Podcast
Drugging the ‘undruggable’ cancer proteins & conserving the Bayeux Tapestry
How did molecular glues help crack one of cancer’s toughest targets? And we explore the chemistry behind the investigation and conservation of the Bayeux Tapestry.
Opinion
Making low-stakes mistakes is how we learn
Sharing mistakes helps us grow and avoid bigger incidents in the future. Please get in touch if you’ve ever made a low-stakes mistake in your career.
Opinion
Avtar Singh Matharu: ‘Being a visible role model is really important’
The green chemist on being authentic, having good mentors and being proud of your culture
News
Growing confidence of Africa’s chemical societies brings chemistry’s benefits to continent
Chemistry organisations on the continent are looking to professionalise and get involved in setting standards in their home countries
Opinion
Deadly reminders of the importance of risk assessment
Serious incidents in two university labs highlight the importance of knowing what to do when things go wrong
Feature
The chemistry helping to unravel the Bayeux Tapestry’s secrets
As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to the British Museum, scientists reveal how chemistry and imaging technology are unlocking its hidden history
News
Cockroaches producing energy-rich milk bag this year’s chemistry Ig Nobel prize
Could cockroach milk one day line supermarket shelves?
News
Ada Yonath, chemistry Nobel winner who mapped the ribosome, dies at 87
Pioneering x-ray crystallographer changed the way science understood ribosomes and protein synthesis
Highlights
The chemistry helping to unravel the Bayeux Tapestry’s secrets
As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to the British Museum, scientists reveal how chemistry and imaging technology are unlocking its hidden history
150 years of Gibbs’ phase rule
In 1876, Josiah Willard Gibbs published an equation that would transform chemistry – yet barely anyone noticed at the time. The story of his phase rule is one of delayed recognition, mathematical abstraction and enduring scientific legacy
Fritz Strassmann: the principled chemist who discovered nuclear fission
Analytical chemist Friedrich Strassmann played a crucial role in discovering nuclear fission with Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner, but his principled opposition to Nazi ideology nearly destroyed his career. His story of scientific rigour and moral courage deserves greater recognition
The toxic chemistry behind skin bleaching products
The global skin-lightening market is worth over $10 billion and growing, but the unregulated products driving it contain dangerous chemicals linked to serious health risks. Zahra Khan speaks to the scientists and advocates trying to fix the problem
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
Avtar Singh Matharu: ‘Being a visible role model is really important’
The green chemist on being authentic, having good mentors and being proud of your culture
Opinion
Chemistry contains multitudes
There’s room (and need) for all the various subspecies of chemical scientists
News
The genius narrative isn’t inspiring – science biographies for children may send a demotivating message
Analysis of over 400 children’s books finds ideas around early interest in science and innate ability could turn young readers away from science
Careers
How a university opened its doors to neurodivergent employees
From all-around support to tailored recruitment, a University of Nottingham initiative offers a blueprint for improving neuro-inclusion in the technical workforce
Careers
Making lab equipment more accessible for chemists with physical disabilities
‘Chemical laboratories are often designed around a very narrow idea of standard talent,’ says one academic striving to make such spaces more inclusive
Opinion
How learning languages helps me become a better scientist
Lessons from a multicultural scientific journey
News
Socioeconomic background still holding back students in chemistry, RSC report finds
Access is only the first step to making the chemical sciences inclusive
Mary Sherman Morgan: The best kept secret in the space race
Anna Demming reveals the scientist who invented the fuel that powered the first US satellite into orbit, yet died with barely a trace on record of her achievements
Martin Gouterman: the gay man behind the four-orbital model
Abhik Ghosh tells the story of a porphyrin chemist who was a leading figure in Seattle’s gay rights movement of the 1960s
William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project
The story of the Knox family is one of education overcoming adversity, finds Kit Chapman
Avtar Singh Matharu: ‘Being a visible role model is really important’
The green chemist on being authentic, having good mentors and being proud of your culture
Sarah O’Connor: ‘There’s nothing that matches that thrill of discovery’
The natural product chemist talks growing up in New York, her dad’s late pursuit of a PhD, and her journey to plant chemistry and to Germany
‘Science felt like a level playing field’: in situ with Anthony Cheetham
The materials chemist on being a scientific contrarian, his love of cricket, and what AI might mean for materials science
Finding brightness in the depth of power cuts
The illuminating lessons I learned from living with loadshedding
The art of not letting the lab burn down
Behind every experiment is a technician quietly preventing catastrophe
Breaking a priceless chemistry artefact didn’t make the best first impression
But I found something precious in the department archives that will last for generations
Chemistry wordoku #160
This chemistry wordoku takes a look back at a chemical once sprayed on a kitchen staple
Quick chemistry crossword #109
Consider yourself a person learned in the secrets of alchemy when tackling this quick chemistry crossword
Cryptic chemistry crossword #151
You may find the clues to this cryptic chemistry crossword ’very dry but right blend (4)’
Quick chemistry crossword #108
Understanding Einstein’s most famous equation will guide you in this quick chemistry crossword
Opinion
Could AI undermine our (belief in the truth of) scientific theories?
