Ada McVean
Digital content assistant, Chemistry World
I started at Chemistry World in February 2023 after moving to the UK in September 2022, just one month after finishing my Masters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at McGill University. My degrees are in bio-organic chemistry and gender and social justice studies. My thesis focused on oligonucleotide chemistry, specifically characterizing small nucleic acid-based inhibitors Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 using click chemistry.
I've been a science writer since 2016 and have worked with the McGill Office for Science and Society, Skeptical Inquirer, SciMoms, Atlas Obscura and now Chemistry World.
My education is in chemistry, but I've never met a type of science I didn't want to know more about. I am particularly interested in veterinary medicine, mechanochemistry and pharmacology, as well as misinformation and myth-busting.
ResearchStatic on steroids lets meat and fruit stick to metal at flick of switch
Electroadhesion could find biomedical and robotic applications
ResearchEnzyme engineering makes blue denim greener
Environmentally friendlier alternative to indigo dye can now be made at a competitive price
ResearchBlueberries’ blue is just skin deep, depending on structure not pigments
Non-spherical nanostructures explain the fruit’s colour
ResearchE. coli rewired to shift carbon flow towards C4 chemicals
Bioengineering strategy creates evolutionary advantage linking cell growth with product formation
ResearchD-trypsin synthesis enables sequencing of mirror-image proteins
Reversing the chirality of a protein-digesting enzyme could aid the development of mirror-image therapeutics
ResearchPolar bear-inspired material could be the future of insulating textiles
Encapsulated aerogel fibre can be stretched, dyed and washed without signs of degradation
Research‘Dolomite problem’ that has puzzled scientists for centuries may have finally been solved
Solution helps to explain the mystery of why common mineral won’t crystallise in the lab
ResearchInsulin medicines more resilient to temperature than previously thought
Review suggests more lenient storage guidelines could make diabetes treatments more accessible
ResearchAerophobic electrodes prevent bubble coalescence and boost mass transport
Hydrogel electrode coating improves the efficiency of gas evolution reactions
ResearchElemental analysis sheds light on Pompeii victims’ final moments
New evidence suggests asphyxiation caused the death of seven people in new study
ResearchMapping antibiotic’s binding of its target points to way to give drugs the killer edge
Technique that creates a comprehensive catalogue of mutations in antibiotic’s target reveals how drugs might be improved
ResearchSynthetic peptide mimics can act as antivirals
Peptoids disrupt enveloped viruses’ lipid membranes as well as targeting fungi and bacteria
ResearchCrispr editing reduces poplar lignin content
Gene-edited wood could reduce waste and save energy during pulping process
ResearchXRF reveals early drafts of ancient Egyptian art
Portable analytical equipment allows greater analysis of ancient artwork
ResearchLateral flow HPV test could increase detection rates in resource-poor settings
Low-cost assay works uses self-collected samples and gives results within 45 minutes
ResearchIntroducing click chemistry’s newest reaction
Phosphorus fluoride exchange allows chemists to quickly build P–O and P–N linked compounds
ResearchMechanochemistry makes gold salts that are soluble in organic solvents
No need for aqua regia, chlorine or mercury in this gold processing method
ResearchAncient microbial natural products reconstructed from Neanderthal dental plaques
Palaeogenomic approach allows natural product researchers to ‘go back in time’
NewsOverlooked documents shed new light on double helix discovery
Rosalind Franklin was more than just a ‘wronged heroine’