James Mitchell Crow

James Mitchell Crow

James Mitchell Crow is an organic chemist by training.

He began his science journalism career in 2007 at Chemistry World, where he was shortlisted for several awards, including Features Writer of the Year at the UK Magazine Design and Journalism Awards. In 2009 he joined New Scientist in London as a features editor. In 2010 he moved to Australia and wrote freelance for several years, for publications including New Scientist and Nature, before joining COSMOS magazine as deputy editor. After 3 years at COSMOS, during which time he won the Crawford Fund Journalism Award, James returned to freelance science writing in 2016.

  • Polymer scrabble
    Feature

    Editing polymer backbones

    2024-01-22T10:23:00

    Changing the chemical makeup of a polymer backbone could revolutionise how we make, use and even recycle plastics. James Mitchell Crow reports

  • Mechanical bonding
    Feature

    The mechanical side of bonding

    2023-11-27T11:10:00

    Synthetic chemists are finally mastering the assembly of interlocked molecules held together by the mechanical bond, find James Mitchell Crow

  • Droplets of liquid mercury
    Feature

    The liquid metals giving catalysis a new phase

    2023-07-24T08:41:00

    They’re not like solid metals or like other liquids, but scientists are starting to understand and exploit them. James Mitchell Crow reports

  • Battery research
    Feature

    Building better batteries

    2023-04-24T10:57:00

    The next generation of battery technologies might pack significantly more power into the electric cars and mobile devices of the future. James Mitchell Crow reports

  • Robot synthesis
    Feature

    The robots revolutionising chemistry

    2023-02-06T10:00:00

    Researchers working with automated systems are pushing the boundaries of what chemists can achieve in the lab, reports James Mitchell Crow

  • Molecular electronics diagram
    Feature

    When will molecular electronics make the connection?

    2022-10-24T08:34:00

    Computer chips based on single molecules may remain a work in progress, finds James Mitchell Crow but the technologies developed along the way are being used by chemists to explore their reactions

  • Thunderstorm
    Feature

    A lightning burst of chemistry

    2022-07-12T09:57:00

    Trying to understand the chemistry that occurs around immensely powerful but short-lived lightning bolts is a feat in itself. James Mitchell Crow looks for a flash of inspiration

  • Bioorthogonal chemistry
    Feature

    The bioorthogonal revolution

    2022-05-30T08:39:00

    A set of reactions operating silently inside live cells or whole animals are lighting up chemical biology and inspiring new medicines, James Mitchell Crow finds

  • An image showing electrosynthesis
    Feature

    Wiring up organic synthesis

    2022-01-10T10:38:00

    James Mitchell Crow talks to the organic chemists using electrochemistry to add or remove electrons to their molecules at the flick of a switch

  • An image showing a cell transplantation device and fluorescent cells
    Feature

    Keeping cell therapy under wraps

    2021-11-29T09:30:00

    Materials to safely encapsulate transplanted cells for could enable a revolution in the treatment of diabetes and a wide range of other diseases. James Mitchell Crow reports

  • An illustration showing supermetals vs superbugs
    Feature

    Supermetals versus superbugs

    2021-06-21T09:01:00

    With pathogenic bacteria rapidly overcoming our arsenal of organic antibiotics, James Mitchell Crow asks if it is time to revisit metal-based antimicrobials

  • An illustration showing a sundial with the gnomon pointing at a recycling symbol
    Feature

    Sustainable solar power

    2021-03-01T10:11:00

    Getting energy from the sun isn’t renewable until the panels are recyclable. James Mitchell Crow talks to the scientists making it happen

  • An image showing ammonia synthesis
    Feature

    Ammonia synthesis goes electric

    2020-08-17T09:23:00

    James Mitchell Crow finds that the outlook for renewables-powered electrochemical ammonia production is beginning to brighten

  • An illustration showing metalloenzymes
    Feature

    Metalloenzyme mastery

    2020-06-29T09:34:00

    There are natural metalloenzymes that make difficult chemistry look easy. James Mitchell Crow talks to the bioinorganic chemists figuring out how to copy them

  • A vintage-style poster showing sustainable labs
    Feature

    Sustainable lab buildings

    2020-03-09T09:57:00

    After a decade of grassroots growth, the laboratory sustainability movement is bursting into the mainstream finds James Mitchell Crow

  • An image showing rhodamine b added microneedles
    Feature

    Can smart biomaterials deliver?

    2019-12-16T10:08:00

    James Mitchell Crow explores the next generation of therapeutic biomaterials, which aim to interact dynamically with the body and help to control diabetes and heal wounds

  • An illustration showing the back of a car with a hydrogen storage tank which shows a cutout that reveales a MOF structure
    Feature

    Hydrogen storage gets real

    2019-08-12T12:01:00

    As production costs fall and demand is poised to rocket, James Mitchell Crow finds the hydrogen economy is finally ready for take-off – as long as we can find ways to store it

  • An image showing boron and molecular orbital interactions
    Feature

    There’s something about boron

    2019-04-08T13:59:00

    Boron’s chemistry is as much defined by what it isn’t – carbon, or a metal – as by what it is. Recent years have started to fix this misconception, as James Mitchell Crow reports

  • An image showing perovskite crystal structures
    Feature

    Perovskites beyond solar cells

    2019-02-18T11:50:00

    From solar cells and LEDs to catalysts and quantum computing, James Mitchell Crow asks if there is anything perovskites can’t do

  • Nuclear medicine hero
    Feature

    The nuclear option

    2018-09-24T10:05:00

    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

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