skills of analytical scientists and the budget for drug-testing instruments. Issue: August 11, 2008, pp. 25-29
Title: What’s Next For Nanotechnology (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, the next Administration will have to decide how best to protect the American public, workers, and environment from the potential adverse effects of nanotechnology. The challenge will be to do so without stifling innovation. Issue: August 11, 2008, pp. 35-36
Title: Fish Out Of Water (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Omega-3 fatty acids have been demonstrated to lower triglyceride levels and blood pressure and reduce the risk for heart attack. But as demand for these heart healthy substances has increased, wild salmon populations—the primary source of omega-3-rich oil—are plunging as a result of overfishing, disease, and pollution. Scientists have begun to transplant the genes that synthesize these valuable fatty acids into plants such as soybeans. Issue: August 11, 2008, pp. 39-41
Title: Nail Polish Description: The traditional formula of nail polishes has changed little in the past century. The key ingredient is nitrocellulose, a long-lasting, film-forming agent derived from cellulose that is also a component in fireworks known as "gun cotton." Issue: August 11, 2008, p. 42
September:
Title: Irradiation Of Lettuce & Spinach (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: In the wake of numerous outbreaks of food-borne illness over the past two years, the Food & Drug Administration will now allow the irradiation of fresh iceberg lettuce and spinach to kill bacteria. The food industry and Congress welcomed the move, but some food safety experts warn that the technology will rob food of essential nutrients and create a disincentive for growers and food handlers to clean up their acts. Issue: September 8, 2008, pp. 32-34
Title: Trees Testify To Pollution (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Trees have stories to tell. Within their annual growth rings are records of drought and deluge, but scientists can also use them to reconstruct environmental pollution events. Tree rings can be used to determine how far a pollutant plume has traveled in soil or groundwater. And because each ring is essentially a time stamp, scientists can use tree rings to figure out when that pollution occurred. Issue: September 8, 2008, pp. 37-38
Title: Elements Achieve Internet Stardom Description: The periodic table of the elements has become a sudden and unexpected star on the YouTube video-sharing website. From hydrogen to ununoctium (element 118), the Periodic Table of Videos created by a team of chemists at the University of Nottingham appears to be the first comprehensive set of videos made about the chemistry of the elements. The novel idea is sparking a renewed interest in the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Issue: September 15, 2008, pp. 42-43
Title: Chemistry Teachers Get Schooled Description: More than 800 chemistry educators looking for fresh new ways to teach their subject and to share classroom and laboratory experiences gathered earlier this summer at Indiana University, Bloomington, to attend the 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE). Issue: September 22, 2008, pp. 90-91
Title: Sniffing Out Cancer (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Long before blood tests and MRI scans were invented, physicians relied on their sense of smell to help diagnose patients’ ailments. Researchers are now updating this practice so doctors can use sensors and other devices to analyze the volatile compounds their patients emit. Such techniques could conceivably be used as the basis for rapid, noninvasive procedures for early detection of diseases such as cancer. Issue: September 22, 2008, pp. 81-83
Title: Passing The Recycling Buck (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: It is likely that much of the hazardous electronic waste generated by the 300 million electronic devices Americans disposed of in 2006 will wind up in developing countries, where the poorest people in the world pull such products apart under crude and dangerous conditions. Issue: September 29, 2008, pp. 30-32
Title: Instant Coffee Description: The chemistry behind instant coffee. Issue: September 29, 2008, p. 42
October:
Title: The Other Scarce Resource Description: Cheap and plentiful, water was for centuries a manufacturing tool that industry took for granted. But population growth, globalization, and climate change are shepherding in a new water-constrained era. Good, clean water just cannot be replaced—and it is getting harder to come by. Issue: October 6, 2008, pp. 12-19
Title: Everyday Products Carry A Hidden Global Cost Description: Consumers looking for the latest metric to understand their own deleterious effect on the planet can calculate their water footprint at waterfootprint.org. If they log in first thing in the morning, they will find their mark has already been quite considerable: That first cup of coffee took 140 L of water to make, hundreds of times the volume of the drink itself. Issue: October 6, 2008, p. 16
Title: Debating Science Description: Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) outline their positions on significant science policy issues. Issue: October 6, 2008
Title: Get Ready For Nanotech Food (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The food industry is using nanoscale materials to increase the absorption and bioavailability of nutrients and create stronger food packaging that can also kill microbes, detect chemical and microbial contamination, and facilitate the traceability of foods. However, a growing number of people are beginning to question whether government oversight and consumer awareness are sufficient to prevent the kind of public backlash that occurred with genetically modified foods and food irradiation. Issue: October 6, 2008, pp. 38-41
Title: Superconductivity Rekindles Description: The discovery of a new family of high-temperature superconductors—the first in more than 20 years— has renewed excitement and discussions in advanced superconductor applications and research. Issue: October 20, 2008, pp. 15-21
Title: Origin-Of-Life Chemistry Revisited Description: A reanalysis of the original samples produced by Stanley Miller’s famous “primordial soup,” spark-discharge experiments has revealed a richer collection of amino acids than reported in Miller’s earlier publications. Issue: October 20, 2008, p. 12
Title: Plasma Globes Description: Inert gases, electricity, and a fortuitous lab mishap combine to generate colored streamers of light in museum displays, classroom demonstrations, and novelty devices. Issue: October 27, 2008, p. 40
November:
Title: Seeking An Eternal Solution Description: For centuries museums worldwide have been preparing and displaying soft-bodied animals in solutions of alcohols, such as ethanol, and formalin, a dilute solution of formaldehyde, despite the fire and health risks these fluids pose. But the Smithsonian was forced to try a new approach after 9/11, when the Washington, D.C., fire marshal drastically limited the amount of flammable preservatives allowed in public buildings. Issue: November 3, 2008, pp. 25-29
Title: Underground Science Description: Amateurs and professional chemists alike who pursue chemistry as a hobby at home often face a maze of state and local regulations. Issue: November 10, 2008, pp. 38-40
Title: High–Performance Buildings Description: Experts agree that a truly environmentally friendly building is one that is energy efficient and long lasting. High–performance materials—often supplied by the chemical industry—are indispensable in crafting such a building. Issue: November 17, 2008, pp. 15-23
Title: Bisphenol A Battle (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: The controversial plastic bisphenol A (BPA), a known endocrine disrupter, has been at the center of a contentious debate since last spring because of health concerns associated with its use in consumer products such as baby bottles and infant formula cans. Issue: November 17, 2008, pp.42-45
Title: Happy Birthday, Love Canal Description: It’s been 30 years since the neighborhood surrounding America’s most famous toxic waste dump was evacuated, yet its legacy is still unfolding. Issue: November 17, 2008, pp. 46-53
