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The article reports that institutions of higher learning in the U.S. are implementing family-friendly practices to ease tenure-track burden for female academics. This is because for many women scientists, the biological and tenure clocks often overlap and many question having to choose between life in academia and life at home.

The article announces that Jeffrey Hepburn has received James Bryant Conant Award for High School Chemistry Teaching from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The article discusses how biology major Destin S. Leinen entered Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) to get a doctor in philosophy degree (PhD) in chemistry in the early 1990s. OPSU does not receive a lot of federal funding for research. But it and other small liberal arts schools like it are making an important role in the chemical enterprise.

The article focuses on the reasons why students prefer to study in community colleges rather than in big universities in the U.S. Several students asserted that residential schools offer things that large institutions do not have, such as small class sizes, personal attention from professors and programs that can enhance their abilities in diverse fields. Salvador Alvarez, Genlabs Technologies chemist, claimed that community colleges can help learners develop a strong, rounded skill to success.

The article reports on the ACS Award for encouraging women into careers in the chemical sciences given to Bojan H. Jennings, a professor emerita at Wheaton College in Illinois. She has earned her bachelor and doctoral degrees in Chemistry from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Many of the chemistry major students whom Jennings has taught have received advanced degrees.

The article focuses on how the mysterious death of an Australian racing horse icon Phar Lap was solved after 80 years since the incident happened. Placing a sample of stuffed hide of the horse under a highly specialized X-ray microscope located at the U.S. X-ray research facility Advanced Photon Source in Chicago, Illinois, the chemical arsenic was discovered within Phar Lap's hair. Thus, the 80 year mysterious death of Australia's beloved horse was finally traced to poisoning.

The article offers information on various science-fiction books which provide fun but accurate science concepts. It mentions that science writer Mariane J. Dyson has reviewed children's books to increase the awareness on the errors and misconceptions committed by authors of science and science fiction books. Meanwhile, Jaeger Houtman has ensured the accuracy of the book "The Reinvention of Edison Thomas" by consulting her chemical engineering husband.

The article discusses the way of teaching by high school chemistry teacher Jeffrey Hepburn. It states that when teaching on research, he tries to show to his students that researchers are human and they have human side. It adds that Hepburn collects signatures of chemists such as Glenn T. Seaborg to put interest on students about the subject. It notes that Hepburn also collects chemistry stamps which he gives to students as a way of congratulating them when taking chemistry examinations.

The article reports on the cognitive nasal spray that is discovered by the researcher at the University of Kiel. The nasal spray has the purpose of making the students awake without the help of caffeine found in drinking coffee. The nasal spray is made possible with interleukin-6, a molecule of the immune system and is administered like a drug. Also, a vital biochemical pathway is discovered by the researcher at the University of California that can be linked to the aging of human muscles.

The article presents the study on ground beetle and a study on the route of people who have no idea where they are. According to researchers, beetles produce a perfect formulation of limonene and toluquinone as their natural defense against predators. The result of the study on the ability of people to walk showed that walking in a straight line actually involves a very complicated interplay of sensory processing, cognitive strategies and the motor system.

The article offers news briefs related to animal research. Scientists from University of Alcalá in Madrid, Spain revealed that mouth clicking sound is an effective echolocation skill of people. Researchers at Keio University in Shonan Region, Japan revealed that pigeons can also develop a concept of beauty like humans. Biologists at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario found out that locusts demonstrate the same brain disturbance like humans causing nerve cells shutdown.

The article reports on the wide participation of chemists in Twitter, a microblogging social networking site. David Bradley, a science writer based in Great Britain and avid user of Twitter, states that he joins the site in June 2007 which allows him to establish an interaction with his fellow chemist and scientists. University of Delaware chemistry student Aleksey Zozulya noted that Twitter allows him to get closer to chemists and helps him in his studies.

The article offers information of the Sustainable Fashion Show coordinated by the Students for Sustainable Stanford in Stanford University as part of the Earth Day celebration on April 22, 2009 in the U.S. According to head coordinator Darienne Tuner, the event aims to raise awareness and promote eco-friendly alternative show. It features 20 environmental friendly clothing lines including Covet, Doie, and Pi Organic, together with five student designers.

