I was thinking about the recent naming of copernicium the other day, and it struck me that it might be the ideal element for China to adopt as its national element, for no real reason other than Chinese web addresses end in the extension .cn – the symbol for copernicium. I would really like to see the website www.copernicium.cn – maybe I should register the domain…
— australianuggetgold1
That got me wondering about which other countries could adopt national elements on the same basis. A quick hunt around on the net turns up some reasonably obvious ones: Canada (.ca) could take calcium, Australia (.au) is the lucky one with gold, while silver goes to Antigua and Barbuda (.ag) – Argentina (.ar) seems to have missed a trick there, with the country name including the latin name of the element silver, but perhaps they can be noble and accept Argon as a substitute. It appears a portuguese management consultancy has already cashed in on the idea with its website http://platinum.pt.
This week has seen researchers describe how they have solved one the mysteries surrounding how the anti-leprosy drug thalidomide causes devastating birth defects. As reported in Chemistry World, the drug binds to cereblon, a protein that is particularly important in limb development. Hopefully, the research can help identify any future drug candidates that could cause similar problems before they reach the market. (more…)
It’s that time again for an update to the h-index chemistry league tablethat Chemistry World first published in April 2007. While the top three spots of the premier league of chemists is still dominated by Harvard-based chemists, both George Whitesides (pictured right) and Martin Karplus have overtaken fellow Harvardian E J Corey at the top of the table.
The h-index (or Hirsch index) is a scale invented by physicist Jorge Hirsch in 2005 in an attempt to fairly measure research impact. A scientist’s h-index is the highest number of papers they have published which have each amassed at least that number of citations from other authors: Whitesides sits at the top of the table, with an h of 155, having published 155 papers which have each received at least 155 citations.
Thanks to James Weeks of SeparationsNOW, a Wiley-Blackwell website for separation scientists, here’s some more info on the Pittcon Editor’s Awards and the award winners, who are discussing their instruments with Chemistry World‘s Matt Wilkinson and ISC’s Eileen Skelly Frame. This year the awards were kindly sponsored by ISC Publications, Instrument News and Chemistry World.
The March edition of our popular Classic kit column seems to have caused some consternation. The article describes the Vernier scale – which is used to measure distances or angles very precisely – and the man, Pierre Vernier, by whom it was invented.
Included with the piece was an illustration of a Vernier scale (reproduced below), along with the reading of 1.02mm as judged by us here at Chemistry World towers. As the editor of this page and the one who wrote the caption, I have to put my hand up and take responsibility for what does seem to be an erroneous reading – which a couple of keen-eyed readers have pointed out.
Before you read any further, why not have a go at reading the scale yourself – write down your answer and then look below to see whether you’re right.
Well, unless you’ve been half asleep this week, you’ll almost certainly have heard that AstraZeneca (AZ) has firmed up some of the details of the major restructuring and job cuts it announced at the end of January. The official word from the company is that it will be closing several sites and concentrating its R&D efforts on a narrower profile of disease areas.
The company’s R&D sites at Charnwood near Loughborough, UK, and Lund, Sweden, will be closed, with some employees moving to Alderley Park and Macclesfield in Cheshire, UK, and Mölndal, Sweden. The Avlon site near Bristol, UK, will cease pharmaceutical development and become purely a manufacturing facility. In the US, the site in Wilmington, Delaware, will end its early-stage discovery research, with some staff transferring to Boston, Massachussetts.
As the company said in January, not all of these jobs will be lost – about half of the 3,500 ‘affected’ R&D positions will be transferred elsewhere within the company.
A couple of AZ’s subsidiaries are also facing the axe – KuDOS in Cambridge, UK, is to close and the company are looking to sell Arrow Therapeutics in London.
In terms of research areas, the company has said that it is dropping research into thrombosis; acid reflux; ovarian and bladder cancers; systemic scleroderma; schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety; hepatitis C and vaccines other than respiratory syncytial virus and influenza. Some of these might come as a surprise to some readers, as AZ’s track record in a few of these diseases is pretty good – its thrombosis therapy Brilinta (ticagrelor) is currently heading through the FDA approval process after a solid Phase III performance and is predicted to become a blockbuster.
In response to the announcement, Lord Drayson, the UK’s science andinnovation minister said ‘I’m obviously disappointed that AstraZeneca is closing Charnwood, but the announcement that Alderley Park will become one of AZ’s top three global R&D sites shows that the UK remains an attractive location for investment in pharmaceuticals.’ (more…)
Thanks to James Weeks of 