Title: On The Road To Green Gasoline (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Just because oil wells will run dry one day does not mean the world is fated to run out of gasoline. A biomass-based industry is rising to convert plant sugars (carbohydrates) into conventional liquid transportation fuels (hydrocarbons) to supplement fuel supplies until a permanent renewable transportation solution can take hold. Issue: November 17, 2008, pp. 57-61
Title: Designed Pathways And Microbes (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Synthetic biology has been described as “genetic engineering on steroids.” Synthetic biologists focus primarily on engineering microorganisms, not with single genes, as genetic engineers typically do, but with sets of coordinated genes, entire biosynthetic pathways, and even whole chromosomes. The aim is to use these organisms to generate useful new products, such as drugs, biofuels, and new types of enzymes. Issue: November 17, 2008, pp. 62-66
Title: Contact Lens Solutions Description: Contact lens solutions offer chemists unique challenges. They generally contain six or seven ingredients whose compatibilities must be balanced, but overall more than 95% of their content is water. Issue: November 17, 2008, p. 71
Title: The Lure of Informal Education Description: The wonders of science can inspire curiosity anywhere. Think cruise ships, museums, theater stages, and the Internet. Activities at these and other nonschool environments can engage the children and adults who think that science has nothing to do with them or that they could never understand it, let alone become scientists. Issue: November 24, 2008, pp. 45-48
December:
Title: Mars’s Water Mysteries (Temporary Subscriber-Only Link) Description: Evidence is abundant that water once flowed on Mars, and a large quantity of water remains on the planet. But was, and is, liquid water present on Mars long enough to support life? Issue: December 1, 2008, pp. 59-61
Title: The Chemistry Of Biology Description: Chemistry, the enabling science, has utterly changed biology. A recent example—scientists from several institutions around the world have reported sequencing about 70% of the genome of the long extinct, woolly mammoth. Issue: December 8, 2008, p. 3
Title: Genes To Gasoline Description: Biofuels made from plant material could replace about half of U.S. petroleum consumption by 2050. Standing in the way is the inability to quickly and cost-effectively break down lignocellulose, which is built tough to not come apart. Issue: December 8, 2008, pp. 10-17
Title: Lignocellulose: A Complex Biomaterial Description: Plant cell walls are complex structures composed mostly of lignocellulose—the most abundant organic material on Earth. Issue: December 8, 2008, p. 15
Title: Having A Ball With National Chemistry Week Description: More than 10,000 volunteers from the American Chemical Society’s 189 local sections partnered with businesses, schools, and other organizations to lead demonstrations and hands-on activities for hundreds of thousands of kids, highlighting the role of chemistry in sports, from improving athletic equipment and materials to helping maintain a strong body. Issue: December 15, 2008, pp. 10-15
Title: Coloring Food, Naturally Description: Food makers wishing to impart a bright hue to their products can choose from among a full range of synthetic colorings. But changing consumer preferences and the specter of new regulations have sent food industry insiders in search of natural alternatives. Issue: December 15, 2008, pp. 18-19
Title: Frankincense And Myrrh Description: These aromatic, gum resins are most often associated with embalming, perfumes, and religious rituals around the world. Issue: December 22, 2008, p. 38
2007
January:
Title: Hassium-270 Is Long-Lived Description: Radioactive nuclei that hang around for a mere half-minute before falling apart hardly seem stable. Yet compared with the fleeting lifetimes of their superheavy atomic neighbors, the roughly 30-second period that transpired from creation to disintegration of four atoms of a newly discovered isotope of element 108 qualifies them as rock solid. Issue: January 1, 2007
Title: Ethanol—Is It Worth It? Description: Behind the current buzz about ethanol lurks a fundamental question: Does it make environmental, economic, and just plain net energy sense to shift the nation’s transportation fuel from gasoline to ethanol? Issue: January 1, 2007, pp. 19-21
Title: Methane Lakes On Titan Description: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has found liquid hydrocarbon lakes dotting the surface of the northern hemisphere of Saturn's giant moon, Titan. The discovery vindicates a long-standing prediction that Titan, shrouded in dense nitrogen and methane clouds, should also have reservoirs of liquid—likely methane—on its surface. Issue: January 8, 2007, p. 8
Title: Saving Shipwrecks Description: Electrochemistry is used to help preserve sunken ships of historical significance, such as the U.S.S. Monitor, a Civil War-era ironclad. Issue: January 8, 2007, pp. 45-47
Title: Food Irradiation Description: There is no single way to prevent all food-borne illness, but many food safety experts believe irradiation—subjecting the food to ionizing radiation—should be used much more widely as part of an overall program to enhance safety. Issue: January 15, 2007, pp. 41-43
Title: The Chemical Bond Description: Whether it’s sextuple bonds or bonds involving no shared electrons, chemists continue to discover new modes of chemical bonding. Issue: January 29, 2007, pp. 37-40
February:
Title: NASA Gets Ready To Revisit The Moon Description: NASA unveiled its plan in December to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. The plan outlines a timeline for lunar missions, the location of a lunar outpost, and other mission details. Issue: February 5, 2007, pp. 23-25
Title: Honey Description: Bees rely on enzymes to create the world’s first ready-to-eat sweetener. Issue: February 5, 2007, p. 11
Title: Molecular Close-Up Description: By confining a single, small organic molecule inside a narrow, single-walled carbon nanotube, scientists in Japan have been able to use transmission electron microscopy to follow the molecule’s motions with near-atomic resolution. Issue: February 26, 2007, p. 11
March:
Title: Individual Surface Atoms Identified Description: For the first time at room temperature, researchers have used an atomic force microscope to distinguish among atoms on a surface by means of differential interactions between atoms of different elements and the microscope’s sensitive probe. Issue: March 5, 2007, p. 13
Title: Amber Description: Fossilized resin from trees is prized for its use in jewelry and science. Issue: March 12, 2007, p. 41
April:
Title: T. rex Fossil Harbors Ancient Protein Description: What researchers believe to be collagen has been recovered from a surprisingly well-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone. Issue: April 16, 2007, p. 40
Title: Science Of Homeschooling Description: As more parents decide to homeschool their children beyond middle school, they are discovering that the availability of commercial chemistry curricula is quite limited. The situation is especially challenging for secular homeschoolers, who say there are virtually no secular high school chemistry curricula for the homeschooling community. Issue: April 16, 2007, pp. 49-51
Title: Keeping It Clean Description: Water is one of the simplest, most abundant molecules in the world. Increasingly, however, access to uncontaminated water is diminishing or being threatened. The chemical industry is finding ways to secure and expand global supplies of potable water. Issue: April 23, 2007, pp. 13-20
Title: Filtering Out the Bad Stuff Description: Polymeric membranes are increasingly being used to clean up water for drinking and industrial applications. Issue: April 23, 2007, pp. 22-24
Title: What Can We Do With Carbon Dioxide? Description: Scientists are trying to find ways to convert the plentiful greenhouse gas into fuels and other value-added products. Issue: April 30, 2007, pp. 11-17
May:
Title: Climate-Change Solutions Description: To curb the growth of carbon dioxide emissions, an international scientific panel urges that a price be charged for CO2 air emissions, new non-carbon-emitting energy technologies be quickly developed, and existing clean technologies be more rapidly deployed. Issue: May 14, 2007, p. 10
