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Chemistry strong on playoff-bound Roughnecks

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Danzig

The Calgary Roughnecks, despite their far-flung roster, stay in touch.

Sprinkled throughout the country from as far away as Vancouver and Toronto players can get together only on weekends.

But, thanks to the digital age, they are never more than a click or two apart.

Weve got a (BlackBerry Messenger) group, weve got e-mail chains, were sending pictures back and forth, were constantly making jokes, were betting on hockey games and that makes a big difference in a league like this, Roughnecks captain Andrew McBride said after Saturdays practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Its not one of these things where you dont know lots about the other people on the team. Guys care about other guys lives. They know the girlfriends, the wives, the kids names. They know if theyve had a bad week. Thats pretty special.

Some teams dont have that they come in, talk about lacrosse, play lacrosse, then go their separate ways. But were a very tight cohesive group. Wed go through a wall for each other.

Their hottest e-topic these days? Being three wins from National Lacrosse League glory.

You dont want to think in those terms, but Id be lying if I said everyone hasnt thought about it, said McBride, whose crew finished the regular season with a circuit-best 12-4 record. This week we were reflecting that were literally 180 minutes away. We sent e-mails: What is 180 minutes in the big picture? Its not a lot of time. Were very cognizant that this is our opportunity, that this is our time.

The Roughnecks, though, are careful not to gawk much beyond the nearest challenge.

As the West Divisions top seeds, they host the fourth-place Edmonton Rush on Saturday.

Here its worth noting that the Calgarians dominated the northerners during the regular season. Active is a 10-game winning streak.

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Chemistry strong on playoff-bound Roughnecks

Explosive chemistry on display

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Danzig

Local science educators will conduct fun chemistry tasks during public event

When it comes to chemistry, who doesnt like a some explosive, but safe fun?

Local K-12 science teachers and members of the Oregon State University chemistry department are organizing a Corvallis Chemistry Show event that features 20 demonstrations.

The events organizers are promising explosions, loud noises and a lot of fun.

Weve got a lot of cool experiments planned, said Cheldelin Middle School science teacher Michael Krasilovsky. It should be a fun and educational experience for everyone.

Its scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at LaSells Stewart Center on the OSU campus, 875 S.W. 26th Street.

The all-ages event is free, but donations are encouraged. All donations benefit the Corvallis School District science programs.

This our second time doing this, said Linus Pauling Middle School science teacher Matt Stephens. We are trying to do this every two years. Wed love to hold it on annual basis, but thats not possible.

While the Corvallis Chemistry Show is fairly new, Stephens has conducted smaller-scale demonstrations in his classes for years.

Weve traveled to science conventions where they hold similar events, said Stefni Stephens, Matts wife and a science teacher at Cheldelin. Chemical companies have come in and done experiments that are a lot of fun.

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Explosive chemistry on display

Eastman Chemical Company Receives Energy Efficiency Awards for 19th Consecutive Year

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Danzig

For Immediate Release

Kingsport, Tenn., April 30, 2012 - Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) was one of 19 American Chemistry Council (ACC) members honored today at the annual ACC Responsible Care Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. for implementing energy-efficiency improvements in 2011. Eastman received eight of the 67 awards presented for outstanding projects, including one of the 16 Exceptional Merit awards. This marks the 19th consecutive year Eastman has earned energy efficiency awards from ACC.

"Eastman is honored to be recognized again by ACC for our efforts in achieving energy efficiencies in our operations," said Jim Rogers, Chairman and CEO. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through improved energy efficiency is a key part of our vision of being a sustainable chemical company."

Combined, Eastman`s winning projects save over 737,000 MMBTUs and 337,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. That`s enough energy to power 16,000 homes and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from over 60,000 cars!

"These eight winning projects exhibit innovative examples of control strategy modifications, trials with new types of equipment, creative process redesign and operational changes," said Sharon Nolen, Corporate Energy Program Manager. "Each success confirms our commitment to saving energy and continuous improvement in energy management."

Eastman received an Exceptional Merit award for the restructure of its energy program to a corporate-wide program with broad participation and executive level support, and an emphasis on corporate initiatives, designated funding, ENERGY STAR resources, and employee awareness and engagement in energy conservation. The company was named a 2012 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for its enhanced energy management program and commitment to continuous improvements in energy efficiency.

