Chemistry features and long reads

3D printing adds another dimension

Nina Notman learns how 4D printing is opening the door to unique smart materials whose applications may only be limited by our imaginations

The incredible antibodies of sharks, llamas and camels

By Hayley Bennett

Sharks and llamas share a strange quirk of their immune systems. Hayley Bennett finds out how their ‘nanobodies’ could help us tackle Covid and a host of other diseases

The human health observatory in our sewers

By Katrina Krämer

From tracking disease outbreaks to monitoring drug use, there’s a lot to be learned from the things we flush down the toilet, Katrina Krämer finds

Life’s chemistry goes through the looking glass

By Andy Extance

Chemists were taught that natural systems only use L-amino acids. Andy Extance finds out just how wrong that is proving

A decade of CAR-T cell therapy
By Nina Notman
Nina Notman looks at the revolutionary treatment already taking on cancer, now aiming for wider use
The secrets of the sulfur cycle
By Rachel Brazil
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur, and this could impact our ability to correctly model the climate. Rachel Brazil talks to the researchers trying to fill in the gaps.
The curious case of the ancient brain
By Hayley Bennett
A 2000 year old decapitated Yorkshire man and the ancient proteins in his preserved brain might provide clues to modern diseases, as Hayley Bennett discovers

The human health observatory in our sewers

2022-05-09T09:54:00+01:00By Katrina Krämer

From tracking disease outbreaks to monitoring drug use, there’s a lot to be learned from the things we flush down the toilet, Katrina Krämer finds

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Long reads

Methane – the other greenhouse gas

The toxic tide of ship breaking

Better skiing through chemistry

An illustrations showing a boat harvesting weeds

The labs pointing to a greener future for Africa

An image showing the 2021 Nobel prize winners

How organocatalysis won the Nobel prize

A typographic image highlighting issues around research culture

What’s wrong with research culture?

Methane – the other greenhouse gas
The toxic tide of ship breaking
Better skiing through chemistry
The labs pointing to a greener future for Africa
How organocatalysis won the Nobel prize
What’s wrong with research culture?

Careers

Publish in English or perish
By Aisha Al-Janabi
The dominance of English in science does not reflect the scientists behind research articles
Chemists on social media
By Rachel Brazil
A Twitter presence can be a valuable career tool for researchers
The conference conundrum
By Kit Chapman
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, is it time to rethink events for good?

Methane – the other greenhouse gas

By Bárbara Pinho

Bárbara Pinho looks at the problem of methane emissions and how scientists are trying to prevent them

The curious case of the ancient brain

By Hayley Bennett

A 2000 year old decapitated Yorkshire man and the ancient proteins in his preserved brain might provide clues to modern diseases, as Hayley Bennett discovers

Sequencing one cell at a time
By Ian Le Guillou
New advances that allow scientists to uncover the molecular differences between individual cells could revolutionise medicine, Ian le Guillou finds
The toxic tide of ship breaking
By Kit Chapman
Kit Chapman explores the chemical cost of the most dangerous industry in the world
Drilling deep to discover the secrets of the mantle
By Nina Notman
Nina Notman hears from the scientists trying to pierce the Earth’s crust below the seafloor to learn more about our home planet

News and business

China grapples with lab safety following huge growth in student numbers

By Dalmeet Singh Chawla

Study exposes serious incidents and deaths at universities

Drug discovery AI that developed new nerve agents raises difficult questions

By Jamie Durrani

Researchers shocked by how easily algorithm discovered novel poisons even deadlier than VX

3D printing in pharma

2018-04-27T10:30:00+01:00By Nina Notman

Nina Notman explores how 3D printing is carving out a niche for itself in the pharmaceutical industry

Better skiing through chemistry

By Aisha Al-Janabi

While elite sports have been improved by materials science, for disabled athletes the developments can be life-changing. Aisha Al-Janabi reports

A test of strength for artificial muscles

By Clare Sansom

Scientists trying to copy natural muscles have several problems to overcome, Clare Sansom finds

How protocells bridge the gap from chemistry to biology
By Rachel Brazil
Rachel Brazil talks to the scientists trying to recreate what the first cells were like, or to make their own versions
Wiring up organic synthesis
By James Mitchell Crow
James Mitchell Crow talks to the organic chemists using electrochemistry to add or remove electrons to their molecules at the flick of a switch
How elements are made beyond the stars
By Tim Wogan
Tim Wogan looks at what recent astronomical discoveries have added to our understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis, and the mysteries that remain