The chemistry of a century ago

44 Pages·2017·8.34 MB·English

cchheemmiissttrryy
April 2017
in Australia
The chemistry of
a century ago
chemaust.raci.org.au
• Detecting drugs on the road
• What’s on at the Centenary Congress
• Fool’s gold and plate tectonics
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88

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April 2017
26
cover story
16
Looking back: Chemistry in 1917
n
hi
ns A century ago, amongst military conflict and political change, chemistry in
a
m
Gil Australia and around the world was making its mark.
oto/
h
p
Stock
i
20 Drug detection on the road news & research
5
Despite numerous studies, our standards of evidence for drugs in relation to News
11
driver impairment still fall behind those for alcohol and fatigue. Research
15
Aust. J. Chem.
42
24 Choose your chemistry at the Centenary Congress Cryptic chemistry
42
Events
Early bird registration for the Centenary Congress closes on 23 April, so here’s a
taste of what each event has to offer.
members
26 Fool’s gold and the ascent of man 4
From the President
Ancient samples of pyrite, or fool’s gold, have revealed the role of plate 29
RACI news
tectonics in bursts of evolution and mass extinction events. Did humans 30
Obituaries
ultimately originate from mega-mountains?
views & reviews
32
20 Remuneration
34
Science for fun
36
Economics
38
Home chemistry
39
Grapevine
40
Environment
41
Letter from Melbourne
chemaust.raci.org.au
from the raci
From the President
The RACI is 100years old and the Board recognises the need to The RACI needs to
continue strongly for the next 100years, at least. The RACI
strengthen itself to ensure
needs to strengthen itself to ensure that the hard (and
voluntary) work of our predecessors to make the Institution that the hard (and voluntary)
what it is now is not wasted. To truly understand how far and
work of our predecessors to
wide the tentacles of the RACI reach, one has to become
involved in its activities, and we urge all members to be active make the Institution what it is
so they can get the maximum benefit from the RACI’s activities.
now is not wasted.
Recently, the Board has been working towards ensuring the
RACI continues the success of the work of previous Boards. We
have recruited a non-member of the RACI to the Board who has
marketing and communication skills, but who also has a non-
chemist’s point of view. This will help the broaden the
Institute’s appeal and therefore membership. We have also (iv) Seek strategic partners. This should increase member value
started work on a strategic plan to work towards for the next through the establishment of mutually beneficial
five years. The five areas proposed as part of this plan are: partnerships. Initially, we will identify a framework and
(i) Membership attraction and retention. This has been an area criteria for target strategic relationships to ensure we are
of concern for several years as membership numbers have creating value for members.
declined. It is the most important item to pursue here, and (v) Marketing and communications. By establishing a marketing
all other areas feed into this. We intend to create a group or committee, we will increase the reputation, brand
framework for executing member retention and attraction awareness and effectiveness of communications between all
strategies consistently on a national level, so the RACI stakeholders. We have engaged marketing expertise into RACI
continues to exist with strength, have an impact and meet and will devise a marketing strategy towards the future.
our vision and mission. As part of this strategic plan, we will be encouraging all
(ii) External relevance. We intend to increase RACI’s profile and members to be part of this. Your help will ensure the future
the impact we are having on the community. Initial plans success of the Institute. A strategic plan will not be successful
are to create and embed a media and government unless it is actively implemented. This is a crucial time for all
relationship strategy and to have RACI spokespeople members to get involved, so I urge you to contact your Branch,
prepared to communicate RACI’s position/opinion. Division or Group representatives to help ensure the success of
(iii)Review internal structure. To maximise the effective the RACI for the next century and beyond.
operational performance of all RACI entities, we need to
ensure Groups, Branches and Divisions (entities) are
conducting meaningful activity aligned to the strategy. We Peter JunkFRACI CChem ([email protected]) is RACI
President.
will ensure each entity has a framework for how to set up
and run a successful entity (operational user guide and
charter of expectations).
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4 | Chemistry in Australia April 2017
news
2016 may
What to expect from big pharma in
serve as a
2017
reminder to
In the US last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved
just 22 new therapeutic drugs, which is less than half the sponsors that
number approved in 2015. The cover story in January’s Chemical
& Engineering Newsexplains why 2016 was such a lacklustre all of their
year for new medicines, and whether it was an anomaly or the
manufacturing
start of a longer term pharmaceutical slow-down.