Seven of Eastman`s awards were for Significant Improvement in Manufacturing. Eastman`s Longview, Texas site received an award for the following project: Fuel reduction in cracking furnaces - To reduce fuel usage in cracking furnaces without affecting plant reliability or production, better control over excess air in the furnaces was implemented. Measures taken included extensive maintenance on the burners, installation of sample points for manual readings, repair of broken draft controls and elimination of tramp air. This project resulted in annual energy savings of 213,662 MMBTU and an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 12,392 tons.

Eastman`s Kingsport, Tennessee site received awards for these projects: Energy minimization in acetic acid refining - To reduce energy consumption by a refining system that removes impurities from acetic acid, a two-phase effort involving control strategy modifications and heat integration was implemented. This resulted in annual energy savings of 40,900 MMBTU and an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 4,300 tons.

Energy reduction through leak repair in compressed air piping network - A leak survey identified, tagged and quantified leaks from an extensive network of piping that provides compressed air to many manufacturing divisions. The amount of the leak was converted into energy used to compress the air lost to the leaks and the amount of coal burned to generate electricity to run the compressors. This project resulted in annual energy savings of 43,000 MMBTU and an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 4515 tons.

Reactor heat recovery - A partial condenser was added to recover heat from the vapor leaving a reactor to preheat the liquid feed to the reactor, providing a significant improvement in energy efficiency as well as increased capacity. This project resulted in annual energy savings of 45,280 MMBTU and an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 4754 tons.

Who is the living chemist you admire most and why?

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Danzig

In my editorial for the April issue I asked the question: who is the living chemist you admire most and why?

Before you reply let me tell you what I’m looking for. When most people answer this question they base their choice on what the scientist discovered or created and not so much on what they were like. Here I’m looking for the latter: what happens when you disassociate the scientist from his science? What makes you admire the scientist then? For me it’s all about presence and if you read my editorial you’ll learn why….

To start this off, here are some of the answers that readers have been sending in via our LinkedIn group:

-’It’s not me.’ – Mannam Krishnamurthy

-’My current Prof, Prof Robert Schlögl. A friendly, tough and fair man with a huge and infectious passion for what he does.’ – Neil Hamilton

-’Dr Gene Hiegel, retired professor from CSUF, tops my list. “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got” was heard every semester in every class he taught and whenever one of his students was lacking motivation in the lab. His true talent was developing future chemists, that and being a smart ass.’ – Tyrone Hogenauer

-’I would say that Prof K C Nicolau, from The Scripps Research Institute/University of California, San Diego, USA is a key name in the chemistry world.’ – Rui Pinto

-’Professor Kocienski, who is not just a great chemist and teacher but a real Renaissance man. Broad, broad knowledge on almost any subject. I remember he used to leave us Latin proverbs on the board in the office . He has a pretty good sense of humour as well and he loves good food!’ – Zofia Komsta

-’Dr Ted Sorensen, Professor Emeritus, Chemistry Dept, University of Calgary(Alberta), is a 75 years young scientist, a perfect researcher and above all a down to earth personality, always extending a helping hand to students.’ – Bhagat Singh Atwal

Send us yours!

Bibiana Campos Seijo

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Research and Markets: Flow Chemistry Technologies: Microtechnologies for Chemical Process Intensification

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Danzig

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2qmxvq/flow_chemistry_tec) has announced the addition of the "Flow Chemistry Technologies: Microtechnologies for Chemical Process Intensification" report to their offering.

Market and technology trends for components, modules and systems dedicated to flow chemistry.

OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT

The market of MicroReaction Technologies (MRT) dedicated to flow chemistry sharply increased over the last five years. Recent and growing involvement of the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry clearly signals the transformation of this technology from academic settings towards applied research and production. How have micro-technologies impacted the pharmaceutical and the fine chemicals industries?

Looking back on the last 5 years with an analysis of the most relevant changes is essential to understand the market dynamics observed today.

This Report Provides a Comprehensive View on the Flow Chemistry Market, Including:

- Consolidated MRT market data (2005-2011)

- Market forecasts (2012-2017) for modules, systems and production units.

