LETTERS CHEMICAL & ΕΝΘΙΝΕΕΜΝΘ NEWS 1155—16 th St.. N.W.. Washington, DC 20036 (202) 872-4600 or 1800) 227-5558
Polluting across state lines
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NEWS EWTORi William G. Schulz EDlTOR-AT-LARQEi Michael HeyUn CONTRIBUTINO EDITORS· Susan J. Ainsworth, Κ. Μ. Reese SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER· Marvel A. W i l l s ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT· Marilyn Caracciolo
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eOVERNMENtAPOlltpY '. D*teJ.Hafisori,Àssï^^ ^
Àl^^i SPECIAL ÎEATU Lif^ Raber,As9Ϋtl^fiaglng Editor . Victoria M. Ôiûtian|A^istantEtJHor),
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Corinne A Marasco (Associate Editor), AalokMehta (Assistant Edttor)
EDITING «t PRODUCTION .. Robin M. Giroux, Assistant Managing Editor Mellsse A. Bt^dpcklEdrtor^l Assistant). Janet S. Dodd'iSeito β ά ^ Editor), Deanna Miller (Associate EaHtorj; §ephen M. Trzaska (Associate Editor). Undà Wang (AssisUnt Editor) C ^ N ONLINE MejbèyVolth, Editor Luis A. CairriUo (production Ménager). ,. Wes M. Undamood (Production Associate). Rachel Shèremeta Pepllng (Associate Editor), Nkk Wafle (Manager, Chemiobs) PRODUCTION Λ IMAGING Krystal Ε. King (Senior Digital ProductionAssociate) S A L E S * MARKETING Elise Swinehart,Manager ADVISORY BOARD Paul S. Anderson, Shendà M. Baker. Donna G. Blackmond, Stephanie À Burns, Alison Butler, Joe Carleone. Sibrjna N. Collins, Terry Cotlins.Thomas M. Connelly Jt\, Thomas E. D'Ambra, Richard M. Gross, Rudolf Hanko, L Louis Hegedus, Nancy B. Jackson, Fran Keeth. Suntt Kumar, Robert L Uchter. Joseph A. Loo. Peter Nagler, Peter Pollak, Lura J. Powell, Géraldine L Richmond. Gregory H. Robinson. Michael Ε. Rogers, Jay M. Short, Joel Tickner, Sergey A Vasnetsov Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Madeleine Jacobs, Executive Director Robert D. Bpvenschulte. President, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD Theodore L Brown (Chair). ACS Board of Directors Chain James D. Burke, ACS President: Charles P. Casey, Ned D. Hèindel Peter C. Jure, Eisa Reichmanis, Peter J. Stang • ·' Copyright 2004, American Chemical Society Canadian GST fteg. No. R127571347
ROBERT SIMONOFF
Waldwick,NJ.
A
RECENT GOVERNMENT & POLICY
Concentrate notes that out-of-state air pollution affects North Carolina ("North Carolina seeks curbs on out-ofstate air pollution," C&EN, March 29, page 19). The air pollution seems to stem from coal-fired power plants in neighboring states. Asimple solution to that problem would be to generate electricity in efficient nonpolluting nuclear power plants. Another advantage is that this prevents black lung disease seen in coal miners. In France, 85% of electricity is generated in efficient nuclear power plants. They devised a system to encase used fuel rods in glass by embedding the used fuel rods in sand and heating the sand to its melting point.
(Senlor&flt&tf^ SCIENCE/TECKNOtOÔY/EDUCATION Doron Dao^ni.A^istantMa^giriJB Editor WASHINtTONt ^ O T ^ - U r t S j ^ A. Gorman (Senior Correspondent), Lôufafcm Lteiton (Assistant Editor); Bethaoyiia^ord (Assistant Editor], Celia M. Henry (Ât^mt^^itof);3te^ Editor), A, MaureenRouhi (Senior Correspondent), Sophie tiv Rovne»'(Senior Editor^ Amanda T. Yarnell (Associate Editor). CMicÀeo. (847Ί $79-1156. Mitch Jacoby(SeniorEdrtor). WEST JÔOASt^Î510) 849-0575. EUzabe^jiCyWlson (Sei^.É^.to:NJiÇlil^4< 1256 81105ZMkhielFree^ntu^^
pharmacists, following a prescription written by a physician, poses no danger.
J O H N H . WEISBURGER
Valhalla, N.Y.