Title: Probing Titan's Smog Description: Within the orange haze shrouding Saturn’s moon Titan lies a complex chemical environment, originating with N2 and methane and powered by solar ultraviolet radiation and charged particles from Saturn’s magnetosphere. Spectroscopic data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have now allowed scientists to penetrate the chemistry behind the smog, yielding surprising results. Issue: May 14, 2007, p. 10
Title: Grassroots Green Chemistry Description: A cadre of chemists from a variety of institutions has spent the past decade devising and refining fundamental strategies for teaching green chemistry and engineering to students and educators at all levels. The outcome has been a growing collection of introductory texts, lab experiments, case studies, and other materials, as well as online networks through which these materials can be shared. Issue: May 28, 2007, pp. 38-40
June:
Title: Counterfeiting Countermeasures Description: Out of $765 billion in circulation, some $65 million in fake U.S. currency was passed worldwide in fiscal 2006. Chemistry could play a major role in future deterrents against currency fraud. Issue: June 11, 2007, pp. 30-34
Title: Pool Chemicals Description: Most swimmers probably give little thought to how much stuff is added to swimming pools to keep the water “balanced,” as the pool lingo goes. The water’s chemical balance dictates a pool’s physical condition, as well as swimmer comfort and safety. Issue: June 18, 2007, p. 70
Title: Biofuel Bonanza Description: Piecemeal development of biofuel technologies without regard to regional and global sustainability could lead to problems in food production, environmental degradation, trade imbalances, and social and economic failures. What’s needed is an international effort that helps promote biofuel development so that all countries can participate equitably in a global energy marketplace. Issue: June 25, 2007, pp. 15-24
Title: A New Science Channel Description: Scientific organizations face a challenge in communicating with the younger generation. Some organizations are dipping their toes in the waters where that generation swims—on the Web. Museums, scientific societies, and even scientific teams are starting to post videos on YouTube, the popular Google-owned online video website. Issue: June 25, 2007, pp.44-46
Title: Second Life Science Description: Scientists are using the three-dimensional world of Second Life to present science content. Issue: June 25, 2007, p. 49
July:
Title: New Data On Old Climates Description: Analysis of ice retrieved from more than 3,000 meters below the surface of Antarctica is providing a temperature record dating back 800,000 years. The results are helping to confirm the close relationship between climate and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Issue: July 9, 2007, p. 8
Title: Thirst For Power Description: The makers of portable devices ranging from the minute medical implants to full-size plug-in electric vehicles are searching for lightweight, powerful, and safe battery technology. Issue: July 9, 2007, pp.24-25
Title: Leather Description: Some of the chemical processes that convert animal hides into leather have been known for over one-thousand years; today’s tanners are seeking greener methods to reduce wastes and costs. Issue: July 9, 2007, p. 40
Title: Steam Detected On Extrasolar Planet Description: The blistering atmosphere around the planet HD 189733b boasts some very hot water, the first convincing evidence of this much-sought substance on a planet outside our own solar system. Issue: July 16, 2007, p. 8
Title: Building Green Description: Energy-efficient homes, offices, and labs save money and cut CO2, but require changes in values for many Americans. Issue: July 16, 2007, pp. 11-15
Title: Sandpaper Description: The chemistry behind the production and function of this ubiquitous abrasive tool. Issue: July 23, 2007, p. 33
Title: Seeing The Possibilities Description: Assistive tools help blind students to gain their independence in the chemistry lab. Issue: July 23, 2007, pp. 36-40
Title: Experiments Of Concern Description: That well-intentioned research holding promises to cure disease, clean water, and otherwise improve the conditions of life can also be commandeered for sinister purposes is highlighted in a new play by Roald Hoffmann entitled “Should’ve.” Issue: July 30, 2007, pp. 51-55
August:
Title: Chewing Gum Description: Gum, perhaps the world's oldest confection, began as an edible treat from trees. Issue: August 6, 2007, p. 36
Title: Molecules That Could Be Description: Calculations reveal stable but imaginary molecules that push the limits of what chemists know of chemical bonding. Issue: August 13, 2007, pp. 17-22
Title: Nuclear Weapons: Back To The Future Description: The Bush Administration’s proposal for a new U.S. nuclear arsenal faces many challenges, not the least of which is a dubious Congress. Issue: August 13, 2007, p. 42
Title: Tapping The Sun Description: Basic chemistry drives the development of new low-cost solar cells. Issue: August 27, 2007, pp. 16-22
September:
Title: Global Warming News Description: The chief editor of Chemical & Engineering News discusses global warming skeptics. Issue: September 10, 2007, p. 5
Title: Valuing Flared Natural Gas Description: Enough natural gas to supply 27% of U.S. needs was burned as waste globally last year. Issue: September 10, 2007, pp. 34-35
Title: Printing Without Ink Description: Consumers will soon get digital prints in an instant with the help of new, organic dyes. Issue: September 10, 2007, pp. 34-35
Title: Exotic Molecule Description: A recently synthesized molecule of dipositronium contains only electrons and positrons. Issue: September 17, 2007, p. 10
Title: Tweaking Coffee’s Flavor Chemistry Description: Roasting, cooling, and storage conditions affect the chemicals that contribute to the popular brew's flavor and aroma. Issue: September 17, 2007, pp. 32-34
Title: How Nature Makes Earth Aroma Description: If you have ever dug into a flower bed, walked through a plowed field being readied for planting, or ventured outside after a gentle rain shower, then you have smelled geosmin, a chemical responsible for the characteristic odor of fresh, moist earth. Issue: September 24, 2007, p. 19
Title: Driving CO2 Underground Description: Despite many unknowns, hopes abound that carbon sequestration can stanch global warming. Issue: September 24, 2007, pp. 74-81
Title: Oil Paints Description: Painters create their art using various formulations of pigments, oils, and other additives. Issue: September 24, 2007, p. 106
Title: Polymer Devices In The Body Description: “Polymer Science of Everyday Things,” a two-day symposium and related workshop held last month at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston, promoted polymer science for both researchers and K-12 teachers. Issue: September 24, 2007, pp. 99-102
October:
Title: Liquid Gold Mine Description: Norwegians are looking to the seas for the next industrial wave; “marine bioprospecting” involves tapping into the therapeutic potential of novel compounds in the marine organisms found in the fjords and arctic waters off the country’s craggy coast. Issue: October 8, 2007, pp. 22-28
Title: Fine Art Gets A Nano Sponge Bath Description: By enlisting magnetic nanoparticles, researchers have created a material that can soak up cleaning solutions from the surface of a painting, fresco, or sculpture, allowing cleaning without a human hand ever coming into contact with the delicate artwork. Issue: October 15, 2007, p. 38
Title: Adhesive Tape Description: Like other self-adhesive tapes, duct tape owes its stickiness to pressure-sensitive adhesives, which are soft, solid polymer blends that adhere to a surface via van der Waals forces when light pressure is applied. Issue: October 15, 2007, p. 39
Title: Reining In Ripening Description: Plant-science groups all over the world are now teasing out the chemistry and biology of fruit ripening and other key plant processes. They hope that the fruit of this labor will be an ability to control the ripening process, while optimizing flavor and other sensory qualities to make the best possible produce available to consumers. Issue: October 29, 2007, pp. 10-15
Title: Capturing Carbon And Saving Coal Description: Confusion abounds when gambling on coal’s role in the carbon-constrained world of the future. Much hope has been pinned on a vision in which carbon dioxide is captured in various ways from coal-fired utilities, compressed and piped to an injection site, and pumped into geologic repositories deep in Earth. Issue: October 29, 2007, pp.25-28
