‘Molecules for Life’ Conference will be a buzz

Media Release
29 November 2001

‘Molecules for Life’ Conference will be a buzz

Four hundred keen scientists will gather in Napier from 4 – 7 December for the Molecules for Life Conference.

Topics range from those a lay person would understand and be interested in - ‘Carbohydrates in the treatment and prevention of arthritis’ and ‘Purification of antimicrobial peptides from sheep blood’ - to ‘Structure reactivity relationships in base catalysed ring-opening hydrolysis reactions in 5.5-disubstituted barbituric acids’.

But to summarise the underlying fact of the conference: living things have molecules, modern technological advances make it more possible to understand how they work, and New Zealand scientists are very happy to have such a powerhouse event happen here.

An impressive list of people, some from the UK, the USA, Germany and Australia will be speaking. Professor Barbara Imperiali, from Massacheussets Institute of Technology, is working in the area of protein glycosylation, where chemistry and biology overlap. Dr Terry Collins, graduate of Auckland University and now Director of the Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, will be looking at the underlying issues raised in adopting a ‘green’ approach to the practice and application of science.

A Nanomaterials Symposium is being run in parallel with the Conference. And there’s more, much more: conference details can be seen at www.hortresearch.co.nz/nzic/

HortResearch, one of the Conference sponsors, is increasingly involved in bioengineering and biomedical technologies, and has demonstrated its commitment to this area of research by investing in new facilities and equipment.

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More conference details can be seen at
www.hortresearch.co.nz/nzic/

For further information please contact
Dr Jeremy Dombroski,
HortResearch, Palmerston North,
Private Bag 11 030 Palmerston North, New Zealand
Fax: +64-6-354 6731
Site Tel: +64-6-356 8080 ext: (6) 7702
Email: jdombroski@hortresearch.co.nz



OR
Dr Andrew Brodie
Professor of Chemistry
Institute of Fundamental Sciences
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222 Palmerston North
Phone: +64-6-356 9099 ext 3536
Fax: +64-6 350 5682
Email: A.Brodie@massey.ac.nz

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