Collections
Research culture
In this collection we explore fostering a positive research culture and scientific practices, covering topics such as reproducibility, open science, diversity and inclusion, leadership and mentorship, career instability, discrimination, misconduct and the evolving landscape of research ethics and integrity.
Leadership
What’s wrong with research culture?
A knotty mess of problems affects people doing academic research in the UK. Rachel Brazil tries to untie the tangle
How to improve research culture
Five ways to make chemistry departments better places to work
How EPSRC fosters inclusion
The pandemic has provided valuable lessons for funders to rethink research culture
Support and wellbeing
Act now to support early-career researchers
The Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted long-existing issues that leaders need to take a stance on
Mental wellbeing in academia
Not enough has been done to support students during the pandemic
Science and research ‘are dead’ in Afghanistan
Afghan researchers and scholars flee or go into hiding as the Taliban’s return to power sees the science academy and universities closed
UKRI response to Black female academics on funding decisions called inadequate
Pledge to improve understanding and monitoring of inequality comes a year after open letter was first published
Diverse cultures
In situ with Tebello Nyokong
The influential chemist on nurturing confidence in students and taking inspiration from the humanities
The science of team science
Researchers and funders are exploring ways to make large collaborative projects more successful
Science faction
Taking inspiration from nerd culture
Science as a product of culture
The role of background beliefs and assumptions in the development of science
Change at the top
Improving research culture requires effort – but it’s worth it
Impact of Covid-19
Let it go
We have to accept that we can’t catch up on time lost in lockdown
How Covid-19 has changed us
While the pandemic has introduced more efficient and global ways of working, researchers and educators still have challenges to overcome
Pandemic continues to disrupt and depress UK researchers, survey finds
Researchers reported spending more time on peer-review activities, teaching and writing
Leading a lab through pandemic-induced uncertainty
Emphathy is vital to support mentees effectively
Publishing
Depositing hope for the future
The rise of ChemRxiv might mean that chemists can tackle thornier cultural problems
Australian Research Council’s ban on preprints in grants prompts outcry
Move derided as ‘hopelessly outdated’ and a setback for open science by researchers
Chemists react to UK umbrella funding body’s new open access mandate
Agency aligns itself with principles of Plan S by insisting on immediate open access
Four years of chemistry preprints
Nina Notman takes stock of how preprint severs have settled into the chemistry community
NewsMeet the three scientists who have just won the Nobel prize in chemistry
Learn about the lives of newly minted chemistry Nobel laureates Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi
NewsThe 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry as it happens – live
Join us as we provide analysis and commentary in the run up to the announcement of the biggest prize in chemistry
OpinionWhy I’m still in love with the Nobel prize
The enthusiasm and excitement the awards generate for the sciences are still second to none
OpinionRobert Huber: ‘I call the last century the century of vision’
The Nobel laureate on the joys of entering a developing field, and the century of vision
OpinionBeyond selfies with Nobel laureates
Why young scientists must lead a new era of global collaboration
OpinionA prize better than the Nobel
How a reality check, a little patience and a lot of polysaccharides shaped my scientific journey
CareersWhy company presentations are irrelevant
But with more consideration for their audience, they don’t have to be
OpinionHow the Royal Society of Chemistry is reshaping recognition in the chemical sciences
Changes over the past five years have enabled a wider variety of team and individual excellence to be celebrated
BusinessSailing towards recycling composite textiles
Sustainable Extricko is using superheated steam and pressure to recycle intractable materials used in sailing
OpinionHow a mistake in the lab taught me new things about myself
One extra drop of titrant was all it took…
CareersEmployees need freedom to choose how to work most effectively
This is especially important to ensure neurodiverse employees get the support they need
OpinionWhy an inclusive culture is the best way to unlock chemistry’s potential
Reasonable adjustments enable diverse teams that can grow, innovate and tackle global problems
FeatureRethinking workplaces for neurodivergent staff
Neurodivergent people often excel in skills highly valued in chemistry. Nina Notman investigates how employers are breaking down barriers and harnessing these talents through workplace adjustments and recruitment reforms
ResearchHow does Clarivate pick its potential Nobel prize winners?
Chemistry World talks to the head of research analysis at the Institute for Science Information on how they decide which researchers are producing Nobel-worthy research
NewsWho will win the 2025 chemistry Nobel prize? Data crunchers unveil their predictions
Citation analysis tips scientists for work on greener lithium-ion batteries, single-atom catalysis and biomolecular condensates
NewsTeflon diet earns trio the 2025 Ig Nobel chemistry prize
The prizes that first make you laugh, then make you think reward more irreverent scientific ideas.
CareersVan Thi Thanh Ho’s mission to build up sustainable chemistry in Vietnam
She’s driving commercialisation and inspiring new generations of scientists with her passion for green technology
OpinionKarl Mueller: ‘I realised I had matured when I started giving away my best ideas’
The director of Ames National Laboratory in the US discusses getting hooked on chemistry via parental inspiration and a benchtop NMR
OpinionThe simple machine that visualised atomic orbitals
In 1931, Harvey Elliott White developed a device that traced out the shapes of electron clouds by approximating solutions to the Schrödinger equation
ResearchReviving organobismuth chemistry
Despite its low cost and low toxicity, bismuth has found limited applications in organic synthesis. Liam Ball is working to change that
CareersNavigating parenthood and the return to the bench: A paternal perspective
Advice for how to combine fatherhood with a career in research
ResearchTale of Britain’s post-Roman economic crash overturned by ancient metal pollution discovery
Analysis points to metal-working industry continuing long after Romans left
FeatureFrom flying ointments to healing herbs: the forgotten chemistry behind historical witchcraft practices
The unusual concoctions of village witches have historically been dismissed as nonsense hocus pocus – but is this the whole story? Victoria Atkinson investigates the chemistry behind the myth and whether there was more to witchcraft than ritual and superstition
CareersComic book chemistry
The scientists using visual storytelling to communicate their work – and how you can do it too