Drug patents are vital but can be subject to abuse
INTELLECTUAL MATTERS
As I have written in the past, a patent does not grant the right for an inventor to sell or make something. A common misconception is that once an inventor...
Read More >>Then and Now
HISTORY
It is curious to think that we can thank 30 million-year-old unicellular algae-like creatures called diatoms for the appealing appearance of such modern consumer goods as cooking oil, liquid soap,...
Read More >>The King of Synthesis
CLASS DISTINCTION
University of British Columbia Okanagan undergraduate Jeff Kerkovius wants to create molecules that change the world. Jeff Kerkovius of Kelowna, BC had an especially precocious predilection for chemistry. At age eight he...
Read More >>Capricious cancer targets victims indiscriminately
CHEMFUSION
Why do some people contract cancer and others not? Some cancers are genetic but the vast majority occur when something goes awry in the normal process of cell division, usually...
Read More >>Get Smart
POLICY PUNDIT
David Strangway has been a prominent and influential voice in science policy Canada for more than four decades. A former president of three universities: Toronto, UBC and Quest in Squamish,...
Read More >>Co-ops give engineering grads a career boost
EDUCATION
When chemical engineering students graduate, they face a career dilemma other recent grads would kill for. Should they go into oil refining or biotechnology? Pharmaceuticals, nuclear energy or the food industry? Process development or project management? Whether they’re investigating toxins in our oceans or researching polymers in space, for new chemical engineers looking for employment the sky is literally the limit.
Read More >>Reflections on 19 years of leadership at the CIAC
INDUSTRY
In 1996 I joined the Canadian Chemical Producers Association, now the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC). That was the best career decision I ever made for me and for my family. During the past 19 years I have been fortunate to work with industry leaders who were dedicated to the development of a sustainable chemistry industry in Canada and to our global leadership in Responsible Care (RC).
Read More >>Mapping science’s post-election future in Canada
GOVERNMENT
Well, it’s finally over — for now. The 2015 federal election results are in with a new majority Liberal government. What does it all mean for the future of science...
Read More >>Cutting-edge discoveries outstrip patent laws
INTELLECTUAL MATTERS
Next year marks an important anniversary in chemical history. In 1916, Gilbert Lewis published his seminal paper on chemical bonding, “The Atom and the Molecule,” from which were born Lewis...
Read More >>1969 Chemistry in Canada
HISTORY
The colour of our food is important not only from an aesthetic perspective but an evolutionary one. Psychologists have theorized that human adaptation and survival are due in part to...
Read More >>Autism linked to molecules from the human gut
CHEMFUSION
We share our body with up to a thousand varieties of bacteria. They live in our mouth, our skin and mostly in our digestive tract. They total some 100 trillion...
Read More >>Canadian universities need re-schooling
POLICY PUNDIT
Wendy Cukier, vice-president research and innovation at Ryerson University, says that universities need to focus on the employability of their graduates. Ryerson University in Toronto is different from many Canadian...
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