A Capital Feast of Chemical Findings

Big scientific conferences offer many intellectual attractions, but there can often be major distractions as well. When the American Chemical Society held its national meeting in Washington, D.C., in late August, some of the obvious--and pleasant--distractions were the majestic sights of the nation's capital. At the same time, though, Hurricane Katrina was laying waste to New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast, and many meeting attendees found themselves anxiously monitoring television news reports in the convention center and in their hotels. Despite such distractions, some 13,000 conferees took advantage of the cavalcade of science and technology presentations being offered. Here's a small sampling of the research discussed at the meeting.