Recent high profile controversies haven’t deterred scientists from searching for one of research’s ultimate prizes: room temperature superconductors. Kit Chapman reports on the claims
Across the world, scientists use a variety of techniques to analyse and treat water to ensure it’s safe for us to drink. Julia Robinson talks to some of the people involved
As the chemical industry decarbonises, will it require more water? Angeli Mehta looks at whether there is enough to go round
Even in the bleak wastelands of interstellar space complex organic molecules seem to find a way to form. Anna Demming finds out how
Our gut microbiome has been linked to conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Anthony King reports on the connections
Turning mature somatic cells back into flexible stem cells using small molecules could revolutionise medicine, especially for regeneration and cancer. Philip Ball reports
Now a biological reality, researchers are starting to figure out the many roles of left-handed nucleic acids such as Z-DNA – from immunity to controlling our genetics. Rachel Brazil reports
Efforts underway in Texas are ushering in a new era of inclusivity with mouth models, lithophanes, robots, talking tools and more
Financial and mental wellbeing are linked as many chemists feel the effects of the cost-of-living crisis
Thorium nuclear reactors could consume nuclear waste and provide power without the risk of nuclear weapon proliferation
Chemistry is at the heart of bold direct ocean capture plans to remove CO2 and sequester it
Changing the chemical makeup of a polymer backbone could revolutionise how we make, use and even recycle plastics. James Mitchell Crow reports
Nina Notman takes a look at the recent and upcoming diagnostic and screening innovations aiming to drive down the incidence of tuberculosis globally
Medicinal chemists are increasingly exploring strained ring systems, George Barsted reports, believing they can serve as replacements for conventional building blocks in pharmaceuticals
Studies suggest that our fruit and vegetables are losing nutrients. Bárbara Pinho examines the evidence and looks at the implications of a ‘nutrient collapse’
Chemical bonds are part of the way chemists rationalise the behaviour of atoms in the conditions of the world around them. Tim Wogan looks at how they are affected when those conditions change
Alongside supramolecular stalwarts, budding bonding forms are vying to be valuable, finds Andy Extance
Synthetic chemists are finally mastering the assembly of interlocked molecules held together by the mechanical bond, find James Mitchell Crow
Rachel Brazil looks at how the compounds might have formed on our neighbouring planet and whether they could be useful for future exploration
The fires of traditional African iron smelters burned out a century ago and now the researchers dedicated to uncovering their stories are disappearing from the continent too, writes Hayley Bennett
