Instead of synthesizing and testing compounds one at time, drug designers now often create lineups of slightly varying molecules for faster evaluation, a method called combinatorial chemistry. To unlock the secrets of this approach to drug discovery, browse this primer from Oleg Larin of the Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology in Russia. The site's six brief chapters explore how researchers perform combinatorial chemistry in the solid phase and in solution. Readers can delve into the different resins for cradling molecules and compare various tags for tracking synthesis products. The site also features a glossary and a collection of combinatorial chemistry articles.

Science 27 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5799, p. 571

Gerty and Carl Cori shared more than most married couples, including a lab, a fascination with carbohydrate metabolism, and the 1947 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. The pair revealed how the body adjusts its sugar supply by breaking down and rebuilding glycogen. Their work is one of the milestones showcased at The National Historic Chemical Landmarks Web site. The 5-year-old exhibit from the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., explores more than 30 firsts in medicine, industry, consumer products, and basic science, adding a few new examples each year. You can also check out locales where revolutions in chemical research or production occurred, such as the Savannah Pulp and Paper Laboratory in Georgia and the Polymer Research Institute in New York City, which helped spark an explosion of interest in the giant molecules.

Science 20 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5798, p. 393

A neutron star is a burned-out stellar husk, so why does it still glow? Are gorillas more muscular than humans because they have higher testosterone levels? To answer queries like these, the MadSci Network, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, can draw on the expertise of nearly 800 volunteer researchers around the world. The question-and-answer site has expanded from a student project at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, into a veritable encyclopedia that archives some 36,000 entries. Visitors from grade schoolers to professionals post up to 150 new questions a day. A cadre of scientists sifts the submissions and farms them out to the appropriate experts, who usually provide answers within 2 weeks. For example, a neutron star glows because its strong electrical field tears electrons from atoms in its outer layer, and the speeding electrons release energy.

Science 13 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5797, p. 229

Yield isn't everything when choosing how to synthesize an organic compound. Safety, cost of raw materials, the ease of isolating the products, and other considerations matter, too. To help evaluate these factors, fire up the calculator EcoScale, devised by chemists in Belgium, the United States, and Switzerland. Users key in the reactants, products, and details of the procedure, such as whether it requires specialized glassware or high pressure. EcoScale then rates each reaction from 0 to 100. Risky protocols reduce the scores by the largest amount. Explosive reagents blast 10 points off the final tally, for example.

Science 6 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5796, p. 27

A few tips from a veteran cook can ensure that your first soufflé comes out fluffy instead of leaden. The same principle motivates the SyntheticPages, hosted by the University of Warwick in the U.K. Midway between a journal and a user-written wiki, the site allows researchers to share not just the procedure for making a compound, but also pointers and common problems. So far, contributors have submitted 220 protocols for synthesizing everything from quinoline to substituted flavones. In contrast to wiki-style sites, editors vet the procedures before they're posted. The site's goal isn't to replace traditional publications but to allow researchers to pass on their experience with a reaction. Visitors can also have their say, adding clarifications and refinements.

Science 1 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5791, p. 1211
DOI: 10.1126/science.313.5791.1211b