- Main trends and challenges

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Research and Markets: Flow Chemistry Technologies: Microtechnologies for Chemical Process Intensification

Paper based blood Q & A

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Danzig

What’s the oddest reference you’ve ever put in a paper? Have you ever been tempted to slip in a joke reference? I’m sure it’s been done, but this paper cites one of the Harry Potter books for real.

The actual device is a pretty neat use of existing technologies… paper diagnostics are being developed but often the results need to be interpreted. How about, instead, if the paper spelled out the result in plain English (or language of your choice)?

— I don’t think you actually have to write a question in blood

When you dab some blood onto the paper device it sticks to the area covered with antibodies for that blood type (A, B or O) and Rhesus factor. Make that area into the shape of the letter and a plus/minus and you get an easily understood readout. That’s basically the gist of the device. Pretty simple, probably quite useful you think. But what was the inspiration for such a device? Well, that seems to be where Harry Potter comes in, or rather, Tom Riddle’s diary.

For those of you not familiar with the story, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Tom Riddle’s Diary contained the essence of Tom Riddle, later baddie Lord Voldemort, contained within a book. Writing in the book allowed Harry to communicate with Riddle/Voldemort. |You wrote a question and the book responded. Or, as Li et al write in the paper:

‘The British author, J K Rowling, presented a visionary idea in her novel “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” that one can interrogate a piece of paper for information and get unambiguous answers from the paper in writing … The artist’s vision shows that non-conventional mechanisms of reporting assay results using paper-based sensors should be explored.’

So, J K Rowling, author, millionaire, scientist? I’m note sure I’d have gone quite so overboard, and who knows whether the authors were really inspired by Harry Potter or just thought they could help up Rowling’s h-index, but I do quite like the device. As long as it’s not inhabited by a part of Voldemort’s soul – I’m not sure I’d want my blood getting anywhere near him.

Laura Howes

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Zip it!

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Danzig

The zipper metaphor - what were we telling the kids with this guy? Readers outside the UK might need some explanation: http://bit.ly/Juiv9o

As anyone who’s used Google today will already know, it’s the birthday of Gideon Sundback (1880–1954), the Swedish engineer who brought the zipper to the world. Sundback’s invention has obviously had a profound and lasting impact on the clothing industry, but its influence extends far beyond that. Notably (for us at least…) the humble zipper has become an indispensible metaphor in chemistry.

Pumping ‘zipper’ into the RSC publishing platform, for example, returns 458 hits. We’ve got metal-organic nanotube zippers, trigonal tryptophane zippers, leucine zippers… the list goes on. And it turns out we aren’t afraid to reach for the zipper metaphor here at Chemistry World either.

Which begs the question: how would such work have been described if the zipper had not been invented? And more interestingly how might actual research have been different? The relationship between language – full of weird and wonderful cognitive scaffolding such as our beloved zipper metaphor – and science is complicated. But we know it isn’t a one way street: to some extent language informs creative thought – which means chemistry owes a debt to Sundback and his zipper.

Andrew Turley

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Chemistry in its element – Lidocaine

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Danzig

Do you like going to the dentist? Well, you’d like it a lot less without the compound developed by Lofgren, Lundqvist and Fischer – three Swedish chemists with an ‘unconventional’ approach to clinical trials. Lars Öhrström looks at lidocaine in this week’s Chemistry in its element podcast.

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Research and Markets: Green Corrosion Chemistry and Engineering: Opportunities and Challenges

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6s2bcn/green_corrosion_ch) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Green Corrosion Chemistry and Engineering: Opportunities and Challenges" to their offering.

With its unique focus on specifically addressing the problems for societies and economies associated with corrosion and their solution, this book provides an up-to-date overview of the progress in corrosion chemistry and engineering.

International experts actively involved in research and development place particular emphasis on how to counter the economic and environmental consequences of corrosion with the help of science and technology, making this a valuable resource for researchers as well as decision makers in industry and politics.

Further major parts of the book are devoted to corrosion prevention in the naval and energy sector as well as to corrosion monitoring and waste management.

Key Topics Covered:

- Basics of Corrosion Chemistry?