The article discusses George Steinhauser's research on why some belly buttons collect more lint than other belly buttons. It states that Steinhauser has studied his own navel and predicted that it was due to the abdominal hair. He has shaved the hair of his own belly and compared the fluff accumulation. Steinhauser found out that shaving belly hair and wearing old clothes that are more-likely to be lint-fee can minimize the lint production.

The article reports on the selection of Kathlyn A. Parker as the winner of the 2009 Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal.

The article comments on research which provides insights about the battle between people of science and people of faith. According to the paper "Science and God: An Automatic Opposition Between Ultimate Explanations," a person's unconscious attitudes toward God and science are fundamentally opposed because they offer competing and logically incompatible explanations for the same phenomena.

The article discusses the author's experience with a pie experiment which she served at a dinner party.

The article highlights the capture of a giant mutant catfish by British biologist Jeremy Wade in the Great Kali River at the India-Nepal border. The giant catfish, known as the goonch or Bagarius yarelli, is believed to have developed a taste for human corpses on account of the tradition of disposing bodies in the said river after Hindu funeral rites. Fictitious stories related to the issue are also specified.

The article presents news briefs of interest to the readers of "C&EN." According to a study published in the July 2008 issue of the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine," golf cart injuries have risen 132 percent between 1990 and 2006. The article also reports on the controversial chemical illustration which accompanied the "New York Times" review of the book "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex," by Mary Roach.

The article discusses facts and research concerning snacks. It describes how organic chemist Fredric J. Baur designed the Pringles potato-chip container and how Procter & Gamble chose the Pringles brand name. It also cites other uses for the tubular potato-chip containers such as a makeshift Wi-Fi antenna and Baur's burial urn. In addition, the article also cites a "Journal of Consumer Research" report which suggests that thinking about death makes consumers with low self-esteem overeat.

The article reports on the efforts of the U.S. military to build a superhuman body armor that would be able to help its soldiers. In 2000, the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded Stephen C. Jacobsen and engineers at Sarcos for the development of a suit that would allow a single soldier to carry heavy loads while hiking for days without fatigue. After years of development, the U.S. Army plans to field-test the XOS suit.

The article announces that John D. Corbett has received the F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The article offers news briefs related to chemistry. In California, biochemist Larissa Schuster and James Fagone kidnapped Timothy Schuster and dropped him into a 55-gallon container. They then poured the container with hydrochloric acid which put him to death. Copper wiring and lead roofs become a hot commodity among the thieves in the U.S. and England. Survey shows that record-high prices of lead and copper paired with eager buyers have driven thefts of the metals to epidemic proportions.

The article offers information on the goals and activities of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI) in the U.S. According to committee chairman Charles E. Kolb Jr., CEI aims to promote the sustainability of the chemical industry. CEI is tasked to advise ACS governing agencies on important environmental concerns related to science and public policy.

The article comments on issues related to chemistry compiled as of July 2007. Dava Newman and colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been developing the BIOSUIT, a lightweight, skintight spacesuit designed to allow superior mobility. An updated review of vitamin C studies revealed that the vitamin does little to reduce the length or severity of a cold but it helps reduce the likelihood of people exposed to prolonged stress to catch a cold.

The article offers news related to science. The eight-year-old, two-headed albino rat snake has died of natural causes in its home at the World Aquarium in Saint Louis, Missouri. It enjoyed eating baby mice and was visited by more than a million people. Michael Werner who practice breatharianism, a diet based on the belief that a person can be sustained largely on air alone, maintains his legitimacy, despite criticism from scientific community .

The article profiles two notable individuals in the field of chemistry. Professional chemist Randy Schueller developed the idea for the costume of cartoon character, Spider-Man, works in the field of cosmetic science and cowrote several textbooks. Sir Edward Elgar was a major composer of works such as the "Pomp and Circumstances Marches."

The article offers news briefs related to chemical engineering in the U.S. Female red squirrels were found to produce a second litter while still lactating their first. Scientists have discovered that impotence drugs such as viagra can slow the progression of tumors in mices. Biologist from J. R. Simplot are working to develop a genetically modified potato which has healthier starch, stronger taste which also rejects the chemical agent acryalmide.

The article comments on issues related to the chemical industry compiled as of January 2007. Xerox Corp. and Palo Alto Research Center Inc. have developed "erasable paper," a paper that erases the content of its pages within 16 to 24 hours of initial printing or by immediately running the paper through the printer again. One reader said that his son requested for the "C&EN" during his toilet training.