A compound history
T
HE
ARTICLE "DRUG REGULATION,"
concerning compounding pharmacies, doesn't tell the whole story (C&EN, April 12, page 24). The manufacturers that the article calls compounding pharmacies are not compounding pharmacies. In the 1930s, when I was a pharmacy student, all drugstores were compounding pharmacies. This continued through the '40s, when I was a relief pharmacist while attending graduate school. Physicians wrote prescriptions that had to be compounded. It wasn't until the '50s when well-known pharmaceutical manufacturers began to prepackage dosage forms, that the term compounding pharmacy was born. The correct definition of compounding pharmacy is in the second paragraph of the article. Drug compounding by registered
CORRECTIONS March 29, page 50: Butler University should have been included in the table of chemistry degrees awarded in 2001-02 by schools offering an American Chemical Society-approved chemistry program. Butler had Uk bachelor's graduates, two of whom earned ACS-certified degrees. April 12, page 26: Six tons of phenylbutazone, not phenylbutanone, was recalled.
Someone will lose an eye
I
WAS
STRUCK BY THE LACK OF PERSON-
al protective equipment (PPE) that the chemist was using on the front cover of C&EN's April 19 issue. Aface shield is secondary PPE and is designed to protect the face and provide additional impact and splash protection for the eyes. He should be wearing safety glasses or safety goggles in addition to the face shield, as the safety glasses and goggles provide primary protection for the eyes.
KAY LAMPE HANNASCH
Johnston, Iowa
Scolding the NanoKids
A
s ONE WHO EXAMINES THE DEVEL-
opment of humanoid and ro botic behavior in molecular systems, I call into question the description given to efforts to create anthropomorphic mole cules. The structures denoted in your recent article (C&EN, April 5, page 71) and in the original publication [jf. Org. Chem., 68,8750 (2003)] "cherrypick" a structural depiction of a class of polyacetylenes as given by the artistic placement of bonds using conventional vector-based drawing programs such as ChemDraw While suggestive as drawn and even modeled, a significant portion of the conformational space taken up by the molecules described as "NanoKids" adopts conformations that are nothing like what the human anatomy is capable of. Moreover, such structural assignments can be confirmed using the appropriate chemical physics; such studies were not presented. These self-termed "NanoKids" contain molecular arrangements defined by their artistry but not by their chemical structure. The worst part of this scheme stems from the fact that young minds are being led to believe that such structures are correctly ascribed. Ifwe are to use popular vehicles to encourage interest in chemistry, should we not require their structures to be properly depicted? Is that not one of the primary roles of the chemist?
JAMES J. LA CLAIR
La Jolla, Calif. HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
C&EN
/
MAY 1 0, 2 0 0 4
5
LETTERS
Visa check
A
S A CHINESE GRADUATE STUDENT
studying chemistry in the U.S., I could n't agree more with what Victoria Gilman and William G. Schulz wrote about visa hurdles for international chemistry stu dents (C&EN, April 5, page 67). I would like to make one point more clear. One factor that makes the graduate students in the U.S. from China more vulnerable to visa delays is that a U.S. visa for a Chinese student is only valid for six months and good for two en tries. After your visa expires, you can still legally stay in the U.S., but you will have to renew your visa if you go back to China for a vacation. Currendy this renewal process must be done through an interview with a consular official and is subject to a potential Visas Mantis check. Previously the interview was waived for most of the continuing stu dents renewing their visas in China. Another point is that many continuing Chinese graduate students in the U.S. sac rifice their emotional life for doing re search. An informal survey of 70 Chinese graduate students at the University of Cal ifornia, Los Angeles, shows that 82% of them have stayed in the U.S. for an average 28 months without a home vacation back to China. Among these students who haven't gone back to China to unite with their parents for a long time, 84% of them chose not to go back simply because they feared that they would be checked with a Visas Mantis if they did go back. No won der another Chinese graduate student at UCLA told me that he won't go back to China for a vacation until he gets his Ph.D. first. Students don't want their graduate studies delayed for no good reason. It's gratifying to see that many U.S. uni versity officials have noticed this problem. Actually, some organizations in the US. have started work aimed at changing the current visa situation for international stu dents. I'd like to drawyour attention to the website http://www.visareform.net. One idea proposed there is about "pre-check," which means you voluntarily subject your self to a "security clearance" check before your visa interview, and then your visagranting process can be sped up with this "security clearance." Many people and organizations are working together to convince Congress and the U.S. government to change the visa policy. I hope more people can join the movement to help solve the current visa delay crisis for international students, es pecially graduate students from China. D E - E N JIANG
Los Angeles 6
C & E N / MAY 1 0, 2 0 0 4
G
EORGE M. BODNER MAKES THE IM-
