Explainers
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News
Explainer: nitazenes and xylazine – a cause for concern
Why is the use of these highly potent synthetic drugs rising dramatically?
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News
Explainer: is the discovery of benzene in benzoyl peroxide acne products a cause for concern?
Lab testing claims that the carcinogen benzene forms at potentially dangerous levels but there are doubts about the research
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News
Explainer: A new antibiotic class has been discovered – how excited should we get?
With 10 million people a year forecast to die a year as a result of antimicrobial resistance by 2050 many new antibiotics are urgently needed
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Research
Explainer: What are water microdroplets and why are chemists talking about them?
Researchers are struggling to agree on the underlying reasons for accelerated rates and altered reaction mechanisms in water microdroplets. Here’s what we do know and where open questions lie…
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News
Explainer: why have quantum dots won the 2023 Nobel prize?
Tiny particles that ‘added colour to nanotechnology’ have uses in TV screens, synthetic chemistry and medical devices
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News
Explainer: has life been discovered on an exoplanet?
Potential detection of dimethyl sulfide on K2-18 b has excited the scientific community but it’s still much too early to reach any conclusions
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News
Explainer: what threat does the Kakhovka dam breach pose to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant?
In the early hours of Tuesday 6 June, the 30m high, 2km long Nova Kakhovka dam, located upstream of the city of Kherson on the Dnipro River in occupied southern Ukraine, collapsed. The destruction of the dam, which was under the control of the Russian military, caused extensive flooding along ...
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News
Explainer: who is Charles Lieber and why does his case matter for US research?
Three years after his arrest the former head of Harvard’s chemistry department has been sentenced for concealing links to a Chinese university
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News
Explainer: what is green chemistry and why does it matter?
25 years after the field’s 12 principles were first laid down, green chemistry has moved into the mainstream
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Business
Explainer: what Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse means for chemistry companies
US and UK-based lender found a niche supporting start-ups - its loss will make it harder for growing companies to access finance
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News
Bhopal disaster explainer: will court ruling end victims’ search for compensation?
39 years ago one of the world’s worst chemical disasters killed thousands in India
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News
Explainer: why are curly arrows used in organic chemistry?
How organic chemists became arrow pushers and what quantum chemists have to say about this
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News
Explainer: e-scooter battery fires
In India and across the world, several tragic incidents have prompted scrutiny of small battery vehicles
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News
Explainer: why have bioorthogonal and click chemistry won the 2022 Nobel prize?
Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless have won the 2022 Nobel prize in chemistry – find out why
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News
Explainer: How do sunscreens safely protect our skin?
And which is best – inorganic or organic sunscreens?
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News
Explainer: The chemistry that keeps swimming pools clean and safe
How disinfectant chemicals protect us when we’re having a dip
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News
Explainer: How do the Covid vaccines measure up against each other and omicron?
Looking at how the evidence stacks up for vaccines against variants and how their performance holds up over time
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Research
Explainer: why has asymmetric organocatalysis won the chemistry Nobel prize?
In a rather unexpected move by the Nobel committee, this year’s prize in chemistry has been awarded to Benjamin List and David MacMillan
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News
Explainer: The science of alkyl nitrites aka poppers
From their origins as 19th century angina treatment to becoming an important part of gay subculture, these recreational drugs exist in a legal limbo
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Research
Explainer: How would UK science be affected by a no-deal Brexit?
Access to EU science schemes, freedom of movement and student places are all expected to be disrupted