Chemistry news, research and opinions

Race to understand Sars-CoV-2 variants amid fears virus might evade vaccines

Biochemical basis behind coronavirus variants’ success could hold key to defeating them

Historical lead from petrol still poisons London’s air 20 years after its ban

Two decades after leaded petrol was banned in the UK, the toxic metal still hangs around London’s dusty roads – and it’s not going away

Supermetals versus superbugs

By James Mitchell Crow

With pathogenic bacteria rapidly overcoming our arsenal of organic antibiotics, James Mitchell Crow asks if it is time to revisit metal-based antimicrobials

Former Nasa nanotechnologist jailed for hiding his China ties

2021-06-24T14:00:00+01:00

US judge sentences senior Nasa scientist to 30 days imprisonment for lying about his participation in a Chinese talent programme

Swiss decision to abandon trade talks raises questions over research relationship with EU

2021-06-22T14:30:00+01:00

Political fallout could hit Swiss involvement in European science programmes

BMS and Eisai agree antibody-drug conjugate commercialisation deal

2021-06-22T09:50:00+01:00

Companies will jointly develop cancer treatment, with BMS paying up to $3 billion for shared rights

Regeneron’s Covid-19 antibodies help those who can’t make their own

2021-06-18T13:42:00+01:00

Regn-Cov2 reduces deaths and shortens hospitalisation for these patients, even when given at late stages of infection

Tenured Kentucky toxicologist resigns ending years-long misconduct charges drama

2021-06-18T13:30:00+01:00

Long-time University of Kentucky researcher resigns the day before Board was to vote on whether to revoke his tenure for research misconduct

Quantum chemical reaction behind birds’ internal compass

2021-06-24T13:37:00+01:00

Can migratory robins ‘see’ Earth’s magnetic field at night?

Fun with f-elements

2021-06-23T08:49:00+01:00

Working with lanthanides and actinides may be challenging, but David Mills says the field is ripe for discovery

Sortase A strategy could see ribosomal products reach further across chemical space

2021-06-21T13:50:00+01:00

Compound libraries set to benefit from process that harnesses promiscuity of post-translation enzymes

Blocking bacteria’s self-poisoning mechanism weakens their antibiotic resistance

2021-06-17T08:43:00+01:00

Stopping bacteria from producing hydrogen sulfide in response to drugs could help overcome antimicrobial resistance

Nanomaterial stores radicals to power photopolymerisation in the dark

2021-06-16T13:36:00+01:00

Reaction driven by long-lived radicals experiences fewer side reactions than photopolymerisation under light irradiation

Welcome to our sustainability collection

Batteries: The bedrock of the sustainable future

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

Production of lithium batteries for electric cars

Peering inside a working battery

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

Better batteries for a more sustainable world

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

Behind the scenes of a Labster simulation

Sponsored by Labster, by Sarah Jayne Boulton

Lighting the way to a sustainable future

Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, by Simon Pearce, Pam Poulin

Illustration of digitised pills and tablets

Unlocking the future of medicines manufacturing with digital innovations

The role of semiconductors in tomorrow’s technologies

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Yellow and orange cosmos flowers with blue sky in the background

Nature and mental wellbeing – Building a better chemistry culture

Voice of The Royal Society of Chemistry

An illustration showing different uses for plastics, alongside plastics being recycled

Should we design biodegradable plastics?

Voice of The Royal Society of Chemistry

Books and a computer – learning concept image

Chemistry pedagogy for a modern world

Voice of The Royal Society of Chemistry

LGBT+ inclusivity – Building a better chemistry culture

Voice of The Royal Society of Chemistry

Nature and mental wellbeing – Building a better chemistry culture
Should we design biodegradable plastics?
Chemistry pedagogy for a modern world
LGBT+ inclusivity – Building a better chemistry culture

Polly Porter, crystallography pioneer

An illustrated portrait of Mary Sherman Morgan

Mary Sherman Morgan: The best kept secret in the space race

Julia Lermontova: an early pioneer

An illustrated portrait of Margarita Salas

Margarita Salas: the marquesa of molecular biology

Sylvia Stoesser – the first female chemist at Dow

An image showing a framed portrait of Martin Gouterman

Martin Gouterman: the gay man behind the four-orbital model

Stefanie Horovitz – the woman behind the isotope

An illustrated portrait of Marguerite Perey

Marguerite Perey and the last element in nature

More...