portant observation that "there's no encouragement for people [in the U.S.} to stay in science" and suggests that this is because more of the best students choose business majors leading to more lu crative careers. After many conversations with science and engineering students over the past few years, I have noticed a relat ed factor: the growing fear that after years of hard work and training, a US.-citizen scientist or engineer might lose his or her job to a foreign worker. The consequences of job outsourcing and hiring temporary workers are now get ting more attention by the press; never theless, the public has largely accepted the tech industry's urban myth that US. citi zens, of whatever ethnic background, are somehow less technically able than for eigners. This perception, which has been extended to scientists and engineers in general, persists despite the fact that no quantitative empirical data have ever been produced to support it. Clever marketing techniques have ob scured the simple fact, known in Silicon Valley for years, that foreign workers are not necessarily better qualified, but will work longer hours for significantly lower pay It's widely known, but somehow nev er openly acknowledged, that Η-IB tem porary workers from certain cultures are hired not so much for their perceived smarts as for their docility; management sees them as more tractable and less like ly to question authority, not only due to their cultural backgrounds, but also be cause their visa status is totally dependent on their employer's whim, leaving them open to termination or deportation on a moment's notice. It's a little bit more than disingenuous for CEOs to lament that they can't find qualified US.-citizen scientists and engi neers while they manage to lay off thou sands of them. When pressed on this, the industry reiterates the "technical incom petence" fable, but this begs several ques tions. More than one firm has laid off U.S. citizens and withheld benefits and sever ance pay unless these employees trained their foreign replacements. From a purely cost-benefit viewpoint, why would these companies choose "technically incompe tent" people to train newly hired employ ees? And if "cost is not a factor," as some industry representatives claim, then is it simply a coincidence that foreign workers' salaries are on average significantly lower than those of comparatively trained U.S. citizens? Certain industry sectors envision a hi
erarchical business model in which top management consists of Americans with business degrees overseeing cheap foreign labor doing scientific and technical work. Though sure to bring in fast money, this model threatens the future of scientific ed ucation and research in the U.S., creates serious national security issues, and dis courages bright American students from pursuing a technical career. It may even be bad for business, as the hidden costs and pitfalls of depending on cheap labor be come evident. What can we do about this? As chem ists, we should make it a priority to not perpetuate myths about scientific ability being linked to citizenship or national ori gin. Professional organizations like ACS must also publicly speak out against mar keting fables while working closely with industry to address the very real risks of basing critical business models on shaky short-term profits. ELIZABETH AMBROSE A M I N
Minneapolis
I
VERY MUCH APPRECIATED THE ARTICLE
by Gilman and Schulz on how graduate programs in the top 50 U.S. chemistry departments are being affected by the cur rent visa policies. The authors substantiate the common observation that foreign stu dents have major difficulties entering the U.S. due to significant constrictions by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Al though arguably hurting graduate pro grams the most, this recent phenomenon extends further to attendance of scientif ic events such as ACS national meetings or Gordon Research Conferences. Having shared and benefited from the experience of attending graduate school at one of the nation's prime departments, it upsets me to see politicians' and bu reaucrats' negative influence on education. Recently, an Indian student from my re search group, who planned on presenting his work at the ACS Anaheim meeting, was denied his visa application. As a matter of fact, graduate students (in Germany) orig inating from China, India, or Eastern Eu rope are basically not admitted to the US. any longer when trying to attend meetings. This affects the meetings and, in the long term, U.S. chemistry departments as well, since they rely heavily on the import of in ternational postdoctoral expertise. In general, scientists have always valued communication across borders—interest ingly, across international borders more than across disciplines. Without a doubt, exchange of information is fundamental and essential for the scientific community HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
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LETTERS While competition certainly has its merits, working together on solving problems is key to the development of science and technology that is the basis of modern society. Colleagues in the U.S. should be worried about this recent trend. There is nothing to add to Bodner's statement: "We haven't seen much of a negative impact. But I would follow that with a big 'Yet.' "
odor, whereas mirror-image optical isomers can have identical spectra but may have different odors. Consequently, odor and vibrational spectra are uncoupled. The theory is untenable. There are many pertinent references that could be cited, but why whip a dead horse? F O I L A. M I L L E R
Pittsburgh, Pa.
