Andy Extance
Before becoming a full-time science writer, Andy Extance worked for six and a half years in early-stage drug discovery research, followed by brief stint in silicone adhesive and rubber manufacturing.
However, when he had his first feature – on a cause of common heart-related problems in new drug candidates – published in Chemistry World in 2004, the course of his career shifted. After working as news editor for Compound Semiconductor magazine, he went freelance in 2009. Today Andy’s science writing explores everything related to chemistry, from Earth’s environment to space, from food to fusion, and from solar cells to how we smell.
ResearchUltraslim solar cells retain healthy efficiency
A patterned reflector on the back of a thinned-down GaAs cell traps light in the device, keeping efficiency near 20%
ResearchCorrections promise more accurate CO2 measurements from space
Improvements to cavity ring-down spectroscopy could also benefit quantum science
ResearchCrispr treatment reverses muscular dystrophy in mice
Upregulated gene triggers laminin-α1 protein production, reviving paralysed limbs
FeatureThe forgotten female crystallographer who discovered C–H⋯O bonds
Andy Extance tells the overlooked story of crystallographer June Sutor, whose C–H⋯O bonding hypothesis was unjustly suppressed
ResearchHelicopter NMR prepares to detect Arctic oil spills
ExxonMobil-funded project readies giant airborne coil for accidents as shipping lanes open up
BusinessIndustry adopts quantum computing, qubit by qubit
Companies looking to solve complex chemistry problems are among early adopters of quantum technology
ResearchBaran and Blackmond team up to wave farewell to tough ether syntheses
Oxidative decarboxylation produces carbocations that greatly speed up hindered ether production
ResearchSpin sensor promises atomic-scale magnetic imaging
Nickelocene-tip scanning tunnelling microscope provides measurements to challenge quantum theory calculations
FeatureChanging the locks
Designer receptors help understand cellular signals and could treat epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, but need new tools, finds Andy Extance
ResearchPutting water in a spin harnesses proton magnetism
Exceptionally high rotation speed NMR measures the nuclear Barnett effect
ResearchHelium hydride ion detected in space for the first time
Terahertz rotational spectroscopy identifies long-sought molecular bond in a nebula
ResearchSupple sugars enable smallest cyclodextrins ever
Bridge that connects hydroxyls enables control over ring conformations in synthetic breakthrough
ResearchFlexible catalyst systems open up nitrile chemistry
One new strategy enantioselectively produces amines from nitriles, and another generates valuable alkenyl nitriles
ResearchCan sodium make organic cross-couplings sustainable?
Microparticle dispersions make abundant but feisty sodium safer to use as replacements for organolithium in carbon–carbon bond formation
ResearchCoulomb explosion uncovers laser-driven chirality
Blowing formic acid apart like a firework sheds light on asymmetric photochemical synthesis
Research‘Predator particles’ give mice infrared vision
Upconversion nanoparticles that bind to rods and cones shift invisible light to look green
ResearchLow wind power costs pump up hydrogen economy prospects
Combining clean energy sources with electrolysis is already cost competitive for producing gas for niche applications
ResearchInorganic isomerism uncovered in cadmium sulfide clusters
CdS nanocrystals reversibly transition between ‘wurtzite-like’ and ‘zinc blende-like’ forms in a single step
ResearchMirrors in the dark enable chemical control
Vibrational strong coupling with electromagnetic fluctuations can tilt a molecule towards one reaction pathway or another
ResearchForceful treatment stabilises drug antibody linkages
Ultrasonic energy could modify maleimide–thiol connections in cancer treatments in volume