Yet another total synthesis of strychnine? The reasons why this indole alkaloid is still an important target of synthesis efforts is discussed by J. S. Cannon and L. E. Overman in a Review. A. Simon scrutinizes the reactivity of rare-earth metals with hydrogen in a Minireview. The Highlights deal with reversible bond structures in polymer networks (C. N. Bowman and C. J. Kloxin), highly coordinated planar structures (T. Heine and G. Merino), and a four-wheel-drive electric nanocar (E. C. H. Sykes). In an Editorial, C. Bai discusses why international scientific cooperation is important for science in China.
In the Communications section, K. Kern et al. report on the high selectivity in the formation of coordination nano-architectures from instructed metal–ligand mixtures under surface-confined conditions (see picture). K. M. Sureshan et al. describe how a topochemical click reaction that dispenses with catalyst, solvent, or other modes of activation takes place in crystals of a sugar derivative, and produces linear polymers. J. Okuda et al. succeeded in the synthesis of a cationic calcium hydride cluster that is stabilized by macrocyclic N,N,N,N ligands.
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