Title: Butt In To Butt Out Description: One littered cigarette butt is just gross, but billions of them amount to a vast collective breach of civic responsibility by smokers. Issue: October 29, 2007, p.31
November:
Title: Probing Friction’s Origins Description: A group of physicists and engineers has shown that surface vibrations play a key role in atomic-scale processes that generate friction. The study broadens understanding of this ubiquitous phenomenon and could lead to new ways to reduce the seemingly inescapable effects of wear and tear that erode nearly all moving parts. Issue: November 5, 2007, p. 7
Title: New Neutron-Rich Isotopes Discovered Description: Neutron-rich isotopes have fleeting lifetimes but nonetheless may play a critical role in stellar nuclear reactions. Understanding their properties could help deepen scientists’ understanding of the atomic nucleus. Issue: November 5, 2007, p. 37
Title: Cooper Union Wins Chem-E-Cars Competition Description: Baking soda and vinegar helped a team of chemical engineering students win the 2007 Chem-E-Cars competition. At this year’s event, the shoebox-sized vehicles had to transport 350 mL of water exactly 67 feet, but the teams weren’t told the cargo size or the distance until shortly before the start. Issue: November 12, 2007, p. 14
Title: Hide And Seek Description: Scientists are trying to decipher the secrets of cephalopod skin, hoping to find the mechanisms that make the creatures masters of disguise. Studying their artful concealment could also provide new camouflage strategies for military applications. Issue: November 12, 2007, pp. 49-50
Title: Tattoo Ink Description: Modern chemistry has opened the door for a wide variety of synthetic pigments and colorants to find their way into the hands of tattoo artists. These materials, which can run the gamut from dyes used in cosmetics to industrial paints, can be used to create extraordinarily vibrant colors in a tattoo, but they may not have gone through safety testing for use in humans. Issue: November 12, 2007, p. 52
Title: Fast Action Urged On Climate Change Description: With the Nov. 17 release of the “synthesis report” of its latest scientific assessments, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has delivered its strongest warning on the coming impact of global climate change. Issue: November 26, 2007, p. 7
Title: Theodore Gray Description: While both of Gray’s websites provide a quick guide to any elemental data you might need, you’ll probably find yourself spending far more time there than you intended. Gray’s tales of sodium engine valves, homemade phosphorus matches, and silky hafnium lumps are irresistibly entertaining, providing endless online distraction. Issue: November 26, 2007, p. 50
December:
Title: The End Of The Light Bulb Description: Cheap, simple, easy to install, and manufactured by the billions, the incandescent light bulb is a staple of modern life. Unfortunately, 90 to 95% of the energy it consumes goes to heat, not light. At a time of increasing concern over climate change, the use and applications of compact fluorescent lights and light-emitting diodes is growing. Issue: December 3, 2007, pp. 46-51
Title: Digital Briefs Description: The World Of Chemistry is an online video series of 26, half-hour programs now offered freely on the Web by Annenberg Media. Issue: December 10, 2007, p. 37
Title: Protecting Our Cultural Heritage Description: A National Park Service program funds research to develop and apply technology for the preservation of priceless cultural artifacts. Issue: December 10, 2007, p. 34-36
Title: The Cost Of Biofuels Description: Two researchers offer their contrasting views on whether ethanol from corn and other forms of biomass will efficiently deliver national energy security. Issue: December 17, 2007, pp. 12-16
2006
January:
Title: Baffling, Infuriating, And Sad Description: Somewhere in the back of his mind, South Korean stem cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang – like every other scientist who ever committed fraud – must have known that he would eventually be caught. A fraudulent paper may well get published if the scientist is clever enough because the scientific publishing process is based on scientific honesty. But the nature of science ensures that the fraud will be discovered. Issue: January 9, 2006, p. 3
Title: Polyurethane Foam Description: The chemistry and applications of polyurethane foam. Issue: January 9, 2006, p. 48
Title: Fraud & Consequences Description: In the span of a few months, Woo Suk Hwang has gone from a scientist respected for his pioneering work in stem cell research to one who is guilty of scientific and ethical misconduct. An investigation of the Seoul National University professor found that he fabricated the contents of two seminal research papers in the stem cell field. Issue: January 16, 2006, p. 25
Title: E-Learning Begins To Find Its Niche Description: Examines some of the lab simulation software and online tutorial projects that have the potential to revolutionize the way chemistry is being taught, including Virtual ChemLab, currently used by about 150,000 U.S. high school and college students. Issue: January 16, 2006, pp. 31-32
Title: Seeking Chemical Clues To Earthquakes Description: It's perhaps surprising that chemistry, a molecular-scale science, plays a large role in the global-scale phenomenon of earthquakes. Scientists are drilling miles into the Earth to probe the chemistry and mechanics of the San Andreas Fault. Issue: January 23, 2006, pp. 39-41
Title: What's Next In The Evolution Debate? Description: Judge John E. Jones's Dec. 20, 2005, ruling on the Dover, Pennsylvania case was remarkable, and not just because he made clear that intelligent design is ultimately about religion and therefore is unconstitutional to teach as science. Issue: January 30, 2006, p. 43
February:
Title: The Great Unplugging Description: With relentless rollouts of portable gadgets, marketers peddling mobility and an ever-growing demand for 24-7 connectivity to the infosphere, more and more technology-dependent citizens are demanding reliable, long-lasting, portable power – that is, batteries. Just how much unplugging ultimately is in store for the citizens of the world will depend heavily on how innovative battery designers can be. Issue: February 13, 2006, pp. 79-82
Title: New Chemical Lows in Brain Surveillance Description: For the brain to achieve all that it does in a way that changes and adapts over a lifetime of learning and experience requires an extraordinarily complicated set of mechanisms. With its 100 billion or so neurons – each one a living electrochemical wonder that connects via cell-to-cell synapses with tens, hundreds, or sometimes many thousands of other neurons – the brain's cellular architecture itself offers a gargantuan number of possible states for storing and processing information. Issue: February 20, 2006, pp. 12-15
March:
Title: Element 126 Description: A recent study indicates that as-yet-unsynthesized superheavy element (E126) should readily form a stable diatomic molecule with fluorine. The molecule (E126F) is unique in that it contains an atom with a g atomic orbital. The study further predicts that the g-orbital electrons are involved in forming molecular orbitals, a bonding configuration that may impart distinct chemical properties. Issue: March 6, 2006, p. 19
Title: Motor Oil Description: Discusses the composition and function of a common automotive product – motor oil. Issue: March 13, 2006, p. 38
Title: DNA Origami Description: Scientists have developed a technique that allows them to knit DNA into any two-dimensional shape or pattern, from smiley faces to maps of North and South America just 100 nm. The technique represents an important advance in designing and creating nanotechnological structures. Issue: March 20, 2006, p. 10
Title: Molecules as Fossils Description: Mass spectrometry is helping paleontologists dig up molecular clues about prehistoric creatures. Issue: March 20, 2006, pp. 42-43
Title: Oxygen’s Gift Description: Without an oxygen-instigated spate of biochemical evolution, life on Earth might still be single-celled. Issue: March 27, 2006, p. 10
May:
Title: Vintage Chemistry Description: The color changes that occur as wine ages are due to complex chemistry involving many compounds. Issue: May 1, 2006, pp. 30-32
