Serving the chemical, life sciences, and laboratory worlds
VOLUME 90, NUMBER 11 MARCH 12, 2012
36 NONPROFIT LABORATORIES
COVER STORY
Patient-focused organizations take drug development into their own hands.
PHARMA OUTSOURCING
42 SCHOOL FOR PLASTICS
Two U.S. universities team up with a plastics association in India to start a polymer university there.
Three case studies illustrate how outsourcing can help a small firm become a big player. PAGE 15
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
44 CONCENTRATES 46 LEGAL LESSONS FROM EUROPE
Indiana University report suggests basing U.S. reform of toxic substances law on European program.
48 CSB SEEKS “SPARTAN” 2013 BUDGET
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “You don’t always get it right sitting in the corner office.” DAVID N. WEIDMAN, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CELANESE PAGE 33
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NEWS OF THE WEEK PROTEIN METALLICA
Zinc ions direct engineered proteins to form complex structures that may have various uses.
Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board’s funding request would barely keep the agency afloat.
50 BUSINESS TAX REFORM
Critics hammer President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul the corporate tax code.
NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS MEETS
Chinese parliament focuses on taming economic growth, tackling environmental issues.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
CHEAPER HYDROGENATIONS
52 CONCENTRATES 54 EARTH’S DEEP SECRETS
COURT HALTS CUCCINELLI’S PROBE
60 OIL-FIELD NANOTECH
CHEMICALS UP FOR REVIEW
64 ADDRESSING WATER
CANADA OKAYS D5 SILOXANE
66 INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION
Create a low-cost catalyst by sprinkling pricey palladium atoms on inexpensive copper particles. Justices don’t allow Virginia’s attorney general to investigate University of Virginia faculty. EPA launches a multiyear plan to evaluate the risks of dozens of chemicals in commerce. Bioaccumulation of personal care ingredient poses no danger, government-approved study finds.
Carnegie Institution scientists study carbon at extremes to uncover its role inside the planet. Consortium develops nanosensors to improve oil yield. Software that maps solvation in protein-ligand binding provides new hope for drug discovery. UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute breaks down department barriers, encourages collaboration.
BIODEFENSE LAB’S REDESIGN
Revised plans would make proposed facility to study animal pathogens safer, more secure. CELL-IMAGING ALTERNATIVE
New RNA-based sensor uses fluorescence to image small molecules and proteins in living cells. DRUG DISCOVERY PARTNERS
Academic hospitals, private firms, and philanthropies join forces to spur innovation.
BUSINESS
27 CONCENTRATES 30 REPLACING TRANS FAT
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ACS NEWS PROJECT SEED COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarshiprecipientsfor2011–12areannounced. ACS COUNCIL PREVIEW
Candidate selection and petitions will be on the agenda at ACS national meeting in San Diego.
THE DEPARTMENTS
5 EDITOR’S PAGE 6 LETTERS 69 ACS COMMENT
Dow Chemical and DuPont launch new crops in hopes of producing more healthful vegetable oils.
33 SCIENCE-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP
David Weidman, Chemical Industry Medal winner, discusses knowledge-based businesses.
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COVER: A worker adjusts a carbon filter at Carbogen Amcis’ pharmaceutical contract manufacturing facility in Switzerland. Carbogen Amcis