All articles by Ada McVean
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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
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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
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ResearchLichen sunscreen blocks extreme UV radiation and might enhance cosmetics, materials
Discovery also suggests that photosynthetic life might survive on planets circling powerful stars
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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’
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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
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ResearchMystery of how polar bears keep their coats ice free unravelled
Analysis of fur sebum could inspire new icephobic coatings
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ResearchQuick test could catch fatal tick fever before it’s too late
Lateral flow test diagnosed fatal disease in animal model before symptoms appeared
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ResearchIsotope analysis reveals ‘mundane’ origins of remarkable dinosaur fossil site
Collapsing burrows, not volcanoes, killed the dinosaurs in China’s Yixian Formation
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ResearchNanoscale peaks and valleys create long-lasting frost-resistant surfaces
Treatment could protect energy infrastructure and heat exchangers
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ResearchEasy to remove tag could make mRNA synthesis for vaccines quicker and cheaper
Chemical synthesis takes another step towards overtaking more complex enzymatic routes
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NewsThe fate of Nobel prize medals
Over the years, Nobel prize medals have been stolen, dissolved and auctioned off. We trace what happened to them and the stories they can tell us
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ResearchYellow food dye could give doctors a new way to look beneath the skin
Tartrazine can safely and reversibly turn the skin of mice transparent
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ResearchDiscovery of ‘NO burst’ could help save world’s favourite banana from deadly fungus
Fungus found to flood host with nitric oxide to beat plants’ immune system
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ResearchStonehenge Altar stone likely came from Scotland, not Wales
Mineral analysis matches sandstones from over 750km away
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OpinionIjeoma Uchegbu: ‘My approach is always to be kind’
The innovative nanoscientist on the power of kindness and how she scrubbed eugenicists from campus buildings
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ResearchPioneering preservative removal from ancient Greek ship allows accurate dating
Extraction of polyethylene glycol from ship’s wood enables radiocarbon recalibration