- Corrosion and Electrochemistry

- Application of Microelectrochemical Techniques in Corrosion Research

- Protective Coatings: an Overview?

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Research and Markets: Green Corrosion Chemistry and Engineering: Opportunities and Challenges

Following life's chemistry to the earliest branches on the tree of life

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2012) In a study published in PLoS Computational Biology, the Santa Fe Institute's Rogier Braakman and D. Eric Smith map the development of life-sustaining chemistry to the history of early life and trace six methods of carbon fixation seen in modern life back to a single ancestral form.

Carbon fixation -- life's mechanism for making carbon dioxide biologically useful -- forms the biggest bridge between Earth's non-living chemistry and its living biosphere. All organisms that fix carbon do so in one of six ways. These six mechanisms have overlaps, but it was previously unclear which of the six types came first, and how their development interweaved with environmental and biological changes.

The authors used a method that creates "trees" of evolutionary relatedness based on genetic sequences and metabolic traits. From this, they were able to reconstruct the complete early evolutionary history of biological carbon-fixation, relating all ways in which life today performs this function.

The earliest form of carbon fixation identified by scientists achieved a special kind of built-in robustness -- not seen in modern cells -- by layering multiple carbon-fixing mechanisms. This redundancy allowed early life to compensate for a lack of refined control over its internal chemistry, and formed a template for the later splits that created the earliest major branches in the tree of life.

For example, the first major life-form split came with the earliest appearance of oxygen on Earth, causing the ancestors of blue-green algae and most other bacteria to separate from the branch that includes Archaea, which, outside of bacteria, are the other major early group of single-celled microorganisms.

"It seems likely that the earliest cells were rickety assemblies whose parts were constantly malfunctioning and breaking down," explains Smith, an SFI External Professor. "How can any metabolism be sustained with such shaky support? The key is concurrent and constant redundancy."

Once early cells had more refined enzymes and membranes, allowing greater control over metabolic chemistry, environmental driving forces directed life's unfolding. These forces included changes in oxygen level and alkalinity, as well as minimization of the amount of energy (in the form of ATP) used to create biomass.

In other words, the environment drove major divergences in predictable ways -- in contrast to the common widely held belief that chance dominated evolutionary innovation and that rewinding and replaying the evolutionary tape would lead to an irreconcilably different tree of life.

"Mapping cell function onto genetic history gives us a clear picture of the physiology that led to the major foundational divergences of evolution," explains Braakman, an SFI Omidyar Fellow. "This highlights the central role of basic chemistry and physics in driving early evolution."

With the ancestral form uncovered and evolutionary drivers pinned to branching points in the tree, the researchers now want to make the study more mathematically formal and further analyze the early evolution of metabolism.

Link:
Following life's chemistry to the earliest branches on the tree of life

Evotec and Active Biotech Extend and Expand Medicinal Chemistry Collaboration

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

HAMBURG, Germany, April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evotec AG (EVT.F - News) (TecDAX) today announced that it has extended and expanded its medicinal chemistry collaboration with Active Biotech AB (NASDAQ OMX: ACTI), to further advance an existing programme, which has entered the lead optimisation phase. The programme aims to find novel small molecule modulators of a priority biological target, selected by Active Biotech, involved in immune disorders and cancer.

The programme was initiated in 2010 with a high throughput screen followed by extensive hit validation and hit-to-lead activities, leveraging Evotec's hit identification and integrated medicinal chemistry platforms.

Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer at Evotec stated: "We are delighted that our already successful collaboration with Active Biotech has been extended and expanded with the aim of taking this exciting programme through lead optimisation towards candidate nomination. This is an area where Evotec has a significant track record of success and we look forward to leveraging our expertise to assist Active Biotech in finding novel treatments addressing cancer and autoimmune disorders."

Dorthe da Graca Thrige, Director of Development of Active Biotech, commented: "Active Biotech strives to develop, efficiently and cost-effectively, new remedies for illnesses where today's treatment options are inadequate, especially in the area of cancer and autoimmune diseases. It is key for us to collaborate with first class companies and we have been very impressed with Evotec's hit identification and subsequent hit to lead activities on this important target and now look forward to progressing the leads through to candidate drug selection."

No financial details are disclosed.

