All articles by Henry Nicholls
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Feature
Trouble brewing
Chemical reactions during storage can destroy a beer's flavour. Henry Nicholls finds out how brewers are striving to stabilise beer's chemistry
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News
Water retains DNA memory of hidden species
DNA profiling used to track the spread of the American bullfrog
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News
How plants shudder at shade
Molecular mechanism revealed for plants' desperate growth spurts when overshadowed by competitors
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News
Quinine synthesis mystery solved
US chemists have reproduced a 90-year old experiment to settle a 50-year old controversy
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Feature
The chemistry set generation
Thinking about buying a chemistry set for someone this Christmas? A nostalgic look at an inspirational toy that could be on the verge of a comeback
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News
The oxygen revolution
Did Lavoisier's theory of oxygen really extinguish the idea of phlogiston, a hypothesized fire-like element released during combustion, overnight?
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News
The molecular cannibal in vitamin B12 synthesis
Scientists have put in place the final piece of a puzzle started 20 years ago.
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News
The mother of all enzymes
Scientists have uncovered the three-dimensional structure of what might be biology's first enzyme.
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News
Raphael revealed by Raman spectroscopy
Forensic analysis of paint scraps dates picture to before, not after, the Sistine Madonna
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News
Bees get a buzz from dancing
Brain chemical could account for the elaborate dance of the honeybee.
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News
Microscopic lab investigates contents of a single cell
Individual proteins can be counted in a single cell.
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News
Silent SNPs serve up a structural surprise
Proteins built from an identical string of amino acids can have different biochemical properties.
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News
Alzheimer's drug protects against sarin attack
Effective antidote to deadly organophosphorus nerve agents a step away.
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Feature
Catalysts of creation
In the quest to understand the origins of life on Earth, scientists are finding fresh evidence that bundles of RNA called ribozymes were the first truly biological molecules.
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News
Not on my back lawn
Moles beware: the chemical repellent responsible for the fox-like odour given off by several species of fritillary plants has been identified.
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News
Mind-altering drugs at the Olympics
Psychological effects of outlawed performance-enhancing sports drug.
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Feature
Putting the flesh on the bones of archaeology
Chemistry can illuminate the age of a specimen, build up a picture of prehistoric diet and lifestyles and can even probe the genetic makeup of long-extinct populations and species.