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Chinese firm buys nylon precursor unit




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Tackling sustainable fertilizer production with an alternative electrolyte

Ionic liquid and aprotic solvent boost efficiency of electrochemical ammonia production




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Innovation is still alive in plastics

Plenty of new polymer technology was on display at the NPE2018 trade show




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Swallowable biosensor dispatches data from pigs’ bellies

Bioluminscent bacteria pair with electronics to detect blood in the gut




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Cobalt coaxes enamides into asymmetric hydrogenation

Chemists use the reaction to develop a greener route to epilepsy drug




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Mini mass specs are still looking for an audience

Decades in the making, miniature mass spectrometers still face technical hurdles to wider commercial adoption




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Detecting traces of fentanyl in the field

Mini mass spec can detect lower opioid levels than other methods




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Sponsored content: How chemistry rocks music festivals

The science enables and enhances the all-encompassing live music experience. 




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How an opossum protein may lead to a broad-spectrum snakebite treatment

San Jose State’s Claire Komives is testing an antivenom inspired by opossum biochemistry against various snake species to prevent deaths in the developing world




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Meet the Janelia chemist crafting glowing molecular tools for neuroscientists

Luke Lavis’s lab teaches old dyes new tricks at the HHMI campus




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Why some cuvettes are difficult to come by

A spot shortage of the analytical sample holder affects some scientists




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Stiff-yet-supple plastic can be reshaped and recycled

Dynamic boron-oxygen networks are key to the new material’s unusual properties




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Discovery of new poppy enzyme might help improve yeast-based opiate synthesis

Adding enzyme to engineered yeast boosts production of thebaine, a key morphine intermediate




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Europe to ban some single-use plastics

New obligations for industry as the region and other areas target the causes of marine litter




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Methane ice dunes spotted on Pluto

Nitrogen sublimation and gentle breezes may form the hills




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Humidity controls supramolecular self-assembly

Trace water that gets into organic solvents can participate actively when molecules start to self-assemble




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Overhaul of scientific incentives needed to fix Ph.D. system, report says

National Academies committee calls for more emphasis on career counseling, teaching, and mentoring for grad students




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Deployment of Merck’s experimental Ebola vaccine well under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The first goal is to thwart the outbreak, but researchers also hope for new insights into combating the virus




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Experimental cancer cell therapies have nearly doubled in six months

A new report from the Cancer Research Institute highlights the U.S. and China as cell therapy leaders




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The difficult search for the right recipe in cancer immunotherapy

With so many ingredients on hand, can the oncology community figure out how to sensibly and efficiently combine checkpoint inhibitors with other drugs?




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Isotopes could sniff out fake truffles

The abundance of carbon-13 relative to carbon-12 reveals whether the key component of white truffle aroma originates from a natural or synthetic source




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Mining archived data for emerging pollutants

Data sharing project lays groundwork for contaminant “early warning network”




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Chemistry in Pictures: Call of Cthulhu




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Drug service provider Alcami to go to another private equity firm

New investor takes on a company trying to combine a range of pharmaceutical services




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CRISPR researchers receive Kavli Prize in Nanoscience

Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, and Virginijus Siksnys win Kavli Prize in nanoscience, renewing Nobel Prize speculation and resurfacing a forgotten name in the CRISPR patent battle




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ACS hosts Festival Training Institute in UAE




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CAS names its 2018 CAS SciFinder Future Leaders




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Corporation Associates offers local section grants




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Bloom Science launches to treat epilepsy with ketogenic-diet-associated gut microbes

The start-up wants to develop treatments based on two kinds of bacteria linked to the antiseizure effects of the ketogenic diet




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HitGen raises funds for DNA-encoded libraries




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Invista to upgrade Texas nylon intermediate facility




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Celebrating eccentric chemistry graduation traditions




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U.S. clears Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto




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Sadara plans pipeline for ethylene and propylene oxide




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Lonza consolidates its New Jersey R&D




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U.S. Congress targets requirements for fluorochemicals in firefighting foams at airports




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Scientists push back against Trump administration’s proposed visa rules




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U.S. EPA proposes final pollution cleanup plan for American Cyanamid site

Goal is getting Pfizer-owned land in New Jersey back into use




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WuXi suggests that investors cool it




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U.K. pilots carbon capture technology




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PerkinElmer acquires Chinese instrument maker




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Cortexyme raises $76 million to test bacterial protease inhibitor in Alzheimer’s




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Alginate businesses ebb and flow




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Chemical Safety Board finalizes investigation into Arkema fires following Tropical Storm Harvey

Agency urges the chemical industry to better prepare for extreme weather




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Career Ladder: Kabrena Rodda

This chemist and military academy grad found a varied career in national security




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Conservators consult Forbes Pigment Collection to solve artwork mysteries

Library of 2,500 samples offers clues about hues, both old and new




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U.S. industries ask Trump administration to endorse global hydrofluorocarbon deal

With EPA regulation overturned in court, companies seek political backing for reducing HFC use domestically




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Colorful hair dyes from blackcurrants

Semipermanent color from anthocyanins in fruit skins are a natural alternative to petroleum-derived dyes




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U.S. EPA advisers want to give formal feedback on plan to restrict the science used by agency

Surprised by proposal, scientific experts to ask agency chief to wait for their feedback before finalizing rule




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Air pollutants in India kill more than 400,000 people a year in urban and rural areas

Sources of pollution differ but models predict more deaths in rural areas because of higher populations there