Title: Message in a Bottle Description: Synthetic polymers are the workhorses of the personal care industry, advancing the style, feel, and functionality of the latest cosmetics. Issue: May 8, 2006, pp. 15-20
Title: Dry Run Description: Researchers who have mimicked the surface of desert beetle wings hope to design high-tech, liquid-controlling surfaces such as fog- and dew-harvesting materials to improve drinking water supplies and irrigation in some desperately dry areas. Issue: May 10, 2006
June:
Title: Driving Efficiency Description: High-performance plastics are finding increased relevance as a way to make cars less costly to manufacture?and fill up at the gas pump. Issue: June 12, 2006, pp.12-18
Title: Lithium Batteries With More Muscle Description: Lithium-ion batteries are now muscling their way into all sorts of applications that seemed implausible just a few years ago, including the powerful electric drive systems used in some automobiles and motorcycles. Issue: June 12, 2006, pp.36-38
July:
Title: Chemical Education Reform Description: "Increased rigor" in science education should mean designing instruction so that students will have greater opportunities to practice and develop the skill of inquiry and the logical follow-up skills that lead to discovery. To overcome less effective instructional practices requires prospective teachers to observe reformed instruction modeled for them and requires involving them in appropriate professional development experiences, over time, once they enter classrooms as novices. Issue: July 3, 2006, p. 3
Title: Increase In CO2 Threatens Oceans Description: Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine life, according to a report released by government and independent scientists. It warns that marine organisms that secrete skeletal structures, such as corals and pteropods (marine snails), may be profoundly affected by the rising acidification of surface ocean waters. Issue: July 10, 2006, p. 9
Title: A Comet’s Chemical Composition Description: A large team of astronomers and other scientists has just published the first detailed analysis of infrared emission spectra recorded during last year's Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1. The results point to an assortment of minerals, water, and other inorganic and organic materials as the stuff of which comets are made. Issue: July 17, 2006, p. 7
Title: Pulling Genes’ Strings Description: The word epigenetics encompasses all of the layers of genetic control in cells that do not entail changes in DNA sequences. It was first coined by the British embryologist Conrad H. Waddington in the early 1940s, when he defined it as "the interactions of genes with their environment that bring the phenotype into being." Trying to uncover specifics about these interactions, and how they play out in the environment of chromatin, has kept researchers busy ever since, now more so than ever. Issue: July 17, 2006, pp. 13-18
Title: Malaria Control Description: Spraying DDT on the interior walls of homes may be the cheapest, most effective way to reduce malaria deaths in some parts of Africa. But the DDT intended for interior spraying may also end up on crops, endangering wildlife and beneficial insects. New evidence also indicates that prenatal exposure to DDT may retard child development and lead to premature births. Issue: July 24, 2006, pp. 30-31
August:
Title: Reading The Neanderthal Code Description: An international collaboration of researchers based in Leipzig, Germany, and Branford, Connecticut, has announced plans to sequence the Neanderthal genome. The team hopes to expand our understanding of human evolution by examining our most recent common ancestor, the extinct Neanderthal. Issue: August 14, 2006, p. 55
Title: Nature Inspires Building Design Description: Architects sometimes turn to nature for inspiration, but their focus is generally on the macroscopic scale. The designers of a building that will house the new Institute for Nanobiomedical Technology & Membrane Biology in Chengdu, China, have turned instead to the microscopic scale – the building will incorporate many features inspired by cells. Issue: August 21, 2006, p. 11
Title: Heretical Position On Nuclear Power Description: Over the past several years, several prominent environmental activists have come around to the idea that nuclear power must be considered as one option, along with other low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency, to address climate change. They also believe that if new coal plants are built, they should be designed to gasify coal to hydrogen and carbon dioxide and that the CO2 should be stored indefinitely in geological repositories or depleted oil wells. Issue: August 21, 2006, p. 43
Title: A Periodic Table Of Nanoparticles Description: Rest assured, the periodic table of elements' claim on front-and-center wall space in thousands of classrooms and laboratories around the world is safe. But some enthusiasts in the nanoscience arena liken the minuscule particles they are making—and mixing and matching like atoms—to the elements of a new periodic table: a periodic table of nanoparticles. Even if this nascent nanoparticle table contains only a smidgen of the explanatory and predictive power of the traditional table of elements, it could prove to be invaluable. Issue: August 21, 2006, p. 49
Title: Chicken Eggs Description: So ordinary yet so versatile, eggs are a complex scramble of chemical compounds. The versatility of eggs is a reflection of their intricate chemical makeup. They contain a laundry list of chemical components, including proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Issue: August 21, 2006, p. 49
Title: Burning Issues In Chemical Education Description: Last month's midsummer heat wave didn’t seem to faze the 1,100 or so chemical educators who'd traveled to Purdue University to attend the 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE), the largest gathering of chemical educators in the world. This years BCCE spotlighted communication, demonstrations, and food science. Issue: August 21, 2006, pp. 50-51
Title: Forget Chemistry Description: Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, offers a heretical suggestion: Forget chemistry. Support any and all programs that feed kids’ curiosity about Nature. As the borders between the sciences continue to blur, insisting that kids focus on what we have traditionally known as “chemistry” may be unproductive and may even, in the long run, miss the mark. Issue: August 28, 2006, p. 3
September:
Title: Getting Bacteria To Do The Work Description: Binding beast to machine, researchers in Japan have created a micromotor powered entirely by bacteria. It’s a spinning device that successfully integrates inorganic materials with living bacteria. Issue: September 4, 2006, p. 9
Title: Incredible Colors Description: Scientific investigations are unmasking the secrets of the glowing, luscious colors of early-16th-century Venetian masterpieces. Issue: September 11, 2006, pp. 31-34
Title: Microbes Live Near Undersea CO2 Lake Description: The recent discovery of an unusual microbial ecosystem associated with a lake of liquid carbon dioxide under the seafloor has astrobiological implications. Issue: September 18, 2006, p. 14
Title: Individual Insects Make Signature Venoms Description: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has revealed that the defensive secretions of individual walking sticks are chemically distinct, demonstrating the potential variability of chemical biodiversity at the level of individual animals. Issue: September 25, 2006, p. 15
October:
Title: Prey's Perfume Description: Sniffing for prey is not a skill one expects from a plant, but a parasitic vine called the five-angled dodder might beg to differ. Researchers have found that this predatory plant detects volatiles from other plants and uses these chemical cues to assess the quality of a potential host before committing the energy to tracking it down. Issue: October 2, 2006, p. 15
Title: Environmental Nervous System Description: A vast distribution of sensors could relentlessly sniff the environment for molecular signs of weapons, disease, pathogens, contaminants, illegal drugs, and even the chemical fingerprints of individual people. Such a system would rely on input from millions of mass-produced chemical sensors to be built into cell phones, shirts, vehicles, buildings, houses, street lights, roads, toilets, human bodies, bodies of water, and millions of other mobile and fixed locations in the natural and constructed landscape. Issue: October 9, 2006, p. 34
