Nov 5, 2009

Alchemical Anomalies

Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley

In the current issue of The Alchemist we learn how to stick methane molecules to metals without breaking carbon-hydrogen bonds and how to make impossible carbene catalysts without the usual prerequisite of an attendant metal centre.

Another seeming impossibility comes to light: a new microscopy technique for visualizing non-fluorescing biomolecules using the kind of stimulated emission suggested by Einstein almost a century ago.

An exchange program leads to a new way to make nanoscopic tools from tiny wires of cadmium sulfide, we hear, while an extract of grape skin shows promise as a novel therapy for sickle cell anaemia.

Finally, a young medicinal chemist receives a prestigious American Chemical Society fellowship in organic chemistry.

All the write-ups and links in the current issue of the ChemWeb chemistry zine.