Well, this hasn't been the best week, to be honest. Here's hoping we get things done that need to get done. I hope you have a great weekend. See you on Monday.  ..read more

Via FiercePharma, this news:  As the BIOSECURE Act threatens to upend relationships with Chinese contractors and western biopharma companies operating in the U.S., Novartis has elected not to adopt a “wait and see” attitude. Novartis, like many drugmakers, has ties to Chinese firms in the manufacturing and contract research space, the Swiss pharma’s CFO, Harry Kirsch, said on a press call Tuesday during its first quarter financial results. Amid the threat of a looming biosecurity crackdown by the U.S. government against many of those Chinese biotechs, Novartis is now “actively” managing ..read more

Via Twitter, this tweet from Dani Schultz:  We have multiple openings in Boston, San Francisco and West Point (PA) spanning Bachelor's, Master’s, entry level PhD and PhD with experience. Go to http://jobs.merck.com and search for ‘Discovery Chemistry’ or ‘Peptide’!  Here's one of the ads for the West Point site:  Our company is currently seeking passionate synthetic organic or medicinal chemists for positions within the Discovery Chemistry Department located at our West Point, PA site. The successful candidate will join multidisciplinary, highly collaborative discovery teams to ..read more

Via the New York Times, I learned about auto-brewery syndrome:  ...In Belgium, the brewery worker — a 40-year-old man who wishes to remain anonymous, according to his lawyer — was pulled over by the police in April 2022 and registered a blood-alcohol reading that was more than four times the legal limit. A month later, he was pulled over again and registered more than three times the limit. It was the third time the man had been cited — he had been pulled over and fined for driving under the influence in 2019. He was unaware that he had A.B.S. until his latest charge — tests administered ..read more

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 552 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions.  Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions. To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list. On April 25, 2023, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 622 research/teaching positions and 81 teaching-focused positions. Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. Here's a link to the second, open thread ..read more

In this week's issue of Chemical and Engineering News, this comment:  Thanks for publishing Priyanka Runwal’s fine article on East Palestine, Ohio, in the Feb. 26, 2024, issue of C&EN (page 24). The Norfolk Southern train derailment should have received a prompt federal response since the onboard cargo was being used in interstate commerce (from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania). The State of Ohio did respond to this disaster, but it took some poking and prodding for the state to act. I spoke to the governor’s representative in my region, who indicated that the state mainta ..read more

Well, I was gifted two quiet days this week, and I got half of what I wanted to get done, done. So here's hoping I can get the other half done on Friday. I hope that you got accomplished what you hoped to, and that you have a fantastic weekend. I know I will try to! See you on Monday.  ..read more

Via the New York Times, this very fun trip to an ancient Japanese steel foundry:  ...Safety was paramount because around the flames, at various stations, milled a team of some 20 excited tourists, a mix of both Japanese and a few foreigners, all dressed in very hip dark gray jumpsuits. These were people paying roughly ¥200,000, or about $1,500, for the chance to be a worker in a tatara-ba for a day and night. (They would get to keep the jumpsuits and a small piece of raw steel as souvenirs.) Their faces and hands were streaked by charcoal. Jewel steel is produced by sprinkling iron sand ..read more

Via C&EN Jobs:  Position Summary Regis seeks a qualified candidate to join its faculty as a Chemistry Teacher beginning September 2024 for the Academic Year 2024-2025. This is a full-time faculty position. Position comes with full benefits. Work hours may vary and will include some evenings and weekends for special school events. Salary is very competitive for the New York City area and is commensurate with experience. The 2024-2025 school year for faculty members ends on June 13, 2025. Job Responsibilities Supports and Advances the Catholic Jesuit Mission of the School Works in co ..read more

Via Twitter and the Department of Justice:  Defendant Worked to Traffic Marco Polo Sheep Parts from Kyrgyzstan, Clone Sheep, Illegally Inseminate Ewes to Create Hybrids and Traffic Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Parts A Montana man pleaded guilty today to two felony wildlife crimes – a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act – as part of an almost decade-long effort to create giant sheep hybrids in the United States with an aim to sell the species to captive hunting facilities. Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, is the owner and operator ..read more