Large numbers of mathematical equations cover a chalkboard. At the bottom right, a chalk outline of a person with long hair appears to be writing more equations

Making sense of the maths

2024-04-24T11:30:00+01:00By

Manipulating equations isn’t the same as understanding science

A cartoon showing a man in blue clothing leading a protest. He holds a sign saying exams, where the x of exams is in red and crosses out the rest of the word to show that he is against them

Breaking the cycle of teach, test, forget

2024-04-19T08:45:00+01:00By

A focus on exams makes it harder for students to cultivate a deep understanding of their subject

person in a white shirt with a beard and glasses places a blue pipette rack next to some others. To their right a grid of pipettes dangles down from a liquid dispensing robot

Inertia, decisions and robots

2024-04-16T08:30:00+01:00By

Our cognitive biases can make it difficult to choose what’s best for science

Bromadiolone

When the blood keeps on flowing

2024-04-12T08:35:00+01:00By

While warfarins can be lifesaving, superwarfarins are deadly – and not just to rodents

A brown hardback book with several holes that penetrate its full thickness

Holes in the ‘holey graphyne’ story

2024-04-11T08:39:00+01:00By

The challenges – and importance – of questioning published results

Louis Pasteur

Heated crystals jump to enantiomeric separation

2024-04-08T13:40:00+01:00By

Chiral asparagine monohydrate crystals can segregate by handedness – if you arrange them carefully first

Tattoo ink

Using analytical chemistry to illuminate the unlisted ingredients in tattoo inks

Discovery that more than 80% of the tattoo inks sampled had unlisted ingredients prompts New York-based lab to launch a website providing chemical information to tattoo artists and their clients

Pinkie Ntola

Playing her part in building South Africa’s scientific reputation

Meet Pinkie Ntola, an early-career Black researcher who is passionate about being a credible scientist, an inspiring teacher and a supportive mentor

Cowen Lab

A force against fungi

With antifungal resistance on the rise, Leah Cowen’s lab wants to identify molecules that can capitalise on vulnerabilities in fungal pathogens

Fountain pen nib, writing

Letters: April 2024

Readers discuss the handedness of DNA, celebrate the Explosives Act and reminisce about childhood experiments

  • Holes in the ‘holey graphyne’ story

  • Allotrope or not?

  • How we set up the Chemical Society of The Gambia

  • Investigating the molecular basis of a nice cup of tea

  • Spearheading antiviral discovery with AI and open innovation

  • Towards a unified theory of bonding