ABOUT EVOTEC AG

Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We operate worldwide providing the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery solutions, covering all activities from target-to-clinic. The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuroscience, pain, metabolic diseases as well as oncology and inflammation. Evotec has long-term discovery alliances with partners including Boehringer Ingelheim, CHDI, Genentech, Medimmune/Astra Zeneca, Novartis and Ono Pharmaceutical. In addition, the Company has existing development partnerships and product candidates both in clinical and preclinical development. These include partnerships with Boehringer Ingelheim, MedImmune and Andromeda (Teva) in the field of diabetes, and with Roche in the field of Alzheimer's disease. For additional information please go to http://www.evotec.com.

ABOUT ACTIVE BIOTECH AB

Active Biotech AB (NASDAQ OMX NORDIC:ACTI) is a biotechnology company with focus on autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and cancer. Projects in pivotal phase are laquinimod, an orally administered small molecule with unique immunomodulatory properties for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, TASQ for prostate cancer and ANYARA for use in cancer targeted therapy, primarily of renal cell cancer. In addition, laquinimod is in Phase II development for Crohn's and Lupus. Further projects in clinical development comprise the two orally administered compounds, 57- 57 for SLE and Systemic Sclerosis as well as RhuDexTM for RA. Please visit http://www.activebiotech.com for more information.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS -- Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of Evotec as of the date of this report. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

The rest is here:
Evotec and Active Biotech Extend and Expand Medicinal Chemistry Collaboration

Chicago Bulls work chemistry heading into NBA playoffs

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

Chicago, already assured of the top seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs, used Derrick Rose and other key players in their 92-87 victory over playoff-bound Indiana.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said injuries throughout the season had left his preferred starting unit of Rose, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah needing more playing time together.

Some other playoff-bound teams were opting to rest their stars on the penultimate night of the lockout-shortened regular season.

"We still need to find some rhythm with guys," Thibodeau said. "They need some time together."

Deng played 33 minutes and Rose, who has been sidelined for 26 games, played 26 minutes and said he welcomed the opportunity.

"I love playing games, getting my rhythm back," Rose said. "I'm coming along, man. I'm very positive. My spirits are up."

The Bulls lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals last season after posting the league's best record.

Thibodeau, therefore, was low-key on the importance of holding the top seed in the East.

"It's the next step along the way," he said. "You try to put as many things in your favor as possible. It's not the end-all. It doesn't guarantee anything. But I think it also gives you your best chance."

In New York, the Knicks held off the charging Los Angeles Clippers 99-93, denying the Clippers a chance to claim home court advantage over Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.

Continue reading here:
Chicago Bulls work chemistry heading into NBA playoffs

Dotmatics Launches Novel Chemistry Add-In for Microsoft(R) Office at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

BISHOPS STORTFORD, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire -04/24/12)- Dotmatics, a leading provider of informatics solutions and services to the pharmaceutical and bio-technology industries, today announced that it will showcase a new chemistry add-in for Microsoft Office at the Bio-IT World Conference and Expo (Booth 323). The software, Dotmatics for Office, will facilitate communication and sharing of scientific data across applications and teams.

Dotmatics for Office allows scientists to easily import, create and modify scientific data in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint as well as seamlessly move data between applications. Users can perform structure searches and scientific property calculations without leaving familiar Office applications. Integration with Browser, the flagship enterprise search platform from Dotmatics, allows the add-in to effortlessly incorporate data from multiple databases in an Office document. Information can be shown in a variety of formats chosen by the user, or according to predefined templates. Further analysis can be carried out within Vortex, Dotmatics' exploratory data analysis platform.

"We are delighted to announce our latest developments at Bio-IT World. The addition of Chemistry into Microsoft Office gives our customers a simple and efficient way to work with their research data within industry standard Office applications. Dotmatics for Office brings a new level of integration and efficiency to this important part of the discovery process." said Dr Mike Hartshorn, Director and CSO of Dotmatics. "The integration of Dotmatics for Office with Browser will enable scientists to uncover and retrieve data hidden in enterprise systems such as corporate registration databases and electronic notebooks into the user friendly Office applications. This avoids transcription errors, uncovers trends and, ultimately, expedites research" he added.

