Ada McVean
Ada McVean is a freelance science writer from Canada. She obtained her BSc in bioorganic chemistry and social justice studies and her MSc in oligonucleotide chemistry from McGill University in Montreal, where she also started working at the McGill Office for Science and Society. Ada moved to the UK, worked as digital content assistant at Chemistry World for a few years, and now finds herself back in Canada freelancing and shovelling snow.
ResearchWaste chlorine upcycled into valuable materials using simple resin
Polystyrene-based resin could capture chlorine lost in industrial waste streams
CareersHow to write thesis acknowledgements
Tips for deciding who and how to thank those who have supported you through your PhD or dissertation
ResearchStudy points to ammonia contamination in water microdroplets saga
Replication effort attributes mass spectrometry peaks to ammonium not hydroxyl species
ResearchWater-based membrane waves through carbon dioxide, blocks other gases
Technology could be simpler, greener way to capture carbon dioxide or separate biogas
BusinessHow to choose reactor materials and test for compatibility
Merck & Co team describes simple testing strategies and criteria for decision-making
ResearchLiquid metal nanoparticles enable ultrafast fire detection
MXenes and liquid metal nanoparticles create fireproof system that can sound the alarm in seconds
OpinionAs a first-generation student, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing
And that brought challenges and unexpected opportunites
BusinessNew reagents take the burn out of butyllithium
Merck KGaA’s non-pyrophoric butyllithium in poly(α-olefin) oil make BuLi stable to air and water
ResearchPrehistoric humans hunted with poisoned arrows thousands of years earlier than thought
Deadly plant alkaloids discovered on 60,000-year-old arrowheads
ResearchThianthrenium reagent captures elusive protein interactions in living cells
Reagent creates short, stable protein crosslinks, enabling researchers to identify previously unknown protein–protein interactions
OpinionOdile Eisenstein: ‘Some of the most important advice is to be persistent’
The pioneering theoretical chemist on teaching herself programming and the importance of freedom
OpinionNora de Leeuw: ‘Some of my best PhD students weren’t that great at passing exams’
The computational chemist on perspectives from outside academia and the importance of inquisitiveness
ResearchLichen sunscreen blocks extreme UV radiation and might enhance cosmetics, materials
Discovery also suggests that photosynthetic life might survive on planets circling powerful stars
ResearchMammoth task of identifying legal ivory made simpler and cheaper by isotope analysis
Technique could help authorities tell legal mammoth ivory from poached elephant ivory
NewsExplainer: Why is the UK banning disposable vapes?
Prior to the ban, almost seventy million single-use e-cigarettes were being discarded each year in the UK – containing enough lithium for a thousand electric vehicle batteries
ResearchSnuff tube residues push back date of oldest hallucinogen use in Peruvian Andes
Chemical analysis reveals traces of a number of psychoactive compounds thought to have been used to secure leaders’ status
ResearchMiso fermented on the International Space Station is out of this world
Space paste had a nuttier taste than its earthly counterparts thanks to speedier chemistry
ResearchForbidden electrocyclic reactions can be more allowed than previously thought
Study suggests such reactions should instead be described as either ‘Woodward–Hoffmann favoured’ or ‘Woodward–Hoffmann disfavoured’
ResearchAncient Vesuvius victim’s brain contains first natural organic glass ever seen
Extreme heating followed by rapid cooling formed unique material in a Herculaneum man
ResearchMystery of how polar bears keep their coats ice free unravelled
Analysis of fur sebum could inspire new icephobic coatings