An aerial view of an aging oil refinery

The future of oil refining in the UK

Can plants adapt to be compatible with a lower-carbon environment?

Fighter aircraft

Military demand strains metal supply chains

 Conflict and trade disputes have disrupted global supplies of specialist metals like hafnium, antimony and rare earths

Nickel processing

Congo’s cobalt conundrum

DRC government is intervening to revive prices and stabilise supply chains

Hibernating doormouse

Hibernation awakens interest for drug discovery

With many different species entering torpor for a variety of reasons, scientists are looking to their sleepy secrets for ways to treat human diseases. Anthony King reports

Highlights

Hibernating doormouse

Hibernation awakens interest for drug discovery

With many different species entering torpor for a variety of reasons, scientists are looking to their sleepy secrets for ways to treat human diseases. Anthony King reports

Mustard leaf salad

Making genetically engineered food palatable

The next generation of genetically altered food is forging ahead, aiming to be attractive to consumers rather than producers. Katrina Megget finds out whether Crispr means crisper salads

Tractor spraying glyphosate at sunset

The glyphosate debate

The EU has recently approved the use of glyphosate for another decade. Bárbara Pinho examines the controversial pesticide’s presence in British farming and considers the possibility of a ban in the UK

Graphic with large F and several bottles of pills

Putting the F in pharma

Adding fluorine to drug molecules can be tricky, but is often worthwhile. Rachel Brazil talks to the chemists trying to tame the ninth element

Hibernating doormouse

Hibernation awakens interest for drug discovery

With many different species entering torpor for a variety of reasons, scientists are looking to their sleepy secrets for ways to treat human diseases. Anthony King reports

Sanofi

Sanofi to buy Blueprint Medicines for over $9 billion

Blueprint has one approved drug and enhances Sanofi’s immunology portfolio

Release from an Amorphous Solid Distribution (ASD)

Modelling amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) release mechanisms

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Learn how thermodynamic modelling and molecular simulation can help our understanding of amorphous solid dispersion

Female patient in consultation with doctor as part of a clinical trial

Women are not just another confounding factor in drug development

Ignoring physiological differences between the sexes is indefensible

Fede Ariel examining a tomato plant

RNA as a replacement for chemical pesticides

Argentinian start-up Apolo Biotech is teaching plants to fight infections

US plans to close Chemical Safety Board by October

Government says CSB duplicates capabilities in other agencies

Explainer: Why is the UK banning disposable vapes?

Prior to the ban, almost seventy million single-use e-cigarettes were being discarded each year in the UK – containing enough lithium for a thousand electric vehicle batteries

Ignoring women’s health shouldn’t be an option

Developing therapies for conditions that predominantly affect women is a neglected, but enormous, opportunity

US approves natural food dyes while pushing to phase out synthetic colours

Government sets voluntary goal of removing artificial colours by 2027

Iran port explosion highlights issues of shipping hazardous chemicals

Intersecting regulations and jurisdictions mean rules can be accidentally or deliberately overlooked

Refinery

Polymer membrane separates hydrocarbons, offering alternative to distillation

Microporous membrane enables energy efficient chemical separations

Index

Improving propylene synthesis using light-activated catalysis could cut emissions

Single-atom photocatalyst makes propylene at milder temperatures

All-atom molecular dynamics simulation of peptide-membrane systems

Generative AI pipeline creates promising antimicrobial peptides

AI model extrapolates beyond training data to predict diverse antimicrobial structures

Far more drugs could be taken orally by formulating them with silica nanoparticles

Many more medicines could be made water soluble making taking them easier for patients

Mapping metabolite disturbances by drugs

High-throughput metabolomic profiling gives insight into unpredictable drug effects

Metal–organic framework captures carbon dioxide at industrially relevant temperatures

Material could improve energy efficiency of capturing carbon from industy’s exhaust gases

Fluorspar to fluorine chemicals without going via hazardous hydrogen fluoride

Safer way to turn calcium fluoride mineral into valuable industrial materials

Banned pigments found in tattoo inks sold in the EU

Nine out of 10 green and blue inks analysed violate Reach regulations

Fighter aircraft

Military demand strains metal supply chains

 Conflict and trade disputes have disrupted global supplies of specialist metals like hafnium, antimony and rare earths

Explosion and fire at Chinese chemical plant kills five

Six others missing and 19 injured at Shandong Youdao Chemical

US approves natural food dyes while pushing to phase out synthetic colours

Government sets voluntary goal of removing artificial colours by 2027

The hole in the UK chemical industry

Norman Keane thinks ICI’s breakup has left a gap in scale-up knowhow and skills, as well as a lack of facilites

The problem of scale-up in the UK

What’s the point of knowledge generation if we’re not creating high value jobs, asks Chris Kay

BioLab fined for fire and chemical plume at US plant

‘Improperly stored’ pool chemicals reacted with water to release chlorine

Sanofi

Sanofi to buy Blueprint Medicines for over $9 billion

Blueprint has one approved drug and enhances Sanofi’s immunology portfolio

Merck signage in Darmstadt

Merck KGaA to buy cancer specialist SpringWorks

$3.9 billion deal boosts Merck’s pipeline as it faces patent expiries

Dow

Dow to cut 1500 jobs as global chemicals industry reshapes

US firm joins other industry heavyweights in shedding jobs to cut costs

Two miniature figures in suits standing on jigsaw pieces

J&J’s Intra-Cellular deal could signal more mega-mergers for 2025

£15 billion deal for neuroscience biotech aims to replace revenues from patent expiries

Cell culture in laboratory

Optimise drug discovery: predicting transporter-mediated drug interactions

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Learn how in vitro models, biomarkers and modelling can improve prediction of drug interactions and toxicity – reducing false positives and unnecessary clinical studies

Materials analysis concept image from Anton Parr

Pass or fail: rapid polymer analysis with FTIR

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Your guide to quick and reliable verification of polymers with the Lyza 7000 FTIR spectrometer

Sigma-Aldrich SynLED Parallel Photoreactor 2.0

Illuminating progress: recent advances in photoredox catalysis

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In this free download, shed some light on the latest developments in photoredox for drug development and materials science