Lisa M. Jarvis, a senior correspondent for C&EN, reports that facilities must
the dip in approvals was partly due to delays. Some
be in
pharmaceutical manufacturing plants weren’t in compliance
with current standards and needed to be brought up to the compliance
required standard. Also, the number of new cancer drugs, which
with cGMP
often account for several drug approvals a year, suffered a cut.
Only four drugs targeting cancer got the green light in 2016
regulations if they wish to
whereas during the previous year, 14 did.
Ultimately, seven big pharma companies didn’t get a single ensure approval of their
product to market in 2016. Forecasters expect numbers to turn
application.
around next year and return to the average of 30, including a
boost in cancer drug approvals, but some industry watchers
John Jenkins, then director of FDA’s Office of New Drugs
interpret last year’s poor showing as a sign of uncertain times
ahead.
American Chemical Society
By connecting
STEM mentoring network appoints
young
inaugural executive director
researchers
The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE)
has appointed Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea as the inaugural with industry
Executive Director of the Academy’s Industry Mentoring Network
leaders, IMNIS
in STEM (IMNIS) program.
IMNIS is a mentoring program that links PhD students in will foster a
science, technology, engineering and mathematics with
cultural shift,
individual industry-based mentors, who act as role models and
provide advice on industry-based STEM careers. Evans-Galea will
upskill and
manage the program as it expands nationally, following
successful pilots in Victoria and Western Australia. educate our
Evans-Galea has degrees in science and music from the
future leaders
University of Queensland, and a PhD in molecular biology from
the University of New South Wales. She has over 15years’ in STEM and extend their
experience leading translational medical research programs in
professional networks in
the US and Australia, and her work has been internationally
recognised with numerous awards. Strongly committed to academia, industry and
empowering early career researchers, Evans-Galea mentors
students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty, and has developed beyond. IMNIS will also
graduate mentoring programs in the US. She was the founding
expose young researchers to
Chair of the Early-Mid Career Researcher (EMCR) Forum with the
Australian Academy of Science, and is currently a member of the the suite of career
Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Expert Advisory
opportunities that lie beyond
Group, Chair of the Australian Science and Innovation Forum,
and Co-Founder of Women in STEMM Australia. academia.
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea, Executive Director, Industry Mentoring
Network in STEM
April 2017 www.chemaust.raci.org.au Chemistry in Australia | 5
news
Report underlines the impact of risk
Chemists tie tightest-ever
on society’s decisions
knot
We live in a risky world. Risks from antibiotic resistance,
environmental impacts and international security are hot issues
in research, but delaying action until the science is settled isn’t
always feasible.
The Australian Academy of Science has released a think tank
report discussing how risk and uncertainty affect the decisions
we make as a society.
The report addresses specific risks from antibiotic resistance,
environmental challenges, international security, and the
challenges of making decisions when data is uncertain.
‘Risks are part of life, and we need to learn how to make
decisions when the data is uncertain,’ said Professor Hugh
Interwoven polymer strands have the potential to be more flexible Possingham, from the University of Queensland, who chaired
than materials such as carbon fibre composite (shown). the think tank steering committee.
iStockphoto/PragasitLalao
‘Some uncertainty is not worth resolving; it’s better to act
Scientists at the University of Manchester have produced the sooner than wait until you are absolutely certain. Australians,
most tightly knotted physical structure ever known – a as big gamblers, already love to embrace that uncertainty.’
scientific achievement that has the potential to create a new The report recommended changes to antibiotic prescription
generation of advanced materials. and usage, and proposed that antibiotic usage in foods be
The researchers, led by Professor David Leigh in Manchester’s included on labels to inform and empower consumers.
School of Chemistry, have developed a way of braiding multiple The group also identified areas needing further study, such
molecular strands, enabling tighter and more complex knots to as the role of environmental pollution, including human and
be made than has previously been possible. animal waste in the development of antimicrobial resistance.
The breakthrough knot has eight crossings in a 192-atom The difficulty of adequately costing environmental impacts
closed loop – which is about 20nanometres long. and factoring them into cost–benefit analyses when allocating
Being able to make different types of molecular knots means resources for environmental projects was also discussed at the
that scientists should be able to probe how knotting affects think tank.
strength and elasticity of materials, which will enable them to The group flagged risks that unfold or change over long time
weave polymer strands to generate new types of materials. periods as particularly difficult to grapple with.
