ACS has two new Congressional fellows

The United States may have its first set of national science and technology goals this year if Congress clears a bill which has been inpreparation for five years. The House Science and Technology Committee has turned over its finished National Science and Technology Policy and Organization Act of 1975 for House consideration after compiling some 2500 pages of expert testimony and analyses of the nation's scientific and technological priorities.Congressman Olin E. Teague, cosponsor of the bill and chairman of the Science and Technology Committee which shaped it, said the bill would provide the nation with unified objectives and priorities for science and technology and would help prevent future crises of energy, food, and material shortages. It would also establish a new Office of Science and Technology Policy to assist the President and a Federal Science and Technology Survey Committee to monitor the new federal science and technology activities.

During a November 1989 conference on radiation exposure measurement, scientists from what was then the Soviet Union toasted the birth of an arrangement they hoped would grow into a lasting business partnership. A Cleveland company that makes radiation dosimetry equipment such as the exposure badges worn by workers in nuclear power plants, expects to import as many as 100,000 radiation-sensitive disks of synthetic sapphire (aluminum oxide) from the Soviet Union. When doped with carbon atoms, the crystals can monitor radiation levels 40 times fainter than the levels picked up by the lithium fluoride-based materials usually used in the West, a sensitivity that it is hoped will make them the standard in the nuclear industry. Earlier this month the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, proposed setting up a $200 million foundation to fund Russian research in areas including materials science.

On July 27, the Democratic minority on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee (SST), Ranking Member Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), released a staff report, Out of Focus: A Critical Assessment of the Senate Report, “The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope.”

Testimony presented before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Subcommittee on Research and Technology and Subcommittee on Oversight on July 31, 2014.

Renowned chemist, respected leader, and inspiring mentor

Irritable bowel syndrome: present and prospective pharmacological intervention.

Authors

A decade on, the situation portrayed in the influential report of a deteriorating US science and technology ecosystem has, if anything, worsened.

HAVING SOLVED all the other pressing problems of the nation, Congress and the Obama Administration seem to be getting serious about guaranteeing that equal numbers of women and men have careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. The blunt instrument they are prepared to use to accomplish this goal is Title IX, the provision in the 1972 civil rights law that forbids discrimination in education by gender. Evidence for science as a target for gender equalization comes from both a recent White House conference and a hearing of the House Science & Technology Committee. Both events were stacked with presenters calling for greater participation of women in science and engineering, with little discussion about whether there is a need or desire for such a change. The White House conference celebrated the 37th anniversary of the landmark civil rights law. Hosted by Valerie B. Jarrett, a personal adviser to President Barack Obama, the event featured speakers who ...

