All articles by James Mitchell Crow

  • Polymer scrabble
    Feature

    Editing polymer backbones

    2024-01-22T10:23:00Z

    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

    2023-11-27T11:10:00Z

    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

    2023-07-24T08:41:00Z

    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

    2023-04-24T10:57:00Z

    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

    2023-02-06T10:00:00Z

    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?

    2022-10-24T08:34:00Z

    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

    2022-07-12T09:57:00Z

    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

    2022-05-30T08:39:00Z

    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

    2022-01-10T10:38:00Z

    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

    2021-11-29T09:30:00Z

    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

    2021-06-21T09:01:00Z

    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

    2021-03-01T10:11:00Z

    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

    2020-08-17T09:23:00Z

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

  • An illustration showing metalloenzymes
    Feature

    Metalloenzyme mastery

    2020-06-29T09:34:00Z

    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

    2020-03-09T09:57:00Z

    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?

    2019-12-16T10:08:00Z

    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

    2019-08-12T12:01:00Z

    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

    2019-04-08T13:59:00Z

    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

    2019-02-18T11:50:00Z

    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

    2018-09-24T10:05:00Z

    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