STEFAN H E C H T
Berlin
Have prionp will travel
Raising a stink
E
I
T SURPRISED ME TO SEE THE ARTICLE
about the work of Leslie B. Vosshall and Andreas Keller testing LucaTuriris idea that the sense of odor is related to the vibrational spectra of molecules (C&EN, March 29, page 9). W h y has this theory been resuscitated, and why are workers going to great lengths to discredit it, when it was incontestably disproved for humans more than 30 years ago? Perhaps a brief review would be worthwhile. The theory postulates that the sense of smell depends on the vibrational spectrum of the molecule causing the odor. This was suggested at least as far back as 1947 in two abstracts published in tandem in Science by L. H. Beck and W R. Miles [106A, 511 and 512 (1947)1. C. W Young, D. E. Pletcher, and N . Wright—well-regarded infrared spectroscopists at DowChemical—pointed out that ifthe theory were correct, a compound and its deuterated derivatives should have different odors even though they have almost identical chemical properties because their vibrational spectra are different [Science, 108,411 (1948)]. This is not the case, as pointed out by those authors and confirmed often since then. Isotopic pairs have the same odor—for example, CHC1 3 and CDC1 3 , C 6 H 6 and C 6 D 6 , normal and deuterated acetophenone (studied by Vosshall and Keller), and many others. Additional evidence is provided by optical isomers. Enantiomers have identical vibrational spectra because they are mirror images. % t some (although not all) enantiomeric pairs are known to have different odors. This was also pointed out by Young, Pletcher, and Wright, and was shown convincingly in two independent papers appearing in tandem in Science by G. F. Russell andJ. I. Hills {172,1043 (1971)} and L. Friedman and J. G. Miller [172, 1044 (1971)]. For example, R(-)-carvone has the odor of spearmint, whereas S(+)-carvone has the odor of caraway Numerous other examples are known. Hence isotopic molecules can have different vibrational spectra but the same 8
C & E N / MAY 1 0. 2004
DWARD CORCORAN ASKS HOW PRIONS
can move from animal to animal without consumption of tissue of the infected animal by the new victim (C&EN, Feb. 16, page 6). Taking "prion" in the general sense ofproteinaceous infectious particle, the literature provides some possible answers. Amoebae of the genus Naegleria natively contain a substance termed Naegleria amoeba cytopathogenic material (NACM), which has the general properties of a prion (sensitivity to protein-destroying reagents, insensitivity to nucleic acid-destroying conditions, amplification of titer in the presence of living host cells). For a leading reference, see "Morphological Response of Cultured Cells to Naegleria Amoeba Cytopathogenic Material" [J. Cell Set., 75,1(1985)1. The presence of such a material in a nonmammalian organism suggests two possibilities: that "prions" existing natively in these organisms could be transmitted to mammals infected by them, or that nonmammalian organisms might serve as intermediate hosts, being infected by one mammal (perhaps by parasitism or in the course of putrefaction) and infecting in turn another mammal that consumed or was parasitized by them. STEPHEN JACOBS
Elberon, N.J.
A career jump start
I
READ W I T H GREAT INTEREST YOUR COV-
er story on 2004 Priestley Medalist Elias J. Corey and his Priestley Medal Address "Impossible Dreams," (C&EN, March 29, pages 37 and 42). I was a chemistry classmate of Corey's at Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology After graduating in 1948,1 attended the University of Illinois and received my Ph.D. in 1951, whereas Corey remained at MIT, also receiving his Ph.D. in 1951. As I remember, in early 1951,1 saw Nelson Leonard in the Noyes Lab men's room, and he asked me what I knew about Corey I told him that he was a brilliant chemist and then added, rightly or wrongly, that
John Sheehan received the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (in 1951) because of the work of Corey He then told me that Corey had applied to Illinois as a postdoctoral fellow, but maybe they might hire him instead as an instructor. I also mentioned that Corey as a senior at M I T took firstyear graduate courses with the graduate students, since he had already taken all the undergraduate chemistry courses offered by M I T and even as an undergraduate ranked his classes. I would like to take credit for playing a major role in getting Corey on the chemistry staffat Illinois, but I suspect that I was just one of many FRANKLIN E. MANGE
St. Louis HOW TO REACH US CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR • Our e-mail address is
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