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INSPIRED TO DIG
DEEPER INTO CHEMISTRY
Don’t be a dope
!
ISSUE 03 | MAY
2012
Nina Notman
talks to
2012 London Olympicthe scientists set to beat the
doping cheats
Games
at the
In this issue
Glucose
Energy for life
Avogadro’s lab
Make a sports
drink and join
in the Global Experiment
Meet the Universiti
es
Expert help to
find your
university course
Faces of chemistry
Looking behind
sport
performance research
Healthier sausages
Cutting edge chemistry
LONDON 2012
Careers advice
Access scientific careers
publications – advice on
topics such as writing
personal statements will
help you with your UCAS
application form.
The Mole
… FOR ANYONE
The main London
stadium which
will host the Olympics
this summer
‘We’ll catch you.’
This is the message
from the UK
government to
any athlete planning
hours a day, seven
to dope at this
summer’s Olympic
days a week during
Games in London.
Paralympic Games.
the Olympic and
Up to 400 samples
Doping means
each day, 6250
will be analysed
the use of illicit
in total – more
substances or methods
than any previous
to improve athletic
Games.
performance. It
The anti-doping
was banned in
lab is based at
1920s, and is still
the
the GlaxoSmithK
a growing problem
(GSK) site in Harlow,
line
in professional
sports. The constant
Essex. However,
the pharmaceut
company will not
pressure on athletes
ical
be running the
has driven the
to
win
development of
testing there. That
the job of David
novel and highly
is
Cowan, a professor
sophisticated doping
at King’s College
London’s Drug
techniques, as
Control Centre.
wannabe cheats
struggle to stay
With the help of
one step ahead
doping
experts from around
antiof the scientists
to expose them.
aiming
the world, Cowan
overseeing the
will be
150 analysts conducting
The lab
the tests.
The process
This year the chances
Approximately
of
half the athletes
than ever. A laboratory not being caught are smaller
competing, including
all Olympic medallists,
the size of seven
will be testing athlete’s
tennis courts
will provide urine
samples for anti-doping
and blood
urine and blood
samples 24
analysis. These
divided in two,
labelled with barcodes samples will be
(no names) and
0312MOLE -
FEATURE.indd
Editor
Karen J Ogilvie
Assistant editor
David Sait
ChemNet content
Rio Hutchings
Production
Scott Ollington
and Emma Shiells
Publisher
Bibiana Campos-Seijo
The Mole is published
six times
a year by the Royal
Society of
Chemistry, Thomas
House, Cambridge, Graham
CB4 0WF.
01223 420066
email: [email protected]
www.rsc.org/T
heMole
© The Royal Society
of Chemistry,
2012. ISSN: 2049-2634
www.rsc.org/The
Mole
Registered Charity
Number
1
207890
4/5/2012 12:17:48
PM
RSC ChemNet Plus
Meet the Universities can help you find the right degree
The RSC has two new membership options for students
aged 14–18. Choose from RSC ChemNet and RSC
ChemNet Plus to keep in touch with the latest advances
in chemistry and the support of the RSC community.
RSC ChemNet
This is free to join and offers online access to a huge
range of ways to boost your chemistry knowledge:
Latest news and developments
Read the latest news through The Mole e-magazine,
which features cutting edge science, chemistry you can
do at home, university advice and careers information.
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e-newsletter giving regular updates.
MyRSC Online Chemistry Network
Join the RSC ChemNet discussion group and chat to
other members, explore blogs and enter monthly
competitions to win Amazon vouchers.
RSC ChemNet ReAct
Stuck with course topics? Ask our Dr ChemNet
experts about tricky areas of your chemistry course,
try our tutorials, find out exam tips and browse other
students’ FAQs.
Specialist information
Discover hundreds of stimulating resources on Learn
Chemistry. Explore key chemistry topics through reallife contexts such as pharmaceuticals, scarce natural
www.rsc.org/TheMole
2 October 17:30–19:30
George Watsons’ College,
Edinburgh
Suitable for ages 14–18
Learn from real scientists
about possible career options
with chemistry.
http://bit.ly/NrRaTj
For just £15 for one year or £20 for two years, this
premium option provides access to all the information
available to RSC ChemNet members, as well as many
additional benefits which will help you get started in a
career in chemistry:
Chemistry World
This premier monthly
e-magazine for chemical
scientists gives you the
latest cutting edge research,
news, features, podcasts
and webinars.
Careers guidance
Discover and seek advice on the huge range
of career opportunities available to chemical scientists
through ChemCareers, the RSC’s online careers fair.
RSC ChemNet events
These local events are a great way to meet other
members in your area. They include university or
industry visits where you can find out what life is like as
a student and see real-life applications of chemistry. Our
careers events such as ‘look what chemistry has done
for me’ offer personal insights into where chemistry can
lead in the future.
Meet the Universities
Only RSC ChemNet Plus members can attend Meet
the Universities, a national event to help you make
your decisions about university and chemistry degree
choices, free of charge.
To find out more about RSC ChemNet and RSC ChemNet
Plus visit www.rsc.org/chemnet.
B
ASF – science in action/
industry visit
3 October 09:00–13:00
Bradford
Suitable for ages 16–18
See science in action at BASF,
the largest and most
productive single site chemical
plant in the UK.
http://bit.ly/LBl7xv
Y
orkshire museum –
chemistry, conservation
and collections
17 October 10:00–15:30
York
Suitable for ages 16–18
Join curators at the Yorkshire
Museum to find out why an
understanding of chemistry is
essential to caring for their
internationally significant
natural science collections.
http://bit.ly/QV1QAn
These events are supported
by an education grant as part
of the Reach and Teach
program funded by the
Wolfson Foundation.
e on a
To book a plac
t:
ChemNet even
org
c.
rs
E: events@
40
23
43
3
T: 0122
and find more
or book online
e events at:
th
info about all
emnet
w w w.rsc.org/ch
/chemnet
rg
.o
sc
y.r
m
ht tp://
September 2012 | The Mole | 7