Biodiesel: Recipe for Green Fuel (chemistry.org)
Biodiesel made from unused vegetable oil costs two to
three times as much to produce as fossil fuel-based diesel. That cost
difference has led some to consider an alternative--waste vegetable oil.
More than Skin Deep (Science's Next Wave)
A unique university-company partnership gives
students a glimpse of life in the corporate fast lane.
Undisciplined (Science's Next Wave)
A cancer researcher finds rapidly evolving genes
in a place that in theory should be evolutionarily stable.
DARPA
Changes Reverberate in the Computer Science World (Science's Next
Wave)
Changes in the priorities of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
have led to decreased funding for basic computer science research.
Rethinking Thalidomide (chemistry.org)
Despite the history of thalidomide, the drug's powerful
effects on the immune system and its ability to prevent the formation of new
blood vessels has led to some intriguing therapeutic possibilities.
A Better Beer (chemistry.org)
Large-scale beer brewers would like to save money by
going with a continuous fermentation with immobilized yeast cells rather
than the traditional 'batch' process, but they face significant challenges.
BIO's Big Gamble (BioEntrepreneur)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization is pushing hard to force the US
government to change the rules on certain grants for biotechs. Not everybody
views this as a wise pursuit.
Secrets of Fire (chemistry.org)
For many years scientists have been identifying the chemical
intermediates that form during the combustion process, and some people
believed that there were no secrets left to reveal.
The Vaccine That Almost Wasn't (Technology Review)
GlaxoSmithKline's rotavirus vaccine was nearly derailed by a serious
side effect of a competing vaccine. The company resuscitated it by
targeting an unexpected market. |
Scientists and the FMLA (Science's Next Wave)
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides an important benefit for
employees, but scientists rarely take advantage of it. |
Emulsion Compulsion (chemistry.org)
Aside from culinary uses, emulsions have applications in
processing, separations, coatings, foods, and cosmetics. Double emulsions
have even wider potential |
The Green Chemistry Bill (chemistry.org)
A bill currently in the House of Representatives would provide funding for
research into chemical processes that emit low levels of pollution. |
Explosive Detectors (chemistry.org)
TNT and DNT present in explosive devices
release vapors that can be sensed by highly sensitive detectors, but the
vapors' low concentration make increasing security requirements a
challenge. |
Ancient Impact (chemistry.org)
Recent research strengthens the evidence for the
single-asteroid impact theory for the extinction of the dinosaurs |
Opposite
Extremes (Science's Next Wave, subscription required)
Plenty of scientists consider their instruments to be finicky, liable to
produce bogus data at the slightest provocation. But don't tell Craig Cary that
instruments are fragile. He uses them everywhere. On field trips to Antarctica,
he has spent long days in a tent, doing DNA extractions and analyzing microbial
samples, huddled over a portable PCR machine. He has done similar work aboard
ships, rocking and swaying high above hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor,
when he wasn't in the submersible itself, exploring the steaming depths. |
Harming the Healers (chemistry.org)
Responding to mounting concern, in March 2004, the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released an alert
warning the nation's health care workers that drugs used in chemotherapy can
cause cancer and reproductive effects. Many professionals consider the report to
be an important first step in solving a longstanding problem. |
Careers in National Security: The Defense Intelligence Agency (Science's
Next Wave, subscription required)
When you think of intelligence agencies, you probably think of the FBI or the
CIA. But the
U.S.
intelligence community comprises no fewer than 15 federal agencies, each
with its own particular specialty. And most of them need scientists--especially
now, because the federal government is projected to lose 40-60% of its workforce
over the next 10 years due to retirement. "That creates a lot of opportunities,"
says Scott Raye, chief of recruitment, classification, and staffing for the
Defense Intelligence Agency. |
The Missing Link (chemistry.org)
Bruce Spiegelman of Harvard Medical School and colleagues identified a molecule
that stimulates liver cells to secrete very low-density lipoprotein, which is
the precursor for blood-borne LDL (so-called 'bad cholesterol'). The molecule is
produced after a meal high in saturated and trans fats, and appears to be the
missing link that ties dietary fats to heightened LDL. |
|
