Chemistry news, research and opinions

Businesses use blockchain to take on trustlessness

Big companies are looking to blockchain technology to track transactions, finds Andy Extance, while upstarts exploit its cryptocurrency origins

13 August 2018

Court gives EPA 60 days to finalise a ban, which was proposed under Obama but reversed by the Trump administration

Although many drugs have in the past come from plants, Hayley Bennett discovers that it’s hard work getting them approved today

It’s 100 years since Derek Barton was born. Mike Sutton looks at his work developing conformational analysis

Is the dream of a hydrogen-fuelled future still a pipe dream, or is it in the pipeline? Angeli Mehta investigates

Bilirubin
By Kat Arney
Kat Arney investigates the chemicals responsible for giving bruises their hue and colouring your poo
Book Club – The Beautiful Cure
By Emma Stoye
Immunologist Daniel Davis reveals the complexities of the human immune system
Naloxone
By Katrina Krämer
The antidote that can stop an opioid overdose in its tracks
Fentanyl
By Jamie Durrani
A 1960s breakthrough in pain relief that now fuels the opioid crisis
Lanolin
By Michael Freemantle
How a waxy mixture from a sheep's fleece helped create a global fashion brand
Cannabidiol
By Ben Valsler
The story of Charlotte Figi, Dravet syndrome and the cannabis compound controlling her condition

Exhibition: Life at the Edges
The latest exhibition at Dublin’s Science Gallery explores life in the harshest environments, on Earth and beyond
The Beautiful Cure: Harnessing your body's natural defences
The human body’s response to disease is fiendishly complex but endlessly fascinating
All that remains: a life in death
Forensic anthropologist Sue black shares her fascination with anatomy and determination to help the loved ones of those that die
The space barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the quest to colonize the cosmos
A book that aims to take readers into the lives and minds of two of the most powerful men in the world
Unthinkable: an extraordinary journey through the world’s strangest brains
A book that tells the stories of people who experience reality in extraordinary ways
Beyond weird: why everything you thought you knew about quantum physics is different
Philip Ball sets himself the task of explaining quantum mechanics
Burning planet: the story of fire through time
Andrew C Scott’s book charts the natural history of wildfire and its ability to provide clues to events on Earth
Forgotten women: the scientists
Philippa Matthews reviews a book looking to uncover the lost histories of women whose achievements have been left out of the textbooks
Exhibition: Somewhere in between
Emma Stoye reviews the Wellcome Collection’s exhibition, which promises immersive, science-inspired art installations