Google Chrome

This week Google launched a new web browser called Chrome.  If you find an electronic resource (database, e-journal, e-book, etc.) that does not work with Chrome, please let us know.

Chrome should automatically work with the UCSD proxy if you’ve already using the proxy in another browser. If you do need to set up the proxy, start with the wrench icon in Chrome. Select Options, then the Under the Hood tab. Under Network you’ll see Change Proxy Settings. From here, follow the steps like you were setting up proxy access in Internet Explorer 7.

ChemBioOffice & ChemDraw Reactivation

UCSD’s license for ChemBioOffice/ChemDraw has been renewed. If you have registered with CambridgeSoft to download your copy of the software, you should’ve received an e-mail from Bob Joseph (How to Keep Your ChemBioOffice Ultra UCSD Site License Working) in the last few days. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder.

The e-mail includes instructions for the following options:
1. If you are using ChemBioOffice Ultra version 11 on a PC, you will need to reactivate your access.
2. If you are using ChemBioOffice Ultra version 9 or version 10 on a PC, you may either upgrade to version 11, or may keep version 9 or 10 by reactivating with your existing serial number.
3. If you are using ChemBioOffice Ultra version 8 on a PC, you need to download the 11 version.
4. If you are using ChemDraw on a Mac, you need to get a new serial number and registration code.

If haven’t used ChemBioOffice or ChemDraw before, start here to find out about registration and downloading the software.

Open Science, Sharing Results

Out in the open: Some scientists sharing results, Boston Globe, Aug 21

Barry Canton, a 28-year-old biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has posted raw scientific data, his thesis proposal, and original research ideas on an online website for all to see.

To young people primed for openness by the confessional existence they live online, that may not seem like a big deal.

“We’re a generation who expects all information is a Google search away,” Canton said. “Not only is it a Google search away, but it’s also released immediately. As soon as it happens, the video is up on YouTube and on all the blogs. The old model feels kind of crazy when you’re used to this instant information.”

For an example of open science at a research group level, see Jean-Claude Bradley’s UsefulChem Project.

Mac Users & Science Direct

We have been receiving scattered reports from Mac users who are having problems accessing Science Direct articles in Safari (and in one case, Firefox). Science Direct does not list Safari as a supported browser, but there have been no problems until now.

We’re trying to figure out what’s going on, but for now we recommend:

1. Clearing your browser’s cache and cookies. Sounds strange, but some users have reported back that this fixed the problem.
2. Switching to Firefox for the Science Direct articles.

If you still cannot get into Science Direct, please let us know.

UCSD Faculty Publications - Chemistry

Recent faculty publications from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Casanova, F.; Chiang, C. E.; Li, C. P.; Roshchin, I. V.; Ruminski, A. M.; Sailor, M. J.; Schuller, I. K., Gas adsorption and capillary condensation in nanoporous alumina films. Nanotechnology 2008, 19 (31).

Moffet, R. C.; Qin, X. Y.; Rebotier, T.; Furutani, H.; Prather, K. A., Chemically segregated optical and microphysical properties of ambient aerosols measured in a single-particle mass spectrometer. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 2008, 113 (D12).

Nguyen, T. X.; Kobayashi, Y., Synthesis of the common propellane core structure of the hasubanan alkaloids. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2008, 73 (14), 5536-5541.

Sanchez, J. C.; Trogler, W. C., Efficient blue-emitting silafluorene-fluorene-conjugated copolymers: selective turn-off/turn-on detection of explosives. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2008, 18 (26), 3143-3156.

Sanchez, K. M.; Neary, T. J.; Kim, J. E., Ultraviolet resonance Raman Spectroscopy of folded and unfolded states of an integral membrane protein. Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2008, 112 (31), 9507-9511.

Savee, J. D.; Mozhayskiy, V. A.; Mann, J. E.; Krylov, A. I.; Continetti, R. E., The role of excited-state topology in three-body dissociation of sym-triazine. Science 2008, 321 (5890), 826-830.

Shah, S. J.; Ramsey, C. M.; Heroux, K. J.; O’Brien, J. R.; DiPasquale, A. G.; Rheingold, A. L.; del Barco, E.; Hendrickson, D. N., Wheel-shaped Mn-16 single-molecule magnets. Inorganic Chemistry 2008, 47 (14), 6245-6253.

Tanabe, K. K.; Wang, Z. Q.; Cohen, S. M., Systematic functionalization of a metal-organic framework via a postsynthetic modification approach. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008, 130 (26), 8508-8517.

Truhlar, S. M. E.; Mathes, E.; Cervantes, C. F.; Ghosh, G.; Komives, E. A., Pre-folding I kappa B alpha alters control of NF-kappa B signaling. Journal of Molecular Biology 2008, 380 (1), 67-82.

Continue reading UCSD Faculty Publications - Chemistry…

New Popular Science Books

Have you read or heard about a book that would make a good addition to the S&E Browsing Collection of popular science reading? Use our recommendation form to let us know.

We’ve also added some more books to the Browsing Collection. Click the title to see if the book’s available or place a request for one that’s checked out.

+ Aha! : a two volume collection: Aha! Gotcha, Aha! Insight
+ It’s only rocket science : an introduction in plain English
+ The best American science and nature writing - 2007
+ Enhancing me : the hope and the hype of human enhancement
+ The urban astronomer’s guide : a walking tour of the cosmos for city sky watchers

E-Books from National Academies Press

Some new e-books from the National Academies Press:

• Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute
• Inspired by Biology: From Molecules to Materials to Machines
• Research on Future Skill Demands: A Workshop Summary
• Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering
• Bioinspired Chemistry for Energy: A Workshop Summary to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable
• Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2007 Symposium
• Integrated Computational Materials Engineering: A Transformational Discipline for Improved Competitiveness and National Security
• Managing Materials for a Twenty-first Century Military
• Nanophotonics: Accessibility and Applicability
• Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements

NextGen Melvyl (reminder)

If you search Melvyl, don’t forget that we’re piloting a potential Melvyl 2.0 called NextGen Melvyl. It includes most of what you’d get in Melvyl (with UCSD holdings at the top), PLUS books and other materials held at other libraries, PLUS citations to millions of articles. (More about NextGen Melvyl).

Please test NGM vigorously and often, and let us know what you think–what worked and what needs improvement. We already have a list of “known issues.” Your feedback will help shape the future functionality of NGM, and help us when we assess the pilot.

Construction - north end of SE level 1

Construction of the Preservation Unit workspace in the north end of level 1 of SE will begin on July 28th. The project, one phase in the remodel of the Arts Library, should take 3-4 weeks. Apologies for any disruption.

Nature of Glass, NY Times

The Nature of Glass Remains Anything but Clear - July 29th New York Times

Various theories on the nature of glass, with quotes from UCSD chemistry professor Peter G. Wolynes.

Peter G. Wolynes, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, thinks he essentially solved the glass problem two decades ago based on ideas of what glass would look like if cooled infinitely slowly. “I think we have a very good constructive theory of that these days,” Dr. Wolynes said. “Many people tell me this is very contentious. I disagree violently with them.”

Others, like Juan P. Garrahan, professor of physics at the University of Nottingham in England, and David Chandler, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, have taken a different approach and are as certain that they are on the right track.

“It surprises most people that we still don’t understand this,” said David R. Reichman, a professor of chemistry at Columbia, who takes yet another approach to the glass problem. “We don’t understand why glass should be a solid and how it forms.”