News & Comment

A bioeconomy — that is, an economy in which fuels, chemicals and other products are sourced from biomass — can contribute to a sustainable and prosperous future. Realizing a bioeconomy will necessitate new methods for processing the complex structure of biomass to produce commodity chemicals. Many exciting opportunities are availing themselves to chemists brave enough to tackle this challenging problem.

Controversy surrounds the perceived absence of a relationship between DNA polymerase fidelity (kinetic discrimination) and free energy changes determined from DNA melting studies (thermodynamic discrimination). Thermodynamic discrimination together with aqueous solvent effects can account for kinetic fidelities on the order of those observed experimentally.

For long-duration space exploration to be successful, it is essential that chemistry research in space — which has been neglected to date — is intensified. The results of this research is also likely to be of benefit to those at home on Earth.

Although there is a keen awareness of the gender gap in the physical sciences, a healthy female representation has yet to be achieved. This article offers some possible explanations, in addition to strategies to more rapidly achieve gender balance in the physical sciences.

Fundamental research is critical to the advancement of society. Such research is promoted by generously supporting talented inviduals to undertake ambitious work. While technology may spawn from these endeavours, it should never be the sole motivation for blue sky research.