Title: Element 118 Detected, With Confidence Description: An experiment begun in 2002 has produced three atoms of the heaviest superheavy element yet—element 118—according to a team of researchers from Russia and the U.S. On the basis of the number of protons in its nucleus, the new element belongs just below radon in the periodic table. Issue: October 23, 2006
Title: Citronella Oil Description: A mixture of terpenes in plant oil provides a relatively safe way to stave off pesky flying insects. Citronella oil is one of the important essential oils, volatile compounds that are responsible for the flavors and fragrances associated with the leaves, flowers, seeds, or wood of plants and widely used in soaps, perfumes, cosmetics, aromatherapy, and food flavorings. Issue: October 30, 2006, p. 42
November:
Title: Climate Change Threatens Global Economy Description: Climate change could cause the world’s worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, warns an extensive U.K. government report. To avert such a catastrophe, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced 60 to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Issue: November 6, 2006, p. 7
Title: Cleaning Water With ‘Nanorust’ Description: Rust, olive oil, and a handheld magnet could someday be all that's needed to remove arsenic from drinking water, according to researchers at Rice University. The low-tech solution to a serious problem for developing countries stems from basic research on the magnetic behavior of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. Issue: November 13, 2006, p. 12
Title: Ancient Steel’s Surprise Ingredient Description: Western Europeans first learned of Damascus steel's remarkable properties during the Crusades, when they encountered the ultra-high-carbon material of the swords and daggers carried into battle by their Muslim adversaries. What they didn't know was that the steel had been enhanced with carbon nanotubes. Issue: November 20, 2006
December:
Title: How Polonium Poisons Description: Scientists have a good idea of how polonium may have led to the death of former Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko, three weeks after his alleged poisoning in London. Issue: December 4, 2006, p. 15
Title: Luminous With Promise Description: The study of bioluminescence can be found throughout the molecular, cellular, and biomedical sciences. “These are examples of how basic science turns into things you would never expect,” says Keith Wood, a longtime bioluminescence researcher at Promega, based in Madison, Wisconsin. Luminescent chemistry derived from fireflies, click beetles, and sea pansies accounts for a significant portion of the $175 million in revenues his company earned in 2006. Issue: December 4, 2006, pp. 69-73
Title: Fungi To The Rescue Description: The discovery of a now-patented pesticide technology that takes advantage of chemical cues produced the green mold fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to attract and kill carpenter ants and other insect pests provides a practical demonstration of the scientific method. Issue: December 4, 2006, p. 83
Title: Chemistry Creates Comforts of Home Description: Descriptions of nation-wide events and activities in recognition of National Chemistry Week. This year’s theme was, “Your Home—It’s All Built on Chemistry.” Issue: December 11, 2006, pp. 40-44
2005
January:
Title: Keeping Sharks at Bay Description: A signaling molecule isolated from shark tissue that induces a flight response in sharks is being produced synthetically for use as a repellant. Issue: January 3, 2005
Title: Chinese Beverage is Ancient History Description: Chemical analysis suggests 9,000-year-old, Neolithic pots found in northern China held some of the world's first fermented drinks. Issue: January 3, 2005, pp. 32-33
Title: Light Shed on Photolyases Description: DNA photolyase enzymes harness light energy to repair DNA damaged by ultraviolet radiation; the first x-ray structure of one of these enzymes bound to its damaged DNA substrate was recently reported by German crystallographers. Issue: January 10, 2005, p. 35
Title: Oxygen Gives New Life to Art Description: Using an atomic oxygen treatment originally developed to mimic the upper reaches of the atmosphere, NASA researchers have restored damaged artwork that was once thought unsalvageable. Issue: January 17, 2005, pp. 36-37
Title: History’s Hidden Fire Description: A review of GUNPOWDER: Alchemy, Bombards & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive That Changed the World, by Jack Kelly. Issue: January 17, 2005, p. 63
Title: A Shrouded World Revealed at Last Description: The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe sends back the first stunning images of the surface of Saturn’s giant moon Titan. Issue: January 24, 2005, p. 7
Title: When Plants Get Too Much Sun Description: The molecule that plants use to protect themselves from the dangers of getting too much sun during photosynthesis has been revealed by a combination of ultrafast spectroscopy and plant genetics. Issue: January 24, 2005, p. 10
Title: Test Takers or Scientists? Description: Richard N. Zare, Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University 's department of chemistry, maintains that we pay dearly for the unintended and unwanted consequences of overemphasizing the testing of students in our classrooms. Issue: January 31, 2005, p. 3
Title: Exotic Chemistry on Frigid Titan Description: Saturn’s giant moon Titan, as revealed by the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe, bears a striking geologic resemblance to Earth – except for lakes and streams of liquid methane and a surface composed of water ice and complex hydrocarbon “dirt.” Issue: January 31, 2005, p. 7
Title: Fuel Cells Rally Description: General Motor’s goal is to build a fuel-cell system by 2010 that can compete with the internal combustion engine; the key may lie in improvements in proton-exchange membranes Issue: January 31, 2005, pp. 18-20
February:
Title: Unintelligible Design Description: The evolution debate and why chemistry instructors should be concerned. Issue: February 7, 2005, p. 5
Title: Trapping Roaches with Biochemistry Description: A group of insect biochemists has deduced the structure of the sex pheromone that the female German cockroach uses to attract potential mates; the chemical may soon be used to create a new type of poisoned bait trap. Issue: February 21, 2005, p. 9
Title: Catalytic Nanomotors Description: Two groups of chemists, working independently, have demonstrated that catalytically driven motion on the nanoscale is possible outside biological systems. The system consists of nanorods, composed of two or more metallic segments, in aqueous hydrogen peroxide; one of the metals catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, liberating oxygen, which provides thrust to propel the nanorods. Issue: February 21, 2005, pp. 33-35
Title: Gasoline Description: Most people don't give car fuel much thought, but it is quite a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. Issue: February 21, 2005, p. 37
Title: Untangling Alzheimer’s Description: Many familiar products, including tea, over-the-counter painkillers, cholesterol drugs, and antidepressants, may have some efficacy in battling Alzheimer's; study of the activities of such prosaic items is helping illuminate just how this disease develops. Issue: February 21, 2005, pp. 38-45
Title: Uranium sticks together with quintuple bonds Description: Chemists have determined that uranium atoms in diuranium compounds are held together with five covalent bonds – the equivalent of a quintuple bond. Issue: February 28, 2005, p. 46
March:
Title: Wide World of Science, Briefly Description: C&EN staff review recent science books covering everything from cooking to geology to fraud. Issue: March 7, 2005, pp. 46-47
Title: Stark Effects from Global Warming Description: The clearest evidence yet that the Earth is warming and that CO2 emissions are largely responsible was presented by researchers in February at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Washington , D.C. Issue: March 21, 2005, pp. 47-48
Title: Sulfur’s Turn for Multiple Bonds Description: The S2I42+ cation has some triple-bond character, and a valence bond resonance structure with a sulfur-sulfur triple bond can be drawn for it.