About Dotmatics for Office: Dotmatics for Office is a common set of tools across the Microsoft Office suite that gives you chemistry and data at the touch of a button.

About Browser: Browser is a flexible and powerful web-based query and reporting solution that interacts with relational databases to give scientists an integrated view of their data.

About Vortex: Chemically intelligent, intuitive and versatile data visualization and analysis solution that enables scientists to explore and understand data sets of any complexity or size.

About Dotmatics

Dotmatics has rapidly emerged as a preferred informatics supplier to many of the top global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic organisations. Dotmatics is a scientific software company deploying web-based knowledge solutions that dramatically improve the way scientific data is queried, managed and shared within companies. Dotmatics has significant expertise in chem- and bioinformatics techniques including chemical databases, SAR analysis, data management and data visualization. A privately owned company, Dotmatics was founded in 2005 and has its head office based south of Cambridge, UK.

Original post:
Dotmatics Launches Novel Chemistry Add-In for Microsoft(R) Office at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo

Air guitar

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Danzig

Have a you ever wondered what you could do with an acoustic guitar, a tablet computer and a limitless supply of small pneumatic gas valves?

No, of course you haven’t. But it turns out that the creative chaps at US valve maker Clippard Instrument Laboratory have, and better still they’ve put it together. Here is the ‘air’ guitar doing its thing at laboratory sciences trade show Analytica in Munich, Germany, where it pulled in plenty of punters with its clickety clackety renditions of fingerstyle favourites.

Which leads us to: what’s the best song for this rig? My votes go to Classical Gas by Mason William, Solid Air by John Martyn and Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas, although I suppose anything by 70s punk outfit The Valves would work too. Got any more suggestions?

Andrew Turley

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Carolina Liquid Chemistries Brings CLC 720 Chemistry Analyzer to Market

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Danzig

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Carolina Liquid Chemistries announces the market launch of the CLC 720 floor model chemistry analyzer. The system received FDA 510(k) clearance on March 23, 2012, and is the second chemistry analyzer to be developed and FDA-cleared from Carolina Chemistries efforts in the Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP). The CLC 720 is the first product to be launched from the new Wake Forest Biotech Place.

This chemistry analyzer is the first in its class to be designed since the 1990s, says Phil Shugart, President of Carolina Liquid Chemistries. The CLC 720 is the newest, most technologically sophisticated chemistry analyzer in America. We took advantage of the latest advances in software, electronics, motion control and fluidics in order to offer customers a truly exceptional product.

The CLC 720 analyzes 100 different blood chemistry tests, such as glucose, cholesterol and drugs of abuse with a throughput of 400 photometric tests per hour and 320 ISEs per hour. The systems design is greener, which means it generates less heat, operates more quietly and consumes 40 percent less chemicals, 25 percent less water, 20 percent less serum and 50 percent less electricity. The CLC 720 also takes up 25 percent less space and is less expensive than other systems in its class. With its large menu, small footprint and easy Windows 7 software, its an excellent fit for a large clinic, small- to medium-sized hospital or a small reference lab, Shugart says.

The launch of the CLC 720 exemplifies the mission of the PTRP, which is the journey from mind to market, says John D. McConnell, M.D., chief executive officer of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Carolina Liquid Chemistries has successfully taken innovative technology from inception to commercialization, and we congratulate them on their new product launch.

The market for the CLC 720 is 400 instruments per year. Carolina Chemistries, a company that makes customer satisfaction its top priority, expects to obtain a 20 percent market share within the first two years of sales. Customers from all over the United States will come to the Winston-Salem, N.C., headquarters to take part in system operation training classes in Carolina Chemistries state-of-the-art training facilities at Wake Forest Biotech Place. In addition, Carolina Chemistries has a nationwide staff of field service engineers, technical specialists and sales representatives.

In addition to its chemistry analyzers such as the benchtop Biolis 24i, the CLC 480 and the CLC 720, Carolina Chemistries offers a complete line of bar-coded, liquid, ready-to-use reagents and service for use on Olympus and Beckman instruments. The company can provide the large physician clinic or the small- to medium-sized hospital with a complete stat lab consisting of chemistry, hematology and an immunochemistry analyzer, along with a laboratory information system (LIS).

