Chemicals waste

Assembling the UN’s new panel on chemical waste

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Discussions are underway to agree funding, goals and procedures to create an IPCC for pollution

Artificial intelligence

AI model accurately classifies reaction mechanisms

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Machine learning ‘surpasses chemist experts’ in identifying chemical processes

Animated gif showing satellite view explosion of Tonga volcano

One year on from massive eruption in South Pacific, the atmosphere is still feeling the effects

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Scientists make ‘once in a lifetime’ observations as Hunga Tonga volcano found to have warmed the planet

News

Plastic waste

Plastics need a complete redesign to make them easier to recycle, researchers argue

2023-02-03T09:31:00+00:00

Thousands of chemicals used in plastics makes creating a truly circular economy far harder

Dave MacMillan

Chemistry Nobel prize-winner joins board of UK’s newest funding agency

2023-02-02T09:30:00+00:00

Organocatalysis pioneer David MacMillan takes Aria role

UC disputes

Tensions between University of California and unions flare up again over possible cuts to PhDs

2023-02-01T14:30:00+00:00

Academic unions are concerned by potential enrolment cuts to graduate programmes to offset the cost of pay rises

Januvia

Merck & Co identifies nitrosamine source in diabetes drugs

2023-02-01T13:37:00+00:00

Investigation uncovers the cause of contamination in sitagliptin medicines, but the wider nitrosamine problem is ballooning 

UCU strike

UK universities facing 18 days of strikes as dispute over pay and conditions intensifies

2023-01-31T14:51:00+00:00

70,000 staff members to walk out starting on 1 February

Research

Structure

Four new bonds to one carbon atom, in a single step

2023-02-02T19:01:00+00:00

Accidental discovery shows that N-heterocyclic carbenes can act as sources of atomic carbon

Stretchable and hermetic seals for LIBs

Flexible batteries kept stable with stretchy metallic films

2023-02-02T19:01:00+00:00

Liquid metals that block out air and water could improve the lifetime of stretchable electronics

Plastic bag floating in the ocean

Bacterium may help answer mystery of ‘missing’ plastic in the seas

2023-02-02T14:30:00+00:00

Plastic-eating bacteria and sunlight may partly explain why there’s less plastic waste in the oceans than predicted

Object found on burial site near the embalming workshop

Residues from embalming vessels cast new light on ancient Egyptian mummification

2023-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chemists reveal the compounds and sources of embalming treatments

Light

’Photoredox catalysis goes asymmetric’: counterion strategy a breakthrough in reaction control

2023-01-31T09:30:00+00:00

Ion-pairing enables chemists to reach previously inaccessible enantiomers

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Anju-Massey-Brooker-PLFs-2

The roadmap to a sustainable future for polymers

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Solvent bottles

Themed collection: Sustainable Laboratories

Voice of

Sustainable labs

The Sustainable Laboratories report

Voice of

Anju Massey-Booker

Sustainability applies to all polymers, not just plastics

Voice of , by

  • The roadmap to a sustainable future for polymers

  • Themed collection: Sustainable Laboratories

  • The Sustainable Laboratories report

  • Sustainability applies to all polymers, not just plastics

Significant figures

Celebrating science's forgotten heroes

Betty Harris

Betty Wright Harris’s explosive career

Masataka Ogawa

Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

Elizabeth Fulhame

Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

William Knox Jr

William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

Margaret Melhase

Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

Prafulla Chandra Ray

PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

  • Betty Wright Harris’s explosive career

  • Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

  • Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

  • William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

  • Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

  • PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

More...

Features

Salmon fillets

Omega-3s and brain health

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Modern diets can leave us short on essential fatty acids. Barbara Pinho looks into how this is affecting our health and our brains in particular

Ancient smells

The smell of history

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Nina Notman sniffs out chemistry’s role in uncovering, documenting and recreating the scents of the past

Obesogens - cushion, frying pan, artificial sweetener and tupperware "nutritional" values

Are everyday chemicals contributing to global obesity?

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Research in animal models suggests the simple ‘energy in, energy out’ model doesn’t tell the whole story. Anthony King talks to researchers worried about obesogens

Purple hye history

Fashion to dye for

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Can colouring clothing be environmentally sustainable? Victoria Atkinson looks at how dyes have come full circle from their natural origins

Upcoming webinars

A modern robotic arm works on an assembly line

Robots in the lab – learn how automation can streamline your workflow

  • Robots in the lab – learn how automation can streamline your workflow