Collections
The future of analytical chemistry
We’re looking ahead to the future of analytical chemistry, from monitoring the planet from satellites, diagnosing cancer quickly and easily from small blood samples, to where the discipline itself is heading. And with a century and half passing since the Society of Public Analysts was founded, what does the future hold for this important role?
How satellite remote sensing is enhancing our understanding of Earth
Instruments in space have studied the planet’s atmosphere and surface, and are now being joined by powerful new ones, finds Andy Extance
Blood biopsies for cancer
Testing small amounts of blood for the presence of disease markers could revolutionise how we detect cancer. Clare Sansom reports
Analysing a chemist’s wish-list
Analytical techniques have come a long way, but what does the future hold? Rachel Brazil asks the experts what they’d like to see
Opinion
Why we need public analysts
As the Association of Public Analysts winds up, Duncan Campbell reflects on the continued importance of the profession
Opinion
Analytical chemistry is never far from the frontiers of science
New and better tools are pushing back boundaries and changing the world
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
NewsWhat are the top journals in chemistry right now?
Following the recent release of journal impact factors, we round up the leading journals across 10 chemistry fields
OpinionQuantum deception attempts turning water into wine
The effect lasts only a few picoseconds but demonstrates a way to manipulate the optical properties of materials
ResearchNobelium becomes heaviest element with identified compounds
Complexes containing hydroxide, water and dinitrogen ligands detected as researchers probe chemistry on the edge of the actinide series
Opinion‘Creative destruction’ in the chemistry lab
Some obsolete lab equipment is quickly replaced, while other items are stubbornly persistent. What modern tech will survive to the 2060s?
NewsUS EPA accused of skewing soil testing data after East Palestine disaster
Environmental Protection Agency will review decisions made during emergency response
ResearchClathrate material’s crystal structure finally solved, 80 years after it was first discovered
TBAB hydrate is the most widely used semiclathrate hydrate, with potential uses in heat storage and air conditioning
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
OpinionThe atomic weights of most chemical elements aren’t constant
But those values are constantly refined
FeatureHow atomic weights change with scientific understanding
Why do the atomic weights on the periodic table keep changing? Kit Chapman meets the team behind the decimal places
FeatureSerial femtosecond crystallography reveals protein dynamics in real time
Proteins are constantly moving, but our structures of them are static. Clare Sansom talks to the researchers using free-electron lasers to make time-resolved structures
ResearchAI model links consumer ratings to white wines’ chemical profiles
Machine learning offers insight into how chemical markers influence perceptions of wine quality
Research‘CrystalGPT’ set to enhance how chemists design crystals in silico
Model for predicting molecular crystal properties is readily adaptable to specific tasks, even with limited data
OpinionGetting good at human tasks
’What do you mean you had to lock the NMR with an oscilloscope and shim the magnet by hand?’
ResearchMammoth task of identifying legal ivory made simpler and cheaper by isotope analysis
Technique could help authorities tell legal mammoth ivory from poached elephant ivory
ResearchPosition of flask on magnetic stirrers can drastically affect reproducibility of experiments
Comprehensive examination reveals improper siting of reaction vessels can affect catalyst formation, alter nanoparticle formation and change yields
WebinarForensic taphonomy: the chemistry of delivering justice
Join us to discover the chemical processes that occur after death and how they’re revolutionising criminal investigations
ResearchLotions and perfumes found to affect ‘human oxidation field’ chemistry
What this means for us, if anything, is still unclear
ResearchAFM maps the way collagen unfolds and refolds in the body
New insights could aid understanding of connective tissue disorders
ResearchLiquid carbon characterised in the lab for the first time
When targeted by a high-energy laser that generates pressures over one million atmospheres, carbon samples melt at around 6700K
ResearchDigital workflow for electroanalytical technique is Fair data exemplar
Case study illustrates how to collect data, convert it into a standardised format then deposit it in an accessible repository