Jamie Durrani
Senior science correspondent, Chemistry World
I’ve worked for Chemistry World since 2016, and in my current role as a science correspondent since 2019. I report on the latest chemistry breakthroughs as well as areas like science policy that are of direct relevance to the research community.
I especially enjoy covering research that brings together multiple scientific disciplines, or that improves our understanding of the world that we live in. Before moving into science journalism, I carried out a PhD in asymmetric catalysis – so I also love writing about all things catalytic!
NewsMolecular machines won a Nobel prize nine years ago, but we still can’t decide what one is
World authority on chemistry nomenclature aims to clean up molecular machine terminology
BusinessEpigenetic editors enter clinical trials
New wave of precision medicines amplify or silence genes, without altering genetic code
ResearchLong-chain alkanes preserved in Martian mudstone
Molecules could have derived from biological fatty acids, although abiotic origins are also possible
ResearchMetal layers just a few angstroms thick display unusual electronic properties
2D metals created for first time by pressing samples between two sapphire anvils
ResearchFive-membered bismuth ring opens up ‘a new era for aromatic compounds’
Bismuth analogue of cyclopentadiene finally isolated
News1.2GHz NMR magnet arrives at University of Warwick
New instrument is 20% more powerful than the UK’s current largest NMR spectrometer
NewsAtomic Energy Authority chief executive to head up UKRI
Ian Chapman to take reins at UK’s main research funder after Ottoline Leyser steps down later this year
NewsProtests and alarm as European research sector braces for cuts
Swiss science organisations are the latest to speak up after a wave of cuts is proposed across Europe
NewsUK visa policy ‘an act of national self-harm’, says Lords’ science committee
Inflexible and expensive visa system puts country at competitive disadvantage in global race for talent
NewsUK ‘on a good track’ one year after rejoining Horizon Europe
Early figures suggest UK researchers are benefitting from the resumption of European research collaboration
NewsHorizon Europe reopens to Swiss researchers after three-year hiatus
Transitional arrangement allows Swiss scientists to participate in EU research programmes once again
BusinessUS state charges Lockhart director over river chemical release
Bankrupt firm’s leader accused of endangering the public and altering public records
NewsComputational chemist and Nobel prize-winner Martin Karplus dies at 94
Karplus’s techniques combined classical and quantum mechanical approaches to model complex chemical systems
NewsPlastic treaty negotiators fail to reach agreement
Disputes over treaty’s scope remain as original deadline passes
NewsSuperconductivity researcher at centre of misconduct scandal departs University of Rochester
Several of Ranga Dias’s papers have been retracted amid data manipulation allegations
NewsAfter years of negotiations, a global agreement to tackle plastic pollution is within sight
The UN’s plastics treaty negotiations have faced many hurdles, but delegates are getting closer to a final agreement
BusinessSanofi spins out its consumer healthcare business
US-based investment firm takes controlling stake in Opella, while France’s government moves to ensure the company remains in the country
NewsOnline archive of Humphry Davy’s notebooks opens to the public
Historic collection is the result of a five-year long citizen science project
FeatureHow AI protein structure prediction and design won the Nobel prize
David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper won this year’s Nobel prize in chemistry. Jamie Durrani investigates the origins of a biochemistry revolution
NewsProtein design and structure prediction wins chemistry Nobel prize
David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were rewarded for creating computational tools to design proteins and predict their structures that have ‘revolutionised biological chemistry’