Discrimination of ocular discomfort between contact lenses

Biosynthesis of Mannophosphoinositides by Mycobacterium phlei. The Family of Dimannophosphoinositides(Brennan, P., and Ballou, C. E. (1967) J. Biol. Chem. 242, 3046–3056)Biosynthesis of Mannophosphoinositides by Mycobacterium phlei. Enzymatic Acylation of the Dimannophosphoinositides(Brennan, P., and Ballou, C. E. (1968) J. Biol. Chem. 243, 2975–2984) Biosynthesis of Mannophosphoinositides by Mycobacterium phlei. The Family of Dimannophosphoinositides (Brennan, P., and Ballou, C. E. (1967) J. Biol. Chem. 242, 3046–3056) Biosynthesis of Mannophosphoinositides by Mycobacterium phlei. Enzymatic Acylation of the Dimannophosphoinositides (Brennan, P., and Ballou, C. E. (1968) J. Biol. Chem. 243, 2975–2984) Clinton Edward Edgerton Ballou was born in King Hill, Idaho in 1923. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in a premed program at Boise Junior College, but his interests quickly turned to chemistry after he dissected a poorly embalmed cat in a comparative anatomy course. After 2 years at Boise, Ballou pursued a degree in chemistry at Oregon State College in Corvallis where he became involved in two research projects: the first during his junior year synthesizing new antimalarial drugs with Bert Christensen, and the second during his senior year studying the guinea pig “antistiffness factor” with Willem van Wagtendonk. The military draft was in effect as Ballou entered his last year of college so he decided to join the U. S. Navy after graduating in 1944. He was discharged 2 years later and decided to apply for graduate study in biochemistry with Karl Paul Link at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As detailed in a previous Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) Classic (1JBC Classics: Campbell H.A. Link K.P. J. Biol. Chem. 1941; 138 (Stahmann, M. A., Huebner, C. F., and Link, K. P. (1941) J. Biol. Chem.138, 513–527; Overman, R. S., Stahmann, M. A., Huebner, C. F., Sullivan, W. R., Spero, L., Doherty, D. G., Ikawa, M., Graf, L., Roseman, S., and Link, K. P. (1944) J. Biol. Chem.153, 5–24 (http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/280/8/e5)): 21-33Abstract Full Text PDF Google Scholar), Link's research centered on blood anticoagulants, and when Ballou arrived in his laboratory in 1946, the primary focus was the structure-function relationship of coumarin anticoagulants. Ballou was immediately intrigued when he learned of a failed attempt to synthesize the glucoside of dicumarol because the acetylated intermediate was degraded in the alkali conditions used for deacetylation. Because glycosides are acetals, which are typically acid-labile and alkali-stable, Ballou decided to study a variety of synthetic compounds to try to understand the structural basis for alkali sensitivity. This research formed the core of his doctoral dissertation, and his exposure to carbohydrate chemistry influenced the direction of his career. After earning his Ph.D. in 1950, Ballou did a year-long postdoctoral fellowship with E. L. Hirst in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. There he studied the structure of maple sapwood starch. At the end of the year, Ballou returned to the U. S. to work with Hermann O. L. Fischer (the son of Nobel laureate Hermann Emil Fischer) at the University of California, Berkeley. Ballou explained his choice: “I was attracted to Fischer in part because of his research on phosphorylated sugars but also because during graduate school I had drawn heavily on the published works of his father, Emil Fischer. I guess the idea of being associated with the son of Emil Fischer just seemed ‘real cool’ to me” (2Ballou C.E. My brief encounter with the phosphoinositides and IP3..J. Biol. Chem. 2004; 279: 54975-54982Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar). The 1950s was a time of active research on biosynthetic pathways involving short chain phosphorylated sugars, and collaborating with Fischer and Donald MacDonald, Ballou undertook the syntheses of several such metabolic intermediates, including d-glyceric acid 2-phosphate, d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, hydroxypyruvic acid 3-phosphate, and d-erythrose 4-phosphate. He also became interested in inositol chemistry as a result of studies on the cyclitols in sugar pine heartwood. In 1955, Ballou was appointed to the biochemistry faculty at Berkeley and went about setting up an independent research program. He decided to work on inositol-containing phospholipids and was able to synthesize and characterize d-myoinositol 1-phosphate. He also spent several years isolating and characterizing myoinositol polyphosphates from beef brain phosphoinositide. This culminated in his discovery of d-myoinositol l,4,5-trisphosphate or IP3. More information on Ballou's studies of these phosphoinositides can be found in his JBC Reflections (2Ballou C.E. My brief encounter with the phosphoinositides and IP3..J. Biol. Chem. 2004; 279: 54975-54982Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar). Ballou became eligible for sabbatical leave in 1961 and decided to spend a year at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France studying the glycophosphoinositides of mycobacteria with Edgar Lederer. There he collaborated with Erna Vilkas on experiments to establish the linkages of both the phosphatidyl and the mannosyl groups to the myoinositol ring (3Ballou C.E. Vilkas E. Lederer E. Structural studies on the myo-inositol phospholipids of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (var. bovis, strain BCG)..J. Biol. Chem. 1963; 238: 69-76Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar). Upon his return to Berkeley, Ballou and Yuan Chuan Lee determined the structures of the family of mannosyl phosphoinositides in Mycobacterium smegmatis (4Lee Y.C. Ballou C.E. Structural studies on the myo-inositol mannosides from the glycolipids of Mycobacterium tuberculosisMycobacterium phlei..J. Biol. Chem. 1964; 239: 1316-1327Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar, 5Ballou C.E. Lee Y.C. The structure of myoinositol mannoside from Mycobacterium tuberculosis glycolipid..Biochemistry. 1964; 3: 682-685Crossref PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 6Lee Y.C. Ballou C.E. Complete structures of the glycophospholipids of mycobacteria..Biochemistry. 1965; 4: 1395-1404Crossref PubMed Scopus (85) Google Scholar). Ballou and his postdoctoral fellow Patrick Brennan then began to look at the biosynthesis of the intact dimannophosphoinositides on Mycobacterium phlei, which is the subject of the two JBC Classics reprinted here. In the first Classic, Ballou and Brennan used subcellular fractions of M. phlei to catalyze the biosynthesis of several mannosyl derivatives of phosphatidylmyoinositol and reported that the major products are a family of three dimannophosphoinositides (A, B, and C) that differ in the number of fatty acyl groups they contain (four, three, and two, respectively). On the basis of their results, they proposed that guanosine diphosphate mannose acts as the sugar donor in the conversion of phosphatidylmyoinositol to phosphatidylmyoinositol dimannoside (dimannophosphoinositide C), which is then acylated in a two-step process to first yield dimannophosphoinositide B and then dimannophosphoinositide A. In the second JBC Classic, Ballou and Brennan provide further evidence for their proposed biosynthesis scheme by using an enzyme from M. phlei to specifically incorporate labeled fatty acids into the dimannophosphoinositides. They showed that label from [14C]palmityl-CoA is incorporated into dimannophosphoinositide C to yield dimannophosphoinositide B. After a short incubation period, this molecule is converted to dimannophosphoinositide A, but with longer incubation periods the product is deacylated to isomeric forms of dimannophosphoinositides B and C. Brennan continued to work on these glycophosphoinositides after completing his postdoctoral fellowship with Ballou and eventually showed that the lipoglycans (lipomannan (LM) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM)) were multiglycosylated extensions of Ballou's phosphatidylinositol mannosides and are very important in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and leprosy. More recent research has defined the biochemistry and genetics of synthesis of these molecules. Brennan is currently University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology at Colorado State University. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry for several years and was also named Colorado State University Researcher of the Year in 1992. In 1991, Ballou became Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, although he continued research and teaching for a few years. In recognition of his contributions to science, Ballou has received many awards and honors including election to the National Academy of Sciences (1975), the American Chemical Society's Claude Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry (1981), the Welch Foundation Lectureship (1972), the University of Notre Dame Reilly Lectureship (1976), the Duke University Belfort Lectureship (1977), a National Science Foundation Senior Fellowship (1961), and a University of California Berkeley Citation (1992). Ballou also served as an editorial board member for the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