About Carolina Liquid Chemistries Corp.

Founded in 1997 in Brea, Calif., Carolina Liquid Chemistries is a manufacturer, distributor and service provider of chemistry systems and reagents for hospitals, clinical reference laboratories and physician practices. Now headquartered in the new Wake Forest Biotech Place of the Piedmont Triad Research Park of Winston-Salem, N.C., Carolina Chemistries offers chemistry instruments that range in throughput from 180 to 1,400 tests per hour and can provide the complete laboratory package consisting of chemistry, hematology and an immunochemistry analyzer, along with a laboratory information system (LIS). Visit http://www.carolinachemistries.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50250509&lang=en

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Carolina Liquid Chemistries Brings CLC 720 Chemistry Analyzer to Market

Bluebells, Bangor and biodiesel

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Danzig

— Bluebells growing in the Snowdonia National Park

Each Spring, on a farm set against the beautiful backdrop of the Snowdonia mountain range in North Wales, Vera Thoss is rewarded with a sight that makes the view even better – an impressive carpet of bluebells covering the land. Vera encourages the growth of the wild British bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) on her farm and is the only licensed bluebell seller in Wales.

But there is another side to her: Vera is an environmental chemistry lecturer at Bangor University and she’s been studying the composition of bluebell seeds, together with Patrick Murphy and colleagues, to determine how they could be used in the future.

With an eye to this, the team determined the fatty acid composition of the seeds using ¹H and ¹³C NMR and GC-MS. The seed oil is highly unsaturated (>85%), contains 20% gondoic acid (cis-icos-11-enoic acid, which is found in fish and vegetable oils) and an unusually high proportion of fatty acids with 20 or more carbon atoms. This particular composition indicates that one application of the seeds could be as a biodiesel source, they say.

British bluebells are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended 1998), which is why their sale is only permitted with a licence. But the team says that their work could benefit conservation because a percentage of the gathered seeds would be used to seed new areas suitable for growing bluebells. This is important for bluebell conservation as they regenerate predominantly by seeds, but their seeds are too heavy to be windborne, say the researchers.

Bluebells are poisonous but were used for medicinal purposes in 13th century Wales, as mentioned in the ancient text of the Physicians of Myddvai (Meddygon Myddfai in Welsh), in which bluebells were suggested as a cure for leprosy. The Physicians of Myddvai were healers at the court of Rhys Grug, Lord of Dinefwr in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. They lived in the parish of Myddfai, close to the Black Mountain, and with that view in the background, just like Vera, you can easily see why they were inspired by nature.

Elinor Richards

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2

Positively negative science

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Danzig

The molecular junction is surprisingly insensitive to structural changes

The field of molecular electronics is one sown with expectation. Subtle changes in the structure of molecules could, the proponents argue, have drastic effects on their ability to transport charge. The promise of tailoring the electronic properties of circuitry using the near limitless electronic architecture of molecules is therefore extremely attractive and has enticed scientists the world over.

But amid all this excitement comes a somewhat sobering paper from perennial pie-poker George Whitesides. In a recent publication, Whitesides et al take a systematic, empirical approach to investigating these effects and come up with some results that might be described as a surprising disappointment.

In their experiment, a series of organic molecules are called upon to perform as the junction in an electrical circuit. Each molecule is the same apart from the terminal functional group, which varies in chemical nature or structure over a range of common moieties that might be expected to exert some influence on the junction’s properties. But regardless of the nature of the functional group, the performance of the junction remained effectively unchanged. Instead, the transport properties of the junction appear to depend simply upon its thickness. To borrow the authors’ own colloquialism – ‘it’s all fat’.

However, the interest of this paper lies not just in this seemingly unexpected finding but, more generally, in its significance as a report of research composed entirely of what could be viewed as ‘negative’ results.

It’s tempting to imagine an eager postgraduate, ready to deduce the rules by which molecular devices should be constructed and to pen the manual of molecular electronics by faithfully recording and interpreting the nuances borne of each delicate molecular difference. Then, after doggedly investigating, week after week, experiment after experiment, they fail to find any effect at all. Surely even the best laid plans of George Whitesides must fall foul of the vicissitudes of research? Thankfully, someone wisely advises our dejected researcher that failing to find something is itself a discovery and another Angewandte paper is born.