The rise of ferrofluids

By Hayley Bennett

Magnetic liquids are taking off, Hayley Bennett reports, but not as their inventor once imagined

Reaching the molecular limit of magnetic memory

By Rachel Brazil

Clever chemistry could help computers cram even more data onto their hard drives. Rachel Brazil reports on single-molecule magnets

Computer-guided retrosynthesis

By Andy Extance

Machine learning-based systems hope to outperform expert-guided reaction planning technology, finds Andy Extance

How should chemical mixtures be regulated?

By Nina Notman

Nina Notman explores the challenge of assessing and managing risk from the coincidental chemical mixtures to which humans and the environment are exposed

Quantitative structural analysis using STEM HAADF-iDPC

BMS and Eisai agree antibody-drug conjugate commercialisation deal

By Phillip Broadwith

Regeneron’s Covid-19 antibodies help those who can’t make their own

By Anthony King

Alzheimer’s antibody gets surprise US approval

By Anthony King

Eight dead in apparent methyl formate leak at Chinese chemical plant

By Rebecca Trager

Deadly fire in Indian chemical factory

By Sanjay Kumar

Fun with f-elements

By Jennifer Newton

Working with lanthanides and actinides may be challenging, but David Mills says the field is ripe for discovery

From chemistry to referee

By Rebecca Trager

Kathryn Nesbitt left her professor post to bring her problem-solving skills to the pitch, and is breaking through barriers for women

Sought-after chemist turns down job over tenure case

By Rebecca Trager

UNC Chapel Hill chemistry faculty warn that the university’s failure to hire renowned black journalist with tenure has ‘dire’ recruitment repercussions

Plans to leave academia can add value to research

By Emma Pewsey

Incorporating your interests can introduce new directions to your projects

Doctoring the doctorate

By Kit Chapman

There are now more ways than ever before to complete your PhD, finds Kit Chapman

Ewine van Dishoeck: ‘Take a steep trajectory early in your career’

The pioneering astrochemist on art, gathering strength and taking the leap into a new discipline

Molly Stevens: ‘Our society is tremendously unequal’

The innovative bioengineer on addressing healthcare inequalities and nurturing a collaborative group

Skarstrom’s separator

By Andrea Sella

Producing oxygen and other gases from the atmosphere

Brewing up science stories

By Alice Motion

Yeast strains, citizen science and climate change

Truly synthetic chemists

By Neil Withers

I for one welcome our silicon-brained overlords

The side effects of being unique

By Derek Lowe

Even the largest clinical trials won’t capture all possible bad reactions to a drug – we need pharmacovigilance

Improving the performance of Li-ion batteries

Li-ion battery electrolyte design

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

Harmonised system coding and duty calculations for chemicals

Comprehensive 2D liquid chromatography for polymer applications

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

The theory and practice of green analytical chemistry

Sponsored by Waters Corporation

Testing for mosquito repellent residue

Sponsored by Honeywell Research Chemicals

Improving the performance of Li-ion batteries
Li-ion battery electrolyte design
Harmonised system coding and duty calculations for chemicals
Comprehensive 2D liquid chromatography for polymer applications
The theory and practice of green analytical chemistry
Testing for mosquito repellent residue

Introduction: the coronavirus pandemic and the future

2021-02-19T09:00:00+00:00

This series of Chemistry World reports is part of a forth coming e-bookand hardback to be published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The book was motivated by a desire on the part of the editors and the authors to produce a body of information on the new and deadly coronavirus about which the world was largely uninformed and for which it was totally unprepared.