About the Authors

ACS AMA Hi—we’re Raychelle Burks and Brandon Presley. We recently attended the 2017 IUPAC General Assembly and World Chemistry Congress, held July 8-14 in São Paulo, Brazil, as part of the U.S. Young Observers program. I’m Raychelle Burks, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. I’m an analytical chemist with crime lab experience and am focused on creating low-cost colorimetric sensors for detecting chemicals of forensic interest, including explosives and illicit drugs. My group utilizes smart phones, along with image analysis, to maximize the field readiness of developed sensor systems for potential use by crime scene analysts, law enforcement, and military personnel. I earned my B.S. in chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa, my M.S. in forensic science from Nebraska Wesleyan University, and my Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I’m also passionate about science communication and serve on the advisory board of Chemical & Engineering News and UnDark Science Magazine. I’m Brandon C. Presley, a Ph.D. candidate studying analytical chemistry at Temple University. I earned my bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2010 from Temple University. I am employed as the Team Leader in the Abuse-Deterrent Formulations department at NMS Labs where I manage technical projects and conducts in-vitro testing for major pharmaceutical organizations. I’ve worked previously as a forensic chemist and bench chemist in clinical and forensic toxicology; I was also employed as a chemist at Intertek Testing Services. I have served at Temple University as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and joined the adjunct chemistry faculty in 2017. I was recently recognized as a Future Faculty Fellow by Temple University. I’m a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and an Associate Member of the Division of Chemistry and Human Health in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). My research interests include determining the metabolic profiles of novel drugs of abuse as well as determining Quantitative Structure-Retention Relationships (QSRR) of various classes of compounds. IUPAC is the global authority on chemical nomenclature and terminology—including naming of new elements in the periodic table—as well as setting other standards for measurement and other critically-evaluated data. Established in 1977 to foster interactions with internationally acclaimed scientists, the IUPAC Young Observer Program sends U.S. Observers under the age of 45 from industry, academia, and national laboratories to the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress and General Assembly, held every two years. The program aims to introduce the work of IUPAC to a new generation of researchers and to provide them with an opportunity to address international scientific policy issues. To help support participation of U.S. Young Observers, ACS is helping us share our experiences, learnings, and how the Congress and GA are helping to advance our scientific interests, priorities, networks, and careers. Learn more about our and our fellow Young Observers’ experiences in this blog post . Ask us anything about being an IUPAC Young Observer, using technology for science communication, presenting at international chemistry conferences, or balancing a career with pursing advanced education. We will be back at 12:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 a.m. CDT, 9:30 a.m. PDT, 4:30 p.m. UTC) to answer your questions. 12:30pm We’re here to answer questions until 1:30pm ET! 1:30pm Thanks, y’all! We’re signing off!

