The first Alchemist sightings of 2013 see evolving glass, negative temperatures and steroid mass production. As festive celebrations fade into memory, we ponder novel nanotech applications for the Christmas tree and muse on what makes pink diamonds…well…pink. Finally, new year celebrations for a boron chemist to be honored by Obama.
via The Alchemist Newsletter:Jan 11, 2013 — Welcome to ChemWeb.
Microcalcification, the name of the game - Minute deposits of calcium in breast tissue act as a marker for breast cancer. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy has now been used to show how deposits in benign conditions can be distinguished from those present in the early stages of the disease.
Microcalcification in breast tissue can be a sign of malignancy, but more often than not they are simply a residue of a benign condition. Now, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University have turned to diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to help them develop a clinical approach that might help doctors distinguish between cancerous and noncancerous incidence of such deposits.
The Alchemist ups the "anti" this week with a look at aromaticity while the salty problem of fracking is high on the agenda once more but this time with a prehistoric perspective. Cleaner fuels might soon be available thanks to nanoscopic scrubbers while a new form of water emerges from the limbo between liquid and vapor when a little oil is added to the mix. Synthetic chemists have given a much needed shot in the arm for antiviral flu drugs and there's a "XMaS" bonus in the offing for European X-ray scientists.
About