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
FeatureHow stable isotope analysis reveals what ancient humans and Neanderthals ate
Analytical chemistry can tell us what our ancestors ate thousands – or even millions – of years ago. Rachel Brazil gets her teeth into the evidence
OpinionI’m sorry, I’ve forgotten the words
The challenges of learning chemistry in your non-native language
CareersHow to use an individual development plan to advance your career
Four steps to assess your current position and set your goals
BusinessMerck & Co to cut 6000 jobs, Moderna to cut around 500
Both firms aiming to make significant reductions in annual costs by reorganising
CareersThe additional costs of visas
On top of the financial expense, applications and renewals are slowing scientific progress and damaging researcher mental health
NewsHow the extraordinary science of everyday items is bringing chemistry to the public
Three analytical chemists explain how turning powerful techniques towards ordinary objects inspires public engagement with science
OpinionWordle meets the periodic table: Five games to test your chemistry knowledge
Love Wordle and chemistry? Combine the two with these daily chemistry-themed word games
CareersEven in difficult times, leaders should inspire hope
Finding positives is a vital part of leadership
OpinionLearning about chemistry in prenatal class
Opportunities for infographics to contribute to health literacy
CareersHow I became the crossword compiler for Chemistry World
Paul Board has been setting Chemistry World’s crosswords for over 15 years. To celebrate the centenary of the (fully) cryptic crossword, he explains his crossword setting process and dissects some of his favourite science-based clues
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
WebinarNature’s amazing chemistry: reflections on its complexity and diversity
Join us on 16 September as we take a walk on the wild side to discover the wacky and wonderful chemical mysteries of the natural world
ResearchUnique Iron Age kohl from Iran differs from that of ancient Egypt
Eye makeup found to contain graphite and manganese but not organic ingredients
NewsResearcher severely injured in 2016 Hawaii lab explosion receives £5 million settlement
Thea Ekins-Coward lost an arm in an experiment with unsafe apparatus
OpinionThe fungal source of Titian’s rich reds
Laccaic acid, thought to be produced by lac insects, is produced by a symbiont similar to the zombie ant fungus
NewsChemistry for the visually impaired that can be felt, heard and smelt
The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, recently brought chemistry alive for students with sight loss
OpinionGetting good at human tasks
’What do you mean you had to lock the NMR with an oscilloscope and shim the magnet by hand?’
OpinionPonnadurai Ramasami: ‘You will learn more by going the more difficult way’
The trailblazing computational chemist on the joys of teaching, inaugurating a virtual conference, and the importance of doing things the hard way
NewsHow do you rebuild your lab after it is hit by an Iranian missile?
Milko van der Boom talks to Chemistry World about dealing with destruction at the Weizmann Institute, saving samples and people coming together
NewsAria seeks new chief as Ilan Gur steps down
After three years at the helm, Gur to step down from blue-skies research funder