ChemWeb Alchemist

In this week’s Alchemist news round up: oscillating carbon fibres could usurp silicon in the world of microscopic video, find out how a sugar molecule seen only on anthrax spores could help defeat the bacterium in the event of a bioterrorism attack. We also report on how the US government has asserted that levels of dioxins and related compounds have fallen in meat and poultry and we discover how to make see-through silver.

Finally, a new surfactant allows oil and water to be mixed and unmixed on demand and could mitigate oil spill disasters. Here’s the skinny: Canadian chemists have synthesised a new surfactant that allows oil and water to be mixed and de-mixed on demand depending on whether carbon dioxide or air is bubbled through the mixture.

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