Artificial intelligence models that make predictions based solely on data present problems for philosophers
Opinion
Ben Zhong Tang: ‘If you have to do something, try to do it well’
The polymer chemist on finding love for a subject, working with others and staying optimistic
Opinion
Is that a fact, or your opinion?
When experts are sidelined or undermined, the truth needs all the allies it can get
Opinion
Chemistry has always been women’s business
Female chemists played essential roles in developing chemical practice
Opinion
Archaeon’s lack of metabolism challenges definitions of life
A question that is not the same as asking whether something is alive
Opinion
Democratising science, one step at a time
Artifical intelligence is just the latest method to open up chemistry to more people
Book
Crucibles: from alchemy to chemistry
An excerpt from Philip Ball’s book Alchemy traces chemistry back to its beginnings
Opinion
What makes a scientific breakthrough truly chemical?
Why MOFs are a great choice for the Nobel prize in chemistry
Research
Is this painting of a Roman emperor a lost Leonardo da Vinci?
Pigment analysis sheds light on Renaissance painting mystery
News
The genius narrative isn’t inspiring – science biographies for children may send a demotivating message
Analysis of over 400 children’s books finds ideas around early interest in science and innate ability could turn young readers away from science
Research
Polymer sponge could save stars of the silver screen from ‘vinegar syndrome’ destruction
Material that mops up acetic acid could slow degradation of old movie reels
Podcast
Drugging the ‘undruggable’ cancer proteins & conserving the Bayeux Tapestry
How did molecular glues help crack one of cancer’s toughest targets? And we explore the chemistry behind the investigation and conservation of the Bayeux Tapestry.
Feature
The chemistry helping to unravel the Bayeux Tapestry’s secrets
As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to the British Museum, scientists reveal how chemistry and imaging technology are unlocking its hidden history
Feature
150 years of Gibbs’ phase rule
In 1876, Josiah Willard Gibbs published an equation that would transform chemistry – yet barely anyone noticed at the time. The story of his phase rule is one of delayed recognition, mathematical abstraction and enduring scientific legacy
Careers
How a university opened its doors to neurodivergent employees
From all-around support to tailored recruitment, a University of Nottingham initiative offers a blueprint for improving neuro-inclusion in the technical workforce
Careers
Making lab equipment more accessible for chemists with physical disabilities
‘Chemical laboratories are often designed around a very narrow idea of standard talent,’ says one academic striving to make such spaces more inclusive
Opinion
Making low-stakes mistakes is how we learn
Sharing mistakes helps us grow and avoid bigger incidents in the future. Please get in touch if you’ve ever made a low-stakes mistake in your career.
Opinion
The Chemistry World team shares some of its low-stakes mistakes
Have you ever made a typo, broken some equipment or made a general slip-up? Get in touch and tell us about some of your own low-stakes mistakes.
Opinion
Finding brightness in the depth of power cuts
The illuminating lessons I learned from living with loadshedding
News
South African scientists could face year in prison unless registered with national standards body, under proposed law
Researchers warn that registration offers little benefit and that the associated costs will disadvantage early-career researchers
Opinion
Sarah O’Connor: ‘There’s nothing that matches that thrill of discovery’
The natural product chemist talks growing up in New York, her dad’s late pursuit of a PhD, and her journey to plant chemistry and to Germany
Opinion
Chemistry contains multitudes
There’s room (and need) for all the various subspecies of chemical scientists
News
Cockroaches producing energy-rich milk bag this year’s chemistry Ig Nobel prize
Could cockroach milk one day line supermarket shelves?
News
‘Lots of researchers were doing very unusual things – I created an awards ceremony to celebrate them’
Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel prizes, on how the annual parody science award show began and how it’s changing
Webinar
Boron: in search of the real fifth element
What makes boron so extraordinary? Find out on 21 October with author Stephen Mansell
Opinion
Building global links and growing local chemistry talent in The Gambia
Members of the Chemical Society of The Gambia have experienced success since joining Commonwealth Chemistry
Webinar
How and why soap works: the science behind the suds
Discover the chemistry behind our favourite household cleaner
Podcast
Inert materials & the Mary Celeste
In this episode, we discuss how to ensure experimental instruments are truly inert, chemistry’s answer to the fate of the Mary Celeste, and hear the latest headlines.
News
Chemists think they know what happened on board the Mary Celeste
While many theories have surfaced as to what caused a loaded ship to be devoid of its crew, could this explanation close the case?