Water collection

Water and the environment

In this collection, we explore the industrial use of water, water supply and its role in the environment, covering responsible mining, large-scale desalination and hydrogen production, drinking water and public health, the impact of climate change on oceans, and solutions for repairing polluted waterways and ecosystems.

Magnets

Answer found for why like-charged particles sometimes attract each other

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It’s not just opposites that always attract as new research confirms an observation that has puzzled scientists for over 80 years

Space organics

The surprising organic chemistry in interstellar space

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Even in the bleak wastelands of interstellar space complex organic molecules seem to find a way to form. Anna Demming finds out how

South Korea and EU flag

South Korea joins EU’s research programme Horizon Europe

2024-03-27T14:30:00+00:00

EU hopes to benefit in areas that include artificial intelligence and antimicrobial resistance

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Tweets don’t bring citations, randomised controlled study finds

2024-03-27T09:30:00+00:00

Social media’s benefits rest more on building scientific networks than promotion

Curl's Nobel medal

Robert Curl’s ‘buckyball’ chemistry Nobel prize to be auctioned off

2024-03-26T14:30:00+00:00

1996 chemistry award honoured Curl, Harry Kroto and Richard Smalley’s discovery of fullerenes

Mark Newman

Chemours sacks top executives following accounting probe

2024-03-25T15:09:00+00:00

Review found officers manipulated cashflow to hit targets and affect bonus payments

Models of tiny people sitting on stacks of coins. A man is on the tallest stack and a mother and baby is on the smallest with two other woman in between.

Universities in the UK beat national average on gender pay gap but large discrepancies remain

2024-03-22T14:30:00+00:00

Report estimates that in 14 years’ time women in higher education will be paid the same as men

Reaction set-up

Cross-coupling technique cracks open alcohols for chemical synthesis

2024-03-26T14:30:00+00:00

A new alcohol–alcohol cross coupling reaction could become a powerful new tool for synthetic chemists

A petri dish with a pink liquid that has growing strips and swirls of lighter colours

Pulsating chemical computers vie with their quantum rivals

2024-03-26T10:31:00+00:00

The Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction powers cellular automata and optimisation calculations

Tiny motor made from crystallized molecules

Molecular crystal motors completely powered by light

2024-03-25T14:30:00+00:00

Chemists in Saudi Arabia and the US have created tiny machines made from crystallised molecules that continuously move when exposed to light

Figure

Microplastics passed on during cell division

2024-03-25T11:59:00+00:00

New research sheds light on the influence of microplastics on cellular processes

Pills

Non-antibiotics with antibacterial activity could help in the fight against antimicrobial resistance

2024-03-25T10:59:00+00:00

New analysis shows that non-antibiotic drugs kill bacteria through mechanisms that differ from those of conventional antibiotics

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

  • Biocatalysis – A cross-RSC collection

  • Biocatalysis Faraday Discussion

  • Myth busting: Chemists, the public and the media

  • Innovating for the future of sustainable labs

Oceans

The oceans’ climate challenge

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Nina Notman speaks to the researchers unpicking the many ways the climate crisis is impacting our oceans – and vice versa

Drinking water

The chemists dedicated to making drinking water safer

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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

Industry

Industry’s water sustainability crisis

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As the chemical industry decarbonises, will it require more water? Angeli Mehta looks at whether there is enough to go round

Brain-gut

How microbes influence our brain health

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Our gut microbiome has been linked to conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Anthony King reports on the connections

  • Investigating the behaviour of water at material interfaces

  • Clean water innovations: Addressing global challenges