Donald Tomalia received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from the University of Michigan (MI, USA). He received his PhD in physical-organic Chemistry from Michigan State University (MI, USA) in 1968 while working at The Dow Chemical Company (MI, USA). In 1990 he moved to Michigan Molecular Institute (MI, USA) as Professor and Director of Nanoscale Chemistry and Architecture. He has subsequently founded three dendrimer based-nanotechnology companies, Dendritech, Inc. (MI, USA), Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc. (MI, USA) and NanoSynthons LLC (MI, USA). Donald Tomalia is currently Director of the National Dendrimer & Nanotechnology Center (MI, USA), CEO/founder of NanoSynthons LLC (MI, USA), distinguished visiting Professor, Columbia University (NY, USA) and affiliate Professor, Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University (VA, USA). He is best known for his discovery of dendrimers and has received several awards for his accomplishments and contributions to science, including the 2012 Wallace H Carothers Award. He has authored over 250 publications, as well as over 128 patents.

Nanoparticles/nanostructures have long been attracting extensive interest thanks to their unique optical and electronic properties that are vastly different from those of their atomic and bulk forms. This material chemistry is further enriched by the recent emergence of nanoscale chirality. Traditionally, chirality refers to the handedness of a molecule or structure that is non-superimposable onto its mirror image, and can be quantitatively assessed by circular dichroism (CD) measurements. This has been observed with a range of molecules, such as peptides, proteins, and DNA, where the CD absorption typically appears in the far ultraviolet region. Recently, a variety of nanoparticles and nanostructures have also been found to exhibit unique chiroptical characteristics in the visible range due to intimate interactions with the nanoparticle surface plasmon resonance (hence denoted as plasmonic circular dichroism, PCD). Such nanoscale chirality has been observed with a chiral core shape, such as helical/spiral structures and/or the formation of chiral staples on the metal core surfaces. In addition, the strong interactions between the surface capping ligands and noble metal nanoparticles, such as gold and silver, can potentially influence the nanoparticle's surface property and give rise to chiroptical response as well. Interestingly, when the interactions between the capping ligands and the plasmonic nanoparticles are relatively weak, the symmetry of the metal core surface will not be changed appreciably upon the formation of a capping layer. In this case, the nanoparticle CD may arise from chiral organic capping ligands that are interacting with the plasmonic nanoparticles, and become intensified with increasing concentration of the chiral molecules on the nanoparticle surface. This is generally ascribed to strong dipole (and higher-order) interactions between the ligand and nanoparticle core electrons. Upon interactions with the chiral ligands, the symmetry of the electronic property of the nanoparticle core surface is distorted, leading to different extinction coefficients between the left- and right-handed circularly polarized light. In addition to individual nanoparticles, nanoparticle assembly with chiral crosslinkers can also exhibit well-defined PCD response (e.g., DNA and peptides). More interestingly, achiral nanoparticles can assemble into chiral nanostructures and produce apparent chiroptical response, even without the use of chiral crosslinkers. As the resulting PCD is sensitive to the chemical nature and surface morphology of nanoparticles and the specific arrangement of nanoparticles in the ensemble structures, it can be exploited as a unique platform for diverse applications such as chiral sensing and catalysis. Indeed, in recent years, there has been rapid progress in the research of nanoscale chirality both from the experimental and theoretical perspectives. Some of these breakthroughs are highlighted in this special issue. We are grateful to the various leading experts in the field for their contributions to this collection, and excited to share with you the latest advances of nanoscale chirality. We look forward to an even brighter future of the field. Happy reading…… Shaowei Chen received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1991, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University in 1993 and 1996, respectively. Following a postdoctoral appointment in the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, he started his independent career in Southern Illinois University - Carbondale in 1998, and then moved to the University of California - Santa Cruz in 2004. He is currently a Professor of Chemistry and the Faculty Director of the UCSC COSMOS program. His research interests are primarily focused on functional nanomaterials and electrochemical energy technologies. Zhiyong Tang obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Wuhan University in 1996, and his Ph.D. degree with Professor Erkang Wang in 1999 from Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After six years as a postdoctoral fellow in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Oklahoma State University and University of Michigan, he joined the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, in November 2006 as part of the 100-Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has been a professor ever since. His research interests are mainly focused on controllable synthesis, property manipulation and practical applications of inorganic nanomaterials. Jianping Xie is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at National University of Singapore (NUS). He received his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, China, and his Ph.D. from the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) program. His group is known for the work on engineering subnanometer-sized metal nanoclusters for biomedical and catalytic applications. His recent research interests include noble metal nanoclusters, nanomedicine, and nanocatalysis.