Leigh said: ‘Tying knots is a similar process to weaving so They recommended that policy-makers and scientists jointly
the techniques being developed to tie knots in molecules develop a set of guidelines for cost–benefit analysis, and that
should also be applicable to the weaving of molecular strands. tools used by scientists for sequential decision-making could be
‘For example, bulletproof vests and body armour are made of simplified and adopted for policy-makers.
Kevlar, a plastic that consists of rigid molecular rods aligned in ‘More data is not always better,’ said Dr Kirsty Kitto from
a parallel structure – however, interweaving polymer strands Queensland University of Technology. ‘But sometimes
have the potential to create much tougher, lighter and more uncertainty is misinterpreted as a lack of evidence by decision-
flexible materials in the same way that weaving threads does in makers.’
our everyday world. The group found that even their own discussion of
‘Some polymers, such as spider silk, can be twice as strong uncertainty was hampered by the differing language used
as steel so braiding polymer strands may lead to new between research fields. So they recommended the development
generations of light, super-strong and flexible materials for of a common set of terminology to clarify communication
fabrication and construction.’ between scientists and policy-makers.
Leigh explained that they ‘tied’ the molecular knot using a Uncertainty plays a large role in the risks inherent in
technique called ‘self-assembly’, in which molecular strands are negotiating international security concerns. The think tank also
woven around metal ions, forming crossing points in the right covered and offered recommendations on a broad range of
places just like in knitting – and the ends of the strands were international security issues such as global migration flows,
then fused together by a chemical catalyst to close the loop Australia’s compliance with international legal obligations,
and form the complete knot. environmental change and disruptive technologies.
The research was published in Science The full report is available at www.science.org.au/think-
(doi: 10.1126/science.aal1619) tanks/risky-world.
University of Manchester Australian Academy of Science
6 | Chemistry in Australia April 2017
How bacteria exploit a chink in the body’s armour
Scientists have determined how a unique bacterial enzyme can
blunt the body’s key weapons in its fight against infection.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, US, and Newcastle University in the UK are
investigating how infectious microbes can survive attacks by the
body’s immune system. By better understanding the bacteria’s
defences, new strategies can be developed to cure infections
that are currently resistant to treatments, the researchers said.
The study, reported in PLOS Pathogens(doi: 10.1371/
journal.ppat.1006125), focused on the bacterium Staphylococcus
aureus, which is found on approximately half of the population.
While it usually safely coexists with healthy individuals, S.
aureushas the ability to infect nearly the entire body; in its
most pathogenic form, the bacterium is the so-called ‘superbug’
methicillin-resistant S. aureus, or MRSA.
The human body uses a diverse array of weapons to fight off
bacteria like S. aureus. ‘Our immune system is very effective and
prevents the majority of microbes we encounter from causing
infections,’ said University of Illinois microbiology professor
Thomas Kehl-Fie, who led the study with Kevin Waldron, of
Newcastle University. ‘But pathogens such as S. aureushave
developed ways to subvert the immune response.’
S. aureuscan overcome one of the body’s key defences,
nutritional immunity, which prevents bacteria from obtaining
critical nutrients. It starves S. aureusof manganese, which is
needed by the bacterial enzyme superoxide dismutase, or SOD.
This enzyme functions as a shield, minimising the damage from
another weapon in the body’s arsenal, the oxidative burst.
Together, the two host weapons usually function as a one-two
punch, with nutritional immunity weakening the bacteria’s
shields, enabling the oxidative burst to kill the bacterium.
S. aureusis particularly adept at causing devastating
Staphylococcus aureusis one of the causal agents of mastitis in
infections. Differing from other closely related species, dairy cows. These capsules contain the bacterial cells and protect
S. aureuspossesses two SOD enzymes. The team discovered that them from the cows’ immunological defences. Agricultural Research
Service/Wikimedia
the second SOD enhances the ability of S. aureusto resist
nutritional immunity and cause disease. The group found that, when starved of manganese by the
‘This realisation was both exciting and perplexing, as both body, S. aureusactivated the cambialistic SOD with iron instead
SODs were thought to utilise manganese and therefore should of manganese, ensuring its critical bacterial defensive barrier
be inactivated by manganese starvation,’ Kehl-Fie said. was maintained.
