The paltry representation of women in leading positions in science has long been a matter of considerable embarrassment for Germany. In 2006, the proportion of women in top positions in the main German science organisations – including the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Society, the Leibniz Society and the Fraunhofer Society – hovered, in best cases, around 5%. Read more
Everyone in the UK wants a slice of Olympic pie, and you can hardly blame chemists for getting in on the act. A team at the University of Warwick led by Anish Mistry and David Fox have forged a synthetic route to the five-ring polyaromatic hydrocarbon dubbed olympicene, which can be regarded as a little fragment of graphene. They have teamed up with researchers at IBM’s research laboratory in Zurich to take a snapshot of this molecule with atomic resolution – a direct confirmation that its name is warranted. Seeing this degree of detail in a molecular structure has only recently become possible thanks to advances in atomic force microscopy: conventional imaging with a scanning tunnelling microscope would provide only a blurry view of the molecule’s trapezoidal shape, without the visible ring structure. Read more
Seeking the ever-elusive middle ground, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff carefully wielded her veto to eliminate the most controversial provisions of a landmark forestry bill on Friday. But she stopped short of the outright veto sought by many in the environmental and scientific communities, both at home and abroad. Read more
Ethanol has dominated much of the biofuel industry’s attention over the past few years. But synthetic biology companies are now scaling up production of what some say is a superior fuel: butanol, an alcohol with four carbon atoms to ethanol’s two. Compared to ethanol, butanol stores more energy per litre, is less corrosive to pipelines, is more easily separated from water, and can be blended into gasoline (petrol) at higher concentrations before vehicle engines are damaged. Read more
Dragon has become the first private spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. The cargo capsule, built by SpaceX and launched on a Falcon 9 rocket on 22 May, reached the station today just before 10 am Eastern time. Read more
Argentina is nationalising its science output, following last month’s nationalisation of energy company YPF. Only this time, the benefits should be international. On 23 May the house of representatives, Argentina’s lower house, approved a bill that would require the results of all scientific research conducted at the Argentina’s National System for Science and Research or by researchers funded by it to be made freely available in an online depository. Read more
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning of fossil fuel reached a record high of 31.6 billion metric tonnes in 2011, according to preliminary estimates by the International Energy Agency(IEA). Read more
The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) voted on 24 May to accept a new strategic plan which shrinks or eliminates support for basic research, facilities and training, while funneling more of its funds toward clinical development. “The first stage of CIRM was really exploring the field,” said Ellen Feigal, senior vice president of R&D. “The next five years should be one of more focus.” By July 2013, the agency hopes to have two programmes approved for clinical trials in the United States. Read more
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The report produced by the investigators does not say so explicitly, probably out of fear of prejudicing future criminal/civil inquiries,… ... Read more
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