Julia Robinson
Science correspondent, Chemistry World
I joined the Chemistry World team as Science Correspondent in May 2023. Previously I spent eight years leading the clinical and science content at The Pharmaceutical Journal, the official journal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, a membership body for pharmacists.
With a grounding in biology and a masters in science communication I may not be a chemist by trade but I hope to bring a wealth of knowledge about the pharmaceutical industry, drug development, pharmacology and health to the Chemistry World team.
As well as being passionate about all aspects of science I am also committed to producing journalism that is of the highest quality and accuracy and which holds those in power to account.
Testament to this, my work has led me to be shortlisted for several specialist journalism awards, and in 2022 I was lucky enough to win the award for Best Writer (B2B) at the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Talent Awards.
NewsA decade on how has the EU’s €1 billion gamble to get graphene on the market fared?
Project helped take 2D materials into the mainstream but there’s still a long way to go
NewsNegotiations on Switzerland rejoining Horizon Europe to begin
Talks come after 18 months of diplomacy over the future of Switzerland’s relationship with the EU
BusinessUK becomes first country in the world to authorise a Crispr-based gene therapy
Treatment aims to cure patients with β-thalassaemia and sickle-cell disease
NewsFisheries agency concludes it’s ‘very unlikely’ pyridine behind UK crustacean deaths after new tests
Cause of mass die-offs in late 2021 and early 2022 still a mystery
ResearchSynthetic yeast genome project creates strain with over 50% synthetic DNA
Entirely artificial organism opens up door to designer yeast with biotechnology applications
ResearchUnderwater device reveals marine chemical diversity
I-Smel device probes metabolites produced by Mediterranean sponges
NewsRoyal Society of Chemistry announces grant to fund 10 projects tackling diversity issues
£677,000 scheme aims to address racial and ethnic inequalities in the chemical sciences
NewsNew protocol aims to improve detection of adulterated honey
Guidance for authenticity databases will aid detection of products bulked out with cheap sugar syrups
ResearchCrystal analysis pushes the moon’s age back 40 million years
Samples retrieved by Apollo astronauts show that the moon formed 4.46 billion years ago
BusinessExxonMobil to buy Pioneer for US shale oil dominance
$59.5 billion deal sees Exxon double its shale oil and gas production
NewsRSC calls on UK government to take action on PFAS levels in tap water
New analysis reveals more than a third of rivers in England and Wales have medium or high levels of fluorinated compounds
FeatureThe quantum dot story
Julia Robinson explains how quantum dots went from a theoretical prediction to everyday reality and earned Alexei Ekimov, Louis Brus and Moungi Bawendi the 2023 Nobel prize in chemistry
ResearchMOFs offer safer solution for handling fluorinated gases that can ‘tame the tiger’
Compounds vital in medicinal chemistry and imaging can be stored ready to use at room temperature
News2023 Nobel prize in chemistry goes to trio behind quantum dots
Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Alexei Ekimov win chemistry’s top prize for work that ended up in high resolution TVs and displays
BusinessUS regulator says phenylephrine is ineffective as a decongestant
FDA will begin consultation on removing the drug from hundreds of over-the-counter remedies
NewsmRNA vaccine pioneers win medicine Nobel prize
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman honoured for breakthroughs that enable the rapid development of new vaccines, including several of those used against Covid-19
NewsLego struggles to find the right chemistry to replace oil-based virgin plastics
Danish toymaker commits to redouble efforts to produce more sustainable polymers for Lego pieces
BusinessAddressing the saga of nitrosamine contamination in drugs
Scientific and regulatory progress is helping minimise the impact of mutagenic impurities
NewsPioneers in synthetic biology and next-generation DNA sequencing among predictions for chemistry Nobel prize
Data science divinations and community chatter pick favourites for chemistry’s top prize