That is, of course, speculative fancy and may be a rather blunt cut with Occam’s butter knife. But whatever the story behind the paper it deserves a notable mention for its remarkable feat of containing no positive result. In other hands, the tiny variations that were observed might have been dissected and presented as evidence supporting the hypothesis; the results may have found their way into a minor publication or perhaps even under the carpet. Instead, the paper proudly bears its negative results and what might have been regarded as a failure becomes a thought-provoking, if not illuminating, triumph.

It is arguable that great scientists not only conduct excellent science, but also know how to spot it.

Philip Robinson

H J Yoon et al., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 1 (DOI:10.1002/anie.201201448)

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Chemistry in its element – 2-Methylundecanal

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Danzig

Marilyn Monroe’s mystique might have suffered if she’d admitted that 2-methylundecanal was all she wore to bed. Chanel No. 5 has a much classier ring to it. Simon Cotton discusses the chemistry behind an iconic fragrance in this week’s Chemistry in its element podcast.

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Chemistry students plan moles of activities

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Danzig

You've probably heard of Pi Day, which takes place on March 14, but the Chemistry Club wants to remind you of another unconventional holiday this weekend: Mole Day.

According to moleday.org, "Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry."

The Chemistry Club will celebrate the day with their second annual Mole Day 6k Fun Run on Saturday. Junior Andy Kasick, the group's president, said they hope to match the participation of last year's inaugural run. "Last year, we held the run and about 60 to 70 people participated, so we are preparing for an equally good turn out this year."

This year's run is nicknamed the "Helium Run," because that is the second element on the periodic table. "It's our fun little way of making our run unique," Kasick said. Participants will start at Don Drumm and travel along the river trail, then return after reaching a halfway point.

"We try to carry the chemistry theme throughout the race; for instance, the runners and walkers will receive periodic elements in place of participant numbers," Kasick added.

The club will also be kicking off their National Chemistry Week events on Friday, Oct. 28, with demonstrations on the Christy Mall. During the week, Kasick said they will be trying to raise money for a local charity with their annual "Collect a Mole of Pennies" campaign.

The final Chemistry Week event will include similar demonstrations at Grand Central Mall in Vienna, W. Va.

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Chemistry students plan moles of activities

Chemistry Prof Questions Safety Of Dimock, Pa. Water, Challenges EPA

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Danzig

Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined hydraulic fracturing didn't contaminate private water wells in Dimock, Pa., the water there is probably not safe to drink, said Ron Bishop, a professor of chemistry at State University of N.Y. at Oneonta.

In fact, Bishop said he isn't sure the EPA is doing a good job educating the area's residents about the potential hazards present in their water.

Dimock, Pa., has been at the front line in the national debate on natural gas drilling through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The drilling technique calls for thousands, possibly millions of gallons of water to be pumped underground with toxic drilling chemicals and sand to fracture natural gas bearing rocks. The water that remains is a toxic sludge -- and a dozen households accuse local drillers of failing to properly clean their private wells after previously contaminating them.

Some area residents say their water looks like chocolate milk. Others have described the water as the color of milk and coffee.

The accusation has been the subject of several investigations by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and most recently the EPA. So far, all findings suggest the water is potable.

Federal regulators in March found traces of arsenic, sodium, methane, chromium and bacteria in the water but those levels were "within safe ranges," the EPA reported.

But Bishop said the levels of heavy metals and salts may not be what is most threatening to human health. He said he is wary of the EPA's declarative conclusions when federal regulators have yet to release their entire data.

Bishop Concerned About Methane

"What we have so far is still preliminary," Bishop said, who added he is convinced the methane present in some of the town's wells came from deep underground -- the natural gas that Cabot Oil is trying to harvest. "Out all the things that give me the most concern, it's the methane."

Methane's solubility with water changes as water gets heated. When water is cold, methane is more soluble and often times fully dissolved, but as water is heated, methane starts breaking off from the water molecules it was attached to, Bishop said. The change in water temperature does not have to be great for methane gas to start leeching from running hot water in either sinks and showers.

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