Issue: March 21, 2005, pp. 49-50
April:
Title: Arsenic Rooted From Water Description: One of the most problematic weeds in the world could prove useful for cleaning up water supplies contaminated with arsenic. Issue: April 4, 2005, p. 12
Title: Enzyme Finds, Fixes Flawed DNA Description: An X-ray structure reveals how a DNA repair enzyme knows what to fix. Issue: April 4, 2005, p. 15
Title: Defining Life’s Limits Description: Biogeochemists hope to unearth how certain microbes live in seemingly inhospitable places. Issue: April 4, 2005, pp. 60-63
Title: Cool Courses Description: At the University of Georgia, lessons in secondary science that are meant to engage students through their stomachs are gathered on the university's "Science Behind Our Food" website and meet the National Science Education Standards for chemistry. Issue: April 4, 2005, pp. 65-68
Title: Pondering Marie Curie’s life Description: Reviews of two books on the life and science of Marie Curie. Issue: April 4, 2005, pp. 69-71
Title: Common Herbicide Kills Tadpoles Description: Biologist finds that low doses of Roundup are lethal to some amphibian species Issue: April 11, 2005, p. 11
Title: Torpor On Demand Description: Hydrogen sulfide, a gas that is lethal at high concentrations, has been found – at lower levels – to induce a state similar to suspended animation in mice. If the finding turns out to be applicable to humans, researchers believe it could ultimately lead to better ways to treat cancer, prevent injury or death from insufficient blood supply to organs and tissues, and rapidly lower the core body temperature of patients with dangerously high fevers. Issue: April 25, 2005, p. 8
Title: Chemistry’s Crime Fighters Description: Forensic scientists tell how they help solve crimes using a variety of analytical techniques. Issue: April 25, 2005, pp. 30-32
May:
Title: Fishing Net Lands Conservation Prize Description: Award-winning fishing nets are made of nylon that's been impregnated with barium sulfate, which makes the nylon net more visible and acoustically reflective and thus more easily detectable to marine mammals. Issue: May 23, 2005, p. 41
Title: Thriving On Arsenic Description: Scientists discover a new microbe that uses arsenic for respiration. Issue: May 30, 2005, p. 12
June:
Title: Action On Global Climate Change Description: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and scientific organizations from 10 other nations contend that the evidence on global climate change is clear enough for government leaders to commit to prompt action. Issue: June 13, 2005, p. 6
Title: A Rising Drug Industry Description: Chemical Heritage Foundation historians trace the development of the pharmaceutical industry since 1870. Among the threads explored are the role of chemical professionals in inventing new therapies; the complex interplay of scientists, industry, government regulators, physicians, and patients in converting laboratory molecules into medical therapies; and the changing professional roles of scientists and physicians in the wake of increased government regulation and patient activism. Issue: June 20, 2005
Title: List of Top Pharmaceuticals Description: This special issue of Chemical & Engineering News contains 46 essays devoted to specific drugs or classes of drugs that have had a major impact on human health and society. Some of those substances examined include aspirin, Botox, fluoride, insulin, morphine, oral contraceptives, Prozac, Ritalin, and Viagra. Issue: June 20, 2005
Title: Life Without Sun Description: Newly discovered photosynthetic bacteria may get all the light they need for metabolism from the dim radiation emitted by deep-sea hydrothermal vents. If the finding is confirmed, the organisms would be the first known to use a light source other than the sun, suggesting the possibility of life in other sunless environments, such as Jupiter's moon Europa. Issue: June 27, 2005, p. 10
Title: Lead Binding Reexamined Description: A new study suggests that lead preferentially binds to only three sulfurs in a trigonal pyramidal configuration; zinc binds sulfur in a four-coordinate, tetrahedral fashion. The difference explains how lead causes improper folding when it displaces zinc in the proteins that regulate development in children. Issue: June 27, 2005, p. 13
Title: Naughty Scientists Description: Scientists, like humans in other professions, are neither perfect nor perfectly ethical and engage in a wide range of questionable research practices, including using another's ideas without obtaining permission or giving due credit, failing to present data that contradict one's research, and overlooking the use of flawed data or questionable interpretations. Issue: June 27, 2005, p. 50
July:
Title: Oceans Turning Dangerously Acidic Description: If current CO2 emission trends continue, the oceans will become so acidic that corals will cease to thrive. Issue: July 4, 2005, p. 21
Title: Redefining the Base Unit of Mass Description: A new definition of the kilogram is required, an international team of scientists contends; the current one is imprecise, they say, because it is not linked to an unvarying property of nature. Issue: July 18, 2005, pp. 29-31
Title: Golf Balls Description: Polymer chemistry has played a key role in the evolution of the golf ball. Issue: July 18, 2005, p. 34
Title: Different Kind of Wet Lab Description: Both marine natural products research and chemical oceanography rely on a strong background in chemistry; organic and analytical chemists can be well-positioned to take advantage of a seafaring adventure or two. Issue: July 18, 2005, pp. 53-57
Title: Tips for Teachers Description: A report released by the Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Foundation details methods to heighten the impact of undergraduate science and engineering education. Issue: July 25, 2005, pp. 55-57
August:
Title: Get Serious About Energy Description: The most profound challenge humanity faces over the next 50 years is figuring out how to run an advanced, technological society without burning massive quantities of fossil fuels. Issue: August 1, 2005, p. 5
Title: Ethics of Human Dosing Trials Description: Clinical trials involving the intentional dosing of humans with pesticides or other toxic substances for the purpose of establishing regulatory limits have given rise to intense reactions on all sides. Some say such studies are inherently repugnant and should never be used. Others contend that dosing trials provide valuable information that contributes to science-based decision-making and cannot be obtained in any other way. Issue: August 1, 2005, pp. 27-30
Title: Surfactants Might Tame Hurricanes Description: A mathematical model of turbulence and airflow above oceans suggests that hurricanes may be damped or even prevented by having airplanes deliver fast-decaying, harmless surfactants to the right places on the sea surface. Issue: August 1, 2005, p. 31
Title: Catnip Description: The key to catnip-induced friskiness in cats is an inherited sensitivity to a compound called nepetalactone; catnip tea also has a mild, calming effect on humans and nepetalactone may be an effective, “natural” insect repellent. Issue: August 1, 2005, p. 39
Title: Failing Grade for High School Labs Description: A new report on high school science labs puts it bluntly: “The quality of current laboratory experiences is poor for most students.” Published by the National Research Council (NRC), the report blames the ineffectual nature of most lab instruction on such factors as inadequate facilities, lack of teacher motivation, pressure from state standards to cover too many topics, and a disconnect with the subject matter being taught in the classroom. Issue: August 15, 2005, p. 8
Title: Filling Up With Hydrogen Description: To be accepted by the public as a transportation fuel, hydrogen needs to be accessible and easily stored onboard an automobile in suitable quantities; the trick is being able to store the fuel compactly. Issue: August 22, 2005, pp. 42-47
Title: Competing Visions of a Hydrogen Economy Description: In this C&EN special feature, two energy experts face off on questions of research prioritization and hydrogen's role in future energy security. Issue: August 22, 2005, pp. 30-35
