Scientists from New Zealand, France, and Germany have solved the old "mystery" why mercury is liquid at room temperature. The study used advanced computer models of theoretical chemistry to prove that the low melting point is due to mercury's special electron structure, something that can only be explained through Einstein's special theory of relativity.
Greenpeace launched the Detox Catwalk, an interactive online platform assessing the progress made by major clothing companies towards a toxic-free future. ZDHC founders adidas, Nike and LiNing only rated as greenwashers.
The 2013 Nobel Prizes in natural sciences have been awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In physics, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the theoretical model which gives mass to all particles. In chemistry, the Nobel Prize was awarded for pioneering work in computational chemistry. In medicine, the Nobel Prize was awarded for discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in cells.
Climate change due to global warming continues to be a major threat for the world, according to the recently released IPCC report, the leading source for the assessment of climate change. Despite declining rate of temperature increase, the world´s leading climate scientists re-enforce warnings on global warming.
Perfluorinated fluorocarbon (PFC) polymers provide the best performance for water and oil repellent finishing on textiles, but there are serious concerns regarding their environmental and toxic properties. In this article we discuss the technical and scientific background of water and oil repellent finishing on textiles, and will look into options for future, more sustainable technologies and chemical solutions.
GlaxoSmithKline and Save the Children have launched a fund totalling $1,000,000 to reward organisations practicing innovative approaches for reducing under-5 child mortality.
Greenpeace increases the pressure on leading retail brands. The environmental pressure group revealed data on hazardous fluorocarbons, PFOA, PFOS and others, tested on outdoor textiles from leading brands. We had a closer look at the report and discuss the issue in light of the progress in the ZDHC programme.
The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that human genes cannot be patented, drawing a red line between naturally occurring DNA sequences and artificial genes created in the lab.
Open innovation is today a modern management tool within corporate innovation management - in the last decade open innovation has become an important extension to the classical innovation approach, to improve the success rate of the innovation pipeline.
In 2012 and Q1 2013, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the chemical industry was low. Now, according to consensus view of the world´s leading consultancy firms, M&A activities in the chemical industry are expected to take off.