Home  About C&EN CLICs

Chemical & Engineering News is a professional chemistry journal published weekly to keep the 158,000 members of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, informed of important developments in chemistry, industry, and business.  Through special arrangement with the ACS, the Journal of Chemical Education is now able to provide its members with online access to C&EN articles that have been chosen specifically for secondary science instructors and their students. 
More information about C&EN CLICs

This page contains the most recent C&EN CLICs. Here are links to previous selections:

October - December 2005
July - September 2005
April - June 2005
January - March 2005

Issue:  October 3, 2005, p. 35
Title:  Molecules Take a Walk
Description:  Scientists have designed a molecule that “walks” across a surface in a straight line by putting one bond in front of the other; such purposeful control of a molecule's motion is vital for advancing fields such as molecular self-assembly, molecular machines, and computing.
Keywords:  Nanotechnology; Molecular Properties / Structure; Noncovalent Interactions
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/83/8340scic.html#5

Issue:  October 3, 2005, pp. 36-39
Title:  Green Polymer Field Blossoming
Description:  A recent symposium examined a major initiative to utilize renewable and environmentally benign starting materials obtained from agricultural, animal, and microbial resources (such as soybean oil) for the synthesis of a wide range of bioplastics with properties comparable to or better than those of widely used industrial polymers; deploying such biodegradable starting materials protects the environment by partially or completely substituting for petroleum-based inputs.
Keywords:  Green Chemistry; Polymer Chemistry; Applications of Chemistry; Environmental Chemistry; Agricultural Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/83/8340sci1.html

Issue:  October 10, 2005, pp. 40-41
Title:  Handling Nuclear Evidence
Description:  Since 1992, there have been hundreds of cases involving the seizure of suspected nuclear contraband; in response, the field of nuclear forensics sprang up, charging itself with developing ways to deduce the material's origin, age, and probable intended use.
Keywords:  Nuclear / Radiochemistry; Isotopes; Analytical Chemistry; Applications of Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/83/8341sci1.html

Issue:  October 10, 2005, pp. 42-43
Title:  Nanotech Makes Your Brown Eyes Blue
Description:  These days, colored contacts aren’t just for making eyes more dazzling; vision care companies are making colored contacts that give athletes an edge and improve the appearance of disfigured eyes.
Keywords:  Nanotechnology; Applications of Chemistry; Dyes / Pigments; Consumer Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/83/8341sci2.html

Issue:  October 17, 2005, p. 5
Title:  Energy is Chemistry’s Challenge
Description:  A review of the maximum energy that could be optimally obtained from biomass, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources concludes that these sources will fail to meet global energy demands by 2050; the answer to this dilemma over the long term must lie in solar energy.
Keywords:  Applications of Chemistry; Environmental Chemistry; Photochemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/editor/83/8342edit.html

Issue:  October 24, 2005, p. 13
Title:  Nanocar Rolls Into Action
Description:  The world's first molecular car zips about on fullerene wheels across a gold surface and is directed by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope; a nanotruck that can transport molecular cargo as well as a light-driven motorized nanocar have also been developed.
Keywords:  Nanotechnology; Application of Chemistry; Molecular Properties / Structure
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i43/8343nanocar.html

Issue:  October 24, 2005, p. 17
Title:  Antifreeze Proteins Help Snow Fleas Get Through Winter
Description:  A species of springtail produces a pair of antifreeze proteins that allow it to remain active in the cold of winter by lowering the freezing point of its body fluids by nearly 6 °C; the finding could lead to potential protein-based antifreeze applications, such as frost-resistant crops.
Keywords:  Biochemistry; Proteins / Peptides; Natural Products; Applications of Chemistry; Agricultural Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i43/8343notw9.html

Issue:  October 24, 2005, pp. 96-98
Title:  No One Size Fits All
Description:  A concept called universal design for learning may help educators reach students who aren't being well-served by current instructional methods.  Its roots are in education for students with physical or learning disabilities, but it is proving to be good for all students.
Keywords:  Learning Theories
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/education/83/8343education1.html

Issue:  November 7, 2005, pp. 26-28
Title:  Young Students Wowed by Science
Description:  Created and directed by Ohio State University analytical chemistry professor Susan V. Olesik, the Wonders of Our World science education program based in Columbus, Ohio, supplements existing science programs in elementary schools by providing training workshops for teachers on how to conduct hands-on experiments in the physical and biological sciences. The program then provides scientist volunteers to assist the teachers in carrying out the experiments with their students.
Keywords:  Professional Development
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/education/83/8345students.html

Issue:  November 14, 2005, p. 53
Title:  Kava
Description:  The traditional Polynesian beverage relaxes some, but its appearance and bitter taste gross out others.
Keywords:  Consumer Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/83/8346kava.html

Issue:  November 21, 2005, p. 54
Title:  Where Chemistry and Art Meet
Description:  Students investigate the intersection of art and science through their study of color and pigments.
Keywords:  Interdisciplinary / Multidisciplinary; Dyes / Pigments
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i47/8347art.html

Issue:  November 28, 2005, p. 7
Title:  Ice Core Record Extended
Description:  Analyses of air trapped in ice cores drilled at Vostok Station in East Antarctica show current atmospheric CO₂ at the highest level in 650,000 years.
Keywords:  Environmental Chemistry; Atmospheric Chemistry; Gases
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i48/8348notw1.html

Issue:  December 5, 2005, p. 62
Title:  Essential Elements of Murder
Description:  The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison by John Emsley is a discussion of the forensic aspects of poisonous substances and their toxicological features, organized around the more toxic chemical elements. Especially interesting are his discussions of criminal cases in which a toxic agent was used as a weapon for murder. For those readers interested in the environmental impact of these toxic elements, the author has included a detailed summary of the tragic mercury poisoning during the 1950s in Minamata Bay , Japan , and the slow poisoning of millions of Bangladeshis by naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater.
Keywords:  Toxicology; Metals; Environmental Chemistry; Forensic Chemistry
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/books/83/8349books1.html

Issue:  December 5, 2005, p. 63
Title:  With Chemistry, The Joy Is In The Doing
Description:  In The Joy of Chemistry, authors Cathy Cobb and Monty L. Fetterolf provide us with a shopping list and directions on how to make your own new and improved version of the classic chemistry set. And they have added three major items those chemistry sets never had: the theory, background, and application of the science. The Joy of Chemistry may closely match the chemistry textbook you wish you had. There is a sense of magic in the demonstrations Cobb and Fetterolf provide, which are interwoven with applications.
Keywords:  Applications of Chemistry; Consumer Chemistry; Public Understanding / Outreach
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/books/83/8349books2.html

Issue:  December 12, 2005, pp. 12-17
Title:  Chemistry At Play
Description:  ACS volunteers of all ages explore the "Joy of Toys" with glittering slime, bouncy balls, and other playthings during National Chemistry Week 2005.
Keywords:  Applications of Chemistry; Consumer Chemistry; Public Understanding / Outreach
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/83/8350chemistryweek.html

Issue:  December 12, 2005
Title:  Shifting Light Into Reverse
Description:  A new nanomaterial of minuscule gold rods embedded in glass has a negative index of refraction and could lead to dramatic new optical technologies. The wave motion of certain light passing through this material ends up traveling backward even as the light itself moves forward—a dynamic akin to peddling backward on a coasting bike. Using such material, visualizing proteins in intact cells with optical microscopes could become routine.
Keywords:  Nanotechnology; Materials Science
URL:  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i50/8350material.html