Title: Chemists’ Ongoing Search for Order Description: 13 essays in the book The Periodic Table: Into the 21st Century explore the origins, meaning, and importance of the periodic table. Issue: August 22, 2005, pp. 48-49
September:
Title: No Longer Thinning, O3 May Have Improved At Midlatitudes Description: The stratospheric ozone layer is no longer declining and may actually be improving in midlatitude areas, says a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Nevertheless, it will likely take 20 to 70 years for ozone to return to normal levels. Issue: September 5, 2005, p. 13
Title: Carbon Budget Woes Description: Research has revealed that as the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere rises, the potential of forest ecosystems to absorb CO2 —and thereby slow global warming—may be much less than previously thought. Issue: September 9, 2005
Title: Chernobyl’s Aftermath Description: A major study by international scientists has concluded that radioactivity released in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident will cause far fewer deaths than originally thought. Issue: September 12, 2005, p. 11
Title: Protein Structure From Scratch Description: Researchers have devised a method for predicting the approximate three-dimensional structure assumed by a sequence of amino acids. Issue: September 19, 2005, p. 7
Title: Genome Mining Hits Pay Dirt Description: Genome mining—searching a genome for DNA sequences that encode enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of particular products—could provide a significant shortcut to the normally long and laborious process of discovering natural products from microbes. Issue: September 19, 2005, p. 11
Title: ‘Quintuple’ Bond Makes Its Debut Description: Researchers have reported evidence for the first “quintuple” bond between two chromium(I) atoms in a stable chromium complex. Issue: September 26, 2005, p. 9
October:
Title: Molecules Take a Walk Description: Scientists have designed a molecule that “walks” across a surface in a straight line by putting one bond in front of the other; such purposeful control of a molecule's motion is vital for advancing fields such as molecular self-assembly, molecular machines, and computing. Issue: October 3, 2005, p. 35
Title: Green Polymer Field Blossoming Description: A recent symposium examined a major initiative to utilize renewable and environmentally benign starting materials obtained from agricultural, animal, and microbial resources (such as soybean oil) for the synthesis of a wide range of bioplastics with properties comparable to or better than those of widely used industrial polymers; deploying such biodegradable starting materials protects the environment by partially or completely substituting for petroleum-based inputs. Issue: October 3, 2005, pp. 36-39
Title: Handling Nuclear Evidence Description: Since 1992, there have been hundreds of cases involving the seizure of suspected nuclear contraband; in response, the field of nuclear forensics sprang up, charging itself with developing ways to deduce the material's origin, age, and probable intended use. Issue: October 10, 2005, pp. 40-41
Title: Nanotech Makes Your Brown Eyes Blue Description: These days, colored contacts aren’t just for making eyes more dazzling; vision care companies are making colored contacts that give athletes an edge and improve the appearance of disfigured eyes. Issue: October 10, 2005, pp. 42-43
Title: Energy is Chemistry’s Challenge Description: A review of the maximum energy that could be optimally obtained from biomass, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources concludes that these sources will fail to meet global energy demands by 2050; the answer to this dilemma over the long term must lie in solar energy. Issue: October 17, 2005, p. 5
Title: Nanocar Rolls Into Action Description: The world's first molecular car zips about on fullerene wheels across a gold surface and is directed by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope; a nanotruck that can transport molecular cargo as well as a light-driven motorized nanocar have also been developed. Issue: October 24, 2005, p. 13
Title: Antifreeze Proteins Help Snow Fleas Get Through Winter Description: A species of springtail produces a pair of antifreeze proteins that allow it to remain active in the cold of winter by lowering the freezing point of its body fluids by nearly 6 °C; the finding could lead to potential protein-based antifreeze applications, such as frost-resistant crops. Issue: October 24, 2005, p. 17
Title: No One Size Fits All Description: A concept called universal design for learning may help educators reach students who aren't being well-served by current instructional methods. Its roots are in education for students with physical or learning disabilities, but it is proving to be good for all students. Issue: October 24, 2005, pp. 96-98
November:
Title: Young Students Wowed by Science Description: Created and directed by Ohio State University analytical chemistry professor Susan V. Olesik, the Wonders of Our World science education program based in Columbus, Ohio, supplements existing science programs in elementary schools by providing training workshops for teachers on how to conduct hands-on experiments in the physical and biological sciences. The program then provides scientist volunteers to assist the teachers in carrying out the experiments with their students. Issue: November 7, 2005, pp. 26-28
Title: Kava Description: The traditional Polynesian beverage relaxes some, but its appearance and bitter taste gross out others. Issue: November 14, 2005, p. 53
Title: Where Chemistry and Art Meet Description: Students investigate the intersection of art and science through their study of color and pigments. Issue: November 21, 2005, p. 54
Title: Ice Core Record Extended Description: Analyses of air trapped in ice cores drilled at Vostok Station in East Antarctica show current atmospheric CO2 at the highest level in 650,000 years. Issue: November 28, 2005, p. 7
December:
Title: Essential Elements of Murder Description: The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison by John Emsley is a discussion of the forensic aspects of poisonous substances and their toxicological features, organized around the more toxic chemical elements. Especially interesting are his discussions of criminal cases in which a toxic agent was used as a weapon for murder. For those readers interested in the environmental impact of these toxic elements, the author has included a detailed summary of the tragic mercury poisoning during the 1950s in Minamata Bay , Japan , and the slow poisoning of millions of Bangladeshis by naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater. Issue: December 5, 2005, p. 62
Title: With Chemistry, The Joy Is In The Doing Description: In The Joy of Chemistry, authors Cathy Cobb and Monty L. Fetterolf provide us with a shopping list and directions on how to make your own new and improved version of the classic chemistry set. And they have added three major items those chemistry sets never had: the theory, background, and application of the science. The Joy of Chemistry may closely match the chemistry textbook you wish you had. There is a sense of magic in the demonstrations Cobb and Fetterolf provide, which are interwoven with applications. Issue: December 5, 2005, p. 63
Title: Chemistry At Play Description: ACS volunteers of all ages explore the "Joy of Toys" with glittering slime, bouncy balls, and other playthings during National Chemistry Week 2005. Issue: December 12, 2005, pp. 12-17
Title: Shifting Light Into Reverse Description: A new nanomaterial of minuscule gold rods embedded in glass has a negative index of refraction and could lead to dramatic new optical technologies. The wave motion of certain light passing through this material ends up traveling backward even as the light itself moves forward—a dynamic akin to peddling backward on a coasting bike. Using such material, visualizing proteins in intact cells with optical microscopes could become routine. Issue: December 12, 2005
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