How chemical evolution took the 2018 chemistry Nobel prize

By Emma Stoye

Emma Stoye has the full story of how Frances Arnold, George Smith and Greg Winter put evolution to work in the lab

Are the Nobel prizes good for science?

By Philip Ball

Philip Ball looks at whether prizes and awards help or hinder scientific progress

The nuclear option
By James Mitchell Crow
Using radioisotopes to image inside patients’ bodies – nuclear medicine – is under threat from ageing reactors. James Mitchell Crow discovers the new science trying to fix the problem
Why are there 20 amino acids?
By Rachel Brazil
Rachel Brazil tries to untangle the alphabet soup of life
Medical mass spec
By Clare Sansom
Mass spectrometry can be used for more than just small molecules, meaning it is a vital tool in drug discovery and hospitals, as Clare Sansom discovers

News and business ▶

Leave the country or leave the job: the hard choice facing young Spanish researchers

27 September 2018

Research still hasn’t recovered from funding cuts precipitated by the financial crash

Ultracold molecules are poised to unearth chemistry’s foundations

20 September 2018

Molecules close to absolute zero will soon help chemists unravel the toughest questions about why reactions occur at all

Building resilience to climate threats

19 September 2018

As extreme weather events become more frequent, chemical and pharmaceutical producers are taking steps to fend them off in future

Long reads ▶

Composite image showing the three joint 2018 Nobel prize winners

How chemical evolution took the 2018 chemistry Nobel prize

Are the Nobel prizes good for science?

The nuclear option

Illustration of plants bearing tablets and drug capsules as flowers

From folklore to pharmacy

Hydrogen: still the fuel of the future?

Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC - close-up of 'Equal justice under law'

Forensics in crisis

How chemical evolution took the 2018 chemistry Nobel prize
Are the Nobel prizes good for science?
The nuclear option
From folklore to pharmacy
Hydrogen: still the fuel of the future?
Forensics in crisis

Careers ▶

The radio telescopes exploring our universe
8 October 2018By Nina Notman
How astrochemists are identifying molecules light-years away from Earth
A day at the body farm
18 September 2018By Kit Chapman
Behind the scenes at Wales’ only taphonomic research facility
How to become a chemistry teacher
15 August 2018By Kat Arney
Teaching can be an intense but rewarding and refreshing career change

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Reaching a milestone

By Nina Notman

The decade-long process to register all chemicals used in Europe has concluded. Nina Notman takes stock of progress and looks to the next steps for chemical legislation in the region

Ozone: the hole story

By Emma Stoye

There is still a long road to recovery for the ozone layer, Emma Stoye finds

The quest to cure HIV
By Anthony King
Although HIV–Aids can now be managed quite well with antiretroviral drugs, there is still no cure. Anthony King talks to the scientists trying to find one
From folklore to pharmacy
By Hayley Bennett
Although many drugs have in the past come from plants, Hayley Bennett discovers that it’s hard work getting them approved today
Derek Barton and shape-shifting molecules
By Mike Sutton
It’s 100 years since Derek Barton was born. Mike Sutton looks at his work developing conformational analysis

3D printing in pharma

27 April 2018By Nina Notman

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

Hydrogen: still the fuel of the future?

By Angeli Mehta

Is the dream of a hydrogen-fuelled future still a pipe dream, or is it in the pipeline? Angeli Mehta investigates

150 years of helium

By James Mitchell Crow

Humanity took a long time to notice the second most common chemical element in the universe, James Mitchell Crow notes. Today we would struggle to do without it

Introducing mechanochemistry
By Nina Notman
Mechanochemical synthesis offers a different way to make compounds. Nina Notman asks whether we should all get grinding
Glass: the chemist’s best friend
By Tabitha Watson
Where would we be without our glassware? Tabitha Watson looks through the history and current state of chemistry’s favourite amorphous solid
The nanocoatings holding back corrosion
By Rachel Brazil
Corrosion is an age-old problem, but some of the latest solutions are distinctly 21st century. Rachel Brazil reports