The most prevalent family of SODs, to which both of the ‘The cambialistic SOD plays a key role in this bacterium’s
S. aureusenzymes belong, has long been thought to come in ability to evade the immune defence,’ Waldron said.
two varieties: those that are dependent on manganese for ‘Importantly, we suspect similar enzymes may be present in
function and those that use iron. other pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, it could be possible to
In light of their findings, the team tested whether the target this system with drugs for future antibacterial therapies.’
second staphylococcal SOD was dependent on iron. To their The emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
surprise, they discovered that the enzyme was able to use such as MRSA, make such infections increasingly difficult, if not
either metal. While the existence of these cambialistic SODs impossible, to treat.
(capable of using both iron and manganese) was proposed This has prompted leading health organisations, such as the
decades ago, the existence of this type of enzyme was largely Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health
dismissed as a quirk of chemistry, unimportant in real biological Organization, to issue an urgent call for new approaches to
systems. The team’s findings dispel this notion, demonstrating combat the threat of antibiotic resistance.
that cambialistic SODs critically contribute to infection.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
April 2017 Chemistry in Australia | 7
news
Breathing molecule identified: vital Physicists map the atomic structure
to treating respiratory conditions of an alloy
Respiratory conditions could be better targeted and treated, Virtually all materials have defects on the atomic level. These
thanks to the identification of the vital molecule that regulates imperfections – missing atoms, atoms of one type swapped for
breathing. another, and misaligned atoms – can uniquely determine a
Professor Nicholas Dale at the University of Warwick, UK, has material’s properties and function. Now, University of California,
identified Connexin26 (Cx26) as a key molecule that reacts to Los Angeles scientists have mapped the coordinates of more
CO in our bodies and activates breathing. than 23000 individual atoms in an iron–platinum nanoparticle
2
Cx26 molecules detect levels of CO in the bloodstream and, to reveal the material’s defects.
2
when levels reach a certain point, the molecules tell our bodies The results demonstrate that the positions of tens of
to excrete the CO and take in oxygen. Without this essential thousands of atoms can be precisely identified and then fed into
2
molecular function, harmful levels of CO would remain in the quantum mechanics calculations to correlate imperfections and
2
bloodstream, making breathing difficult or impossible. defects with material properties at the single-atom level. This
Mutations in Cx26 are directly connected to a number of research was published in the 2 February issue of Nature.
serious conditions – ranging from congenital deafness, to Professor Jianwei ‘John’ Miao and his team focused on an
respiratory conditions, and serious syndromes that affect skin, iron–platinum alloy, a very promising material for next-generation
vision and hearing. As Cx26 is vital to breathing well, people magnetic storage media and permanent magnet applications.
carrying these mutations may be at risk of sleep apnoea. By taking multiple images of the iron–platinum nanoparticle
Identifying these mutations and working out how to restore with an advanced electron microscope and using powerful
the molecule to its normal function could lead to effective, reconstruction algorithms, the researchers determined the precise
targeted, personalised treatments to mitigate these risks and three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in the nanoparticle.
improve quality of life. The team identified and located more than 6500 iron and
16600 platinum atoms and showed how the atoms are arranged
in nine grains, each of which contains different ratios of iron and
platinum atoms. Miao and his colleagues showed that atoms
closer to the interior of the grains are more regularly arranged
than those near the surfaces. Also, interfaces between grains,
called grain boundaries, are more disordered.
The researchers then used the three-dimensional coordinates
of the atoms as inputs into quantum mechanics calculations to
determine the magnetic properties of the iron-platinum
nanoparticle. They observed abrupt changes in magnetic
properties at the grain boundaries.
In the future, as the researchers continue to determine the
three-dimensional atomic coordinates of more materials, they
Different animals have varying levels of sensitivity to CO. plan to establish an online databank for the physical sciences,
2
Dale’s group exploited this idea to see whether the properties analogous to protein databanks for the biological and life
of Cx26 matched the physiological requirements of birds, which sciences.
fly at high altitude and can tolerate low levels of CO; humans Miao and his team also look forward to applying their
2
and rats which are broadly similar at an intermediate level; and method called GENFIRE (GENeralized Fourier Iterative
mole rats, which live exclusively underground and tolerate very Reconstruction) to biological and medical applications.
high levels of CO.
2 UCLA
The researchers found that the CO binding properties
2
matched the sensitivities of these different animals.
