Reactive Chemistry Blog

Filtered chemistry news from Robert Slinn for Reactive Reports.

• Tiny magnetic switch discovered - A Kiel research group, headed by Prof Rainer Herges, has succeeded for the first time in directly controlling the magnetic state of a single molecule at room temperature. The switchable molecule, which is the result of a sub-project of the Collaborative Research Centre 677 "Function by Switching", could be used both in the construction of tiny electromagnetic storage units and in medical imaging.
• Cancer drug aids the regeneration of spinal cord injuries ultureCode=en - After a spinal cord injury a number of factors impede the regeneration of nerve cells. Two of the most important of these factors are the destabilization of the cytoskeleton and the development of scar tissue. While the former prevents regrowth of cells, the latter creates a barrier for severed nerve cells. Scientists have now shown that the cancer drug Taxol reduces both regeneration obstacles.
• Hormones dictate breeding success in birds - Max Planck and Princeton University researchers can predict the number of offspring a bird will have based on its prolactin and corticosterone levels
• How toxic are nanoparticles? New ISO standard helps find out - With the rapid growth of nanotechnology-based products, researchers, manufacturers, regulators and consumers are increasingly concerned with their safety and environmental impact. To help address this issue, ISO has published an International Standard to support the inhalation toxicity testing of nanoparticles.
• Development of organic materials that melt by light irradiation - Yasuo Norikane of the Molecular Thin Films Group, the Photonics Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Masaru Yoshida of the Smart Materials Group, the Nanosystem Research Institute of AIST, and others have developed organic materials that melt from solid to liquid (i.e., undergo phase transition) with only the irradiation of light, without heating, and can furthermore be restored to their original solid state.