for chemicals that met those criteria, according to Kenneth Moss, science policy analyst for the agency's Chemical Control Division. Another 27 had bioao cumulation factors of more than 1,000 but less than 5,000 and persistence of more than two months but less than six. EPA allowed commercialization of all 31 of these chemicals. Moss says companies either conducted toxicity testing or provided other data that mitigated EPA's concerns. Cheryl Hogue
Chemistry on parade in Parade American Chemical Society members and their friends and neighbors all over the U.S. found good news about chemistry bundled with their Sunday papers. The Parade magazine supplement to Nov. 7 newspapers contained a prominent article entitled "What Has Chemistry Given Us?" The article, written by astronomer and comet discoverer David H. Levy, features Alexander Scheeline,
professor of chemistry at the University istry and contacted Scheeline, with of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and in- whom he had kept in touch. Scheeline cludes a special sidebar on ACS's Nation- told Levy about NCW and recommendal Chemistry Week (NCW) celebration. ed he call ACS. Staff in the Office of Delivered with most Sunday newspa- Communications coordinated with the pers published around the U.S., Parade society's Membership Division, Educais the largest circulation magazine in tion Division, Publications Division, the nation with 37 million copies distrib- ChemCenter web site staff, and the Ofuted and a "pass-along" readership of 82 fice of Society Services to provide information and photos to Parade and to premillion adults every week. 'This article represents a significant pare materials for reader and member success in reaching the broadest of pub- response to the article. lic audiences with positive messages David L. Schutt, director of the ACS about chemistry and our society," says Office of Legislative & Government AfDenise Graveline, director of the soci- fairs, arranged for all members of Conety's Office of Communications. The Pa- gress to receive copies of the Nov. 7 israde story defines chemistry, explains sue of Parade. And he says his office has what chemists do, gives examples of the gotten a number of callsfrommembers' contributions of their work to everyday offices trying to learn what NCW activimaterials and life-saving pharmaceuti- ties are going on in their districts. cals, and tries to raise readers' comfort ChemCenter staff report that, on Nov. 7, level with the word chemical and with the number of hits to the web site more chemistry in general. than doubled. And traffic on the site is The genesis of this article dates back still running high. 30 years, even before there was such an A limited number of the Parade magevent as NCW. In 1966, Levy was Schee- azine reprints are available from the line's counselor at science camp. When ACS Office of Society Services; call Levy became a contributing editor for (800) 227-5558 or (202) 8724600. Parade, he wanted to write about chemLinda Raber
Fifty molecules assemble to form supramolecular dodecahedron In the early 1980s, Leo A. Paquette's group at Ohio State University, Columbus, synthesized dodecahedrane (C 20 H 20 )» a molecule shaped like the platonic solid having 12 pentagonal faces formed from 2 0 vertexes and 3 0 edges. That synthesis was accomplished in 2 3 steps. Now, by using a self-assembly process, chemists at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, have shown that a much larger and more complex dodecahedron can be built in a single step. Bogdan Olenyuk, formerly a graduate student in chemistry professor Peter J. Stang's lab at Utah, led the way by preparing the two building blocks: tri(4,-pyridyl)methanol, a tridentate molecule that serves as the vertex unit, and a rod
OSOoCFo
I
(C 6 H 5 )3P-Pt-P(C 6 H 5 )3
20 N.
+
30
(C 6 H 5 )3P-Pt-P(C 6 H 5 )3 OS02CF3
like bidentate diplatinum complex that serves as the edge unit. When these are dissolved in an organic solvent at room temperature, metalligand interactions impel 20 vertex units and 30 edge units to assemble themselves into the dodecahedral structure shown, which has the formula C29