Evolutionary natural selection has thus modified the CO-
2
binding properties of Cx26 – showing that this molecule is a
universally important sensor of CO in warm-blooded animals.
2
The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal
Society B(doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2723).
University of Warwick
8 | Chemistry in Australia
Future STEM leaders
It is estimated that by 2030, 40% of current Australian jobs died from a bacterial infection that failed to respond to
probably won’t exist as we know them and that the pathway to antibiotics, Zhou decided to put her interest in molecular
the careers of the future will mostly come from a STEM chemistry to work by finding a way to fight antibiotic
education. resistance. The World Health Organization warns that antibiotic
Twenty-six Australian teenagers (pictured), selected as resistance is a major global health threat to the effective
finalists in the BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Awards, prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of
have proven themselves to be STEM leaders of the future by infections caused by bacteria. Amy found that when the protein
producing work that has solved real-world problems with structure of fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase is disrupted,
innovative inventions and ambitious scientific investigations. it is more difficult for bacteria to mutate and there is a lower
A beach-side rip warning system, a laser system to keep likelihood of the bacteria developing resistance.
cyclists safe on roads, and research into treatments for diabetes The Awards, which have been running since 1981, reward
and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are just some of the projects young people who have undertaken practical research projects
that have been chosen for the finals of the 2017 BHP Billiton that demonstrate innovative approaches and thorough scientific
Science and Engineering Awards. or engineering procedures.
The winners of the 2017 BHP Billiton Science and
CSIRO
Engineering Awards are Justin Mitchell (Vic., 1st Place
Engineering Award), Jade Moxey (NSW, 1st Place Investigations ADELAIDE
Rowe Scientific 08 8186 0523
Award), Amber Kraczkowska (SA, Innovation to Market Award), PLTTDY [email protected]
Hamish Gibson (WA, Teacher Award), Callum and Declan www.rowe.com.au BRISBANE
07 3376 9411
Predavec (NSW, 2nd Place Engineering Award), Amy Zhou (Qld, Suppliers of: [email protected]
2nd Place Investigations Award), Dylan Sanusi-Goh (Vic., 3rd CERTIFIED REFERENCE HOBART
03 6272 0661
Place Engineering Award) and Rebekah Kang (NSW, 3rd Place MATERIALS [email protected]
Investigations Award). Reference materials from all major worldwide MELBOURNE
03 9701 7077
Selected finalists will represent Australia at the Intel sources including: [email protected]
NIST (USA), CANMET (Canada),
International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in the SABS (South Africa), BAS (UK), P08E R93T0H2 1911
US in May 2017. Standards Australia, BGS (UK), BCR (Belgium), [email protected]
A winner with a chemistry interest is Amy Zhou, of the NWRI (Canada), NRCC (Canada), SYDNEY
Brammer (USA), Alpha (USA), Seishin (Japan) 02 9603 1205
Queensland Academy of Health Science. After a friend’s father [email protected]
April 2017 Chemistry in Australia | 9
news
Studyy Provides Carboon
Teabags as a climate change tool
Footprrint Table for Foood
GGGGeeeetttttt yyoouuurrr Researchers ha e compiled the first comprehenssive carbon ot-
print t le r esh od so th che , c erers andd odies can cook
meals without cooking the planet.
A/Prof Ka li Ver ese and Dr Enda Crossin oof IT Univer-
sity, working wwith Dr Stephen Clune of Lancaaster University,
ccchhhheeeemmmmiisssttttrrrryyyy
identified a clear greenhouse s emissions hieraarchy across od
categories. Graains, uit and vegetables had thee lowest impact,
llowed by nuuts and pulses. Meat om non-ruminant animals,
such as chickenn and pork, had a medium impactt.
qqqqquuuuuiiiccccckkkkkkk sssssmmmmmaaaaarrrrrrrtttttttt
Fish also haad a medium impact on era , althou results
bet en speciess varied si ificantly. Meat om ruuminant anim s,
such as beef annd lamb, had the hi est impact.
The researcch, to be published in January inn the urnal
ner Pro c on, reviewed 369 published studies that provided
1M7a1n8g rovoebs aalr ew caaarrmboinn-gst oprointge ncotiast avl wueetlsa ndrs .1 C6C 8BY _vvSaAr 3ie.0t/iWeiski moefd iaesh
produce, includding ve tables, uit, dairy produccts, st les, meat,
A group of scientists from Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab
chicken and fissh.
has launched a project that will use Lipton teabags as a tool to
The authorss h e produced a simple list to illuustrate how much
measure how well global wetlands are storing carbon.
