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.
ResearchChemists unravel why humans aren’t constantly bursting into flames
Strong π-bonding holds the secret to taming dioxygen diradicals
ResearchLilly pushes continuous drug production limits
Integrated flow synthesis and purification process for prexasertib meets high industry standards
ResearchScientists get charged up over titanium dioxide
Groups debate usefulness of conventional +4 titanium oxidation state compared to +2.5 charge state
BusinessFirst biomarker-driven approval exemplifies cancer immunotherapy progress
Landmark decision is latest step in field’s impressive – but not wholly untroubled – advance
ResearchStick-up experiment lets scientists 'see' hydrogen atoms
Upright structures offer hard-to-get direct AFM measurements
BusinessMerck KGaA to buy Chematica
Retrosynthesis tool will gain computational muscle and integrate with Sigma–Aldrich catalogue
BusinessBrexit raises regulatory worries
Risk of doubling legal burden for industry undermines referendum’s ‘red-tape cutting’ claims
ResearchRecord polyhedron boosts molecular self-assembly
New supramolecular system shape found by chance inspires improved design principle
FeatureChemical fossils
Andy Extance finds out what organic molecules made by microorganisms and plants far in the past can tell us about climate
ResearchDrug binding simulations promise to get personal
Fast, reliable new molecular dynamic simulation methods set to speed up research are under investigation by GSK
ResearchSolid 3D NMR evidence reaches the surface
200-fold signal boost means silica spectroscopy could communicate catalyst configurations
Research‘Metallic hydrogen’ claim faces fiery scrutiny
State of hydrogen predicted to be a room temperature superconductor reportedly seen – but the methods used are being questioned
ResearchBiological fuel cell could power cleaner ammonia production
Harnessing nitrogenase enzyme makes key fertiliser material while generating electricity
ResearchSulfur linkage takes click chemistry in a different direction
Thionyl tetrafluoride-based ‘sleeping beauties’ enable click chemistry in a tetrahedral shape
BusinessUniversity–industry collaborations aspire to pharmaceutical innovation
Three new UK partnerships illustrate drug research co-operation approaches that are growing in popularity
ResearchDo hydrogen bonds have covalent character?
Scientists wrangle over disagreement between charge transfer measurements
ResearchUltrafast lasers promise to make lead ‘look like’ gold
Theoretical study suggests atomic mimicry could reshape spectroscopy, information processing – and even chemical reactivity
FeatureCovalent inhibitor drugs
Exceptions to a long-held rule against chemically bonding to biological targets are powering new cancer medicines, finds Andy Extance
CareersForging a future for glassblowing
Creating scientific instruments is a rare but highly desirable skill
ResearchCatalyst fuels hydrogen car vision
Platinum–molybdenum carbide expedites hydrogen formation from water and methanol
