The first direct carboxamidation of indoles by Pd-catalyzed C–H bond activation offers new functionalization of the molecules

The most-accessed chemistry articles from ChemPubSoc Europe and GDCh journals for January 2012

Overview of the chemical synthesis of cardiotonic steroid glycosides – recently neglected, but promising field

Hugh Aldersey-Williams' book, Periodic Tales – A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc, is reviewed by Matthias Driess

Dramatic dye uptake by newly synthesized hydrogelator which will guide the production of novel inexpensive and easy to use water purification platforms

Library of potential low molecular weight hydrogelators synthesized; will guide production of novel inexpensive, easy to use water purification platforms

Axel Müller, University of Bayreuth, receives the Hermann-Staudinger Prize of the GDCh

Bert Meijer, Eindhoven University of Technology, will give The Chemical Record Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan

Roald Hoffmann discusses the purpose of the Nobel Prizes and why areas like biochemistry should be recognized

(–)-7S-OH-lentiginosine has been efficiently synthesized and is an apoptosis inducer that has low cytotoxicity toward healthy cells