– or how little – it takes r di rent ods to coontribute 1 kg of
According to Dr Peter Macreadie, lab director and senior
greenhouse gass emissions. On era this is:
lecturer in Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences,
• 5.8 kg of onnions (about 50 medium onions);
by monitoring how quickly the teabags decompose, scientists
• 3.5 kg of pples (about 20 medium ples);
will be able to determine the carbon-sink capacity of wetlands.
• 2.6 kg of oats;
‘If the buried teabag is quickly munched up by microbes
• 1 kg of lentiils;
living within the wetlands, we know it’s not an ideal spot, but
• 1.2 kg of peanuts;
if the teabag stays relatively intact it means the wetland is a
•nic8e0 s0ta mblLe oenf vmmiriolkn;ment perfect for storing carbon,’ Macreadie
•sai2d.90 g of salmmon;
• 2‘9O0u rgg ionfla enggdggg w (eatblaonudts , ceo asmstal l meggagrsh);e s, mangroves and
•sea2g7ra0s gs omfe cahdiiocwkse na;re some of our most effective carbon sinks,
•rem2o4v4in gg o aft kmaonnsphreoroic; CO and locking it away in the ground
2
•mo2re1 2th ga no ft rwaibbcbe iat;s effectively as the world’s rainforests.
• 1D3r 1M ga corfe aAduuiest arndia hni sp oterakm; hope to engage climate change
•res4ea4r cgh oefr sA, uNsGttOrasl,i acnit ibzeeen s cainedntists and environmental groups
•acr5o7ss g t hoef Awuorslttdr atloia bnu lraym ab L.ipton teabag at their local wetlands.
T‘Cheer taaiimn toeffa btahges s htuavdey aw uans itfoor mde dveecloomp pao dsiatttioanse rta ttoe wsuitphpinort
cwoentslaunmdesr, sa alnloddw cinatge rsicniegn otristsn tisoa teiaosnilsy i nst cuadlcyu vlaatriiianbgi ltihtye iin raatcets of
tohfe cira ribnone bdrieeannktds oawndn  m– ean cursit. iTcahle d aeuttehrmorins ahnatd opfrr ethveio cuasrlby owno-sriknekd
wcaitpha cai trye soifd eanntt eico asgys tceamre,’ oMragcrneaisdaitei osnai dto. helpp rreduce its g een-
hous‘Rei ggahst enmowis swioen hs,a avne dd iffuernedn tt hcaotu tnhtrei es oudsi snegr ae dva troie rteys iodfents
KKuurrssaadd//iiSSttoocckk cwoanytsr itbou mteeda stuoor ae ltahre c aprobrotnio snt oorfa tghee c eanpvaibriolintmiesee notfa tlh ieir act.
wetlandilse athndey c womerien g uapr ew oitfh v raersioulutss stthraatte aree sd tihhffiactu clot utlod reduce
tchoims ipmarpea.ct (suuch as h ing less red meat), to estiimate the impact
of aT rheev ipserodj mecetnn ius awni tehx stoemnseio cnr eodfi bai lgitloy bwaal si nexitcieapptitvioe nthalyt dstiffiartceudlt
aosn t hlaen idn – rcmalalettdio Tne waCaosm sop odsisitpieorns e–d .w Thhicihs shtaarst reuddn t hsuecirc aetstsefmullpyt itno
uanlld ceornsttainnedn mtsoo erxec celpeta rAlyn ttahrec ticoab. warming poteential of di ring
Once the data is gathered, the scientists hope that they will
VViissiitt uusss oonnlliinnee ttooddaaaayyy!! ods.
be able to confidently compare global CO emissions from
Ver ese said the study was the lar st2 and mmost comprehen-
wetlands around the world.
sivve examinatioon of its kindd,, pprovviddingg the first glob leag e table
cchheemmaaaauusstt.rraaccii.oorrgg.aauu
For more information, visit bluecarbonlab.org/
r esh od.
teacomposition-h2o.
Deakin University
FFFoollllooww uuss @@aauussttssccciieennccee
10 | Chemistry in Australia April 2017