All features
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FeatureFighting algal blooms with chemistry
These harmful events are the result of a complex interplay of factors, but Bárbara Pinho talks to the researchers finding out how they form and how we can stop them
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FeatureThe drug developers fighting the antibiotic resistance problem
Andy Extance talks to the researchers innovating across different drug classes in the hunt to develop new treatments
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FeatureWho will pay for new antibiotics?
Governments around the world are starting to consider alternative funding models and incentives for antibiotics. Katrina Megget asks if it is enough
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FeatureCharting the rise in antimicrobial resistance
We look at the data behind antibiotic drug discovery and development, bacterial resistance and the financial problems with the current business model
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FeatureThe hunt for natural hydrogen reserves
For a long time, nobody thought there could be large quantities of the gas underground. Anna Demming talks to the people proving otherwise
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FeatureHow to prepare for a lab catastrophe
Nina Notman looks at steps scientists can take to better protect the content of their labs from floods, fires and other disasters
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FeatureThe liquid metals giving catalysis a new phase
They’re not like solid metals or like other liquids, but scientists are starting to understand and exploit them. James Mitchell Crow reports
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FeatureThe science behind a ‘runner’s high’
Exercise addicts need to stop talking about getting their endorphin hit, writes Hayley Bennett, and start looking at endocannabinoids
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FeatureAre hair relaxers damaging to health?
Different chemistries have been designed to turn curly hair straight, but in all cases questions remain about their safety, finds Rachel Brazil
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FeatureFixing nitrogen fixing
Green ammonia promises a more sustainable future. Jamie Durrani talks to the researchers aiming to revolutionise the production of crucial fertiliser
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FeatureMaking replacement organs
From iron lungs to smartphone-controlled insulin pumps, Clare Sansom looks at the efforts to create artificial organs
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FeatureCan biorefineries eliminate fossil fuels and petrochemicals?
Plans to develop the world’s largest vegetable oil refinery reveal diverging views on the sustainability, profitability and scale of plant-based supply chains, finds Andy Extance
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FeatureThe race to build a base on the moon
Nina Notman talks to scientists helping to return humans to the moon – for good this time
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FeatureThe Sun rises on perovskites
With the first solar cells scheduled for commercial sale this year, Tim Wogan looks at the long, hard road to producing stable perovskite photovoltaics
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FeatureA new generation of materials inspired by teeth
Ian Le Guillou finds that some of nature’s toughest structures are helping scientists to develop new fibres that could revolutionise fabrics
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FeatureThe lithium rush
Move over, gold; lithium is now the metal in global demand. Kit Chapman untangles the global politics around the sought-after resource
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FeatureThe long-term energy storage challenge
In a renewably powered future, how will the grid cope when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing? Rachel Brazil looks at the options
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FeatureBuilding better batteries
The next generation of battery technologies might pack significantly more power into the electric cars and mobile devices of the future. James Mitchell Crow reports
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FeatureThe messy chemistry that led to life
To understand how chemistry became biology, some chemists are eschewing simple reactions to study complex systems with many reactants and products. Rachel Brazil peers through the tangle
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FeatureThe complex chemistry of making paper
Renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, paper is the ultimate sustainable material. Victoria Atkinson looks at the clever chemistry that turns trees into sheets