Katrina Krämer
After finishing my A-levels, I wanted to study arts or languages, but then decided that being a chemist in a white coat was definitely cooler.
So I went on and spent ten years studying chemistry in Germany, Spain and the UK, before realising that not working in a lab can also be fun. After one year in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s graduate trainee scheme, I joined Chemistry World first as editorial assistant and now as science correspondent.
My favourite CAS number is 102-54-5.
ResearchGravity-defying droplets race upside down on super slippery surface
Charged superamphiphobic surface propels water, blood and other liquids up vertical slopes and even upside down
ResearchPush–pull radical theory finally vindicated after decades of back and forth
Solvent effect proves that captodative effect really exists after all
ResearchFirst movie of tumbling molecule reveals its quantum nature
Rotating rod-shaped molecule’s wavefunction recorded in 651 images
NewsBoris Johnson reappoints brother as UK science minister
Former universities and science minister Jo Johnson returns to old job in new prime minister’s government
ResearchFirst molecular knots made from just benzene rings
Catenane and trefoil knot are the first mechanically interlocked molecules made from only carbon and hydrogen
ResearchAlgorithm finds the 569 molecules that might drive a waste-free economy
Strategic compounds within a huge chemical network pinpointed by machine learning
![An image showing (P)-M[28]3·ZnLn](https://d1w9csuen3k837.cloudfront.net/Pictures/100x67/4/7/5/144475_ja-2019-04074d_0005.jpg)
ResearchMolecular amplifier makes purest chiral Möbius aromatic
Stack of chiral components creates most enantiopure twisted aromatic ring ever made
ResearchResurrected enzyme aces cellulose catalysis
Protein that survived extreme conditions on early Earth could be a boon for biofuel industry
PodcastCyclopropane
Chemistry’s tastiest bonds for an explosive anaesthetic that was as useful as it was dangerous
NewsFemale scientists’ pages keep disappearing from Wikipedia – what’s going on?
A deletion battle over a black female chemist’s biography has put Wikipedia’s gender gap in the spotlight
News‘Build a bold vision for UK research,’ scientists urge next prime minister
Academies, charities and universities unite in appeal to Conservative leadership hopefuls to invest in science
ResearchElectric field flicks switch for bond breaking reaction
Proof that electrostatics can selectively power up one reaction in a multistep process
ResearchFirst 4D look at crystallising atoms contradicts textbook nucleation theory
Tracking individual atoms over time in a solid-to-solid phase puts another nail in classical nucleation theory’s coffin
ResearchFloppiness scale untangles knotted molecules
Chemists use floppiness factor to characterise mechanically interlocked molecules using mass spectrometry
ResearchLaser centrifuge spins out chiral molecules in world first
Experimental proof that molecule’s rotation can be controlled with light could lead to new ways to separate enantiomers
ResearchRobotic fish powered by hydraulic blood and two heart pumps
Soft robot mimics lionfish’s graceful movement with flow batteries and hydraulic fluids
NewsSwitching UK’s gas network to hydrogen perfectly possible, report finds
Repurposing the natural gas network would cut out country’s biggest source of carbon emissions
Research‘Little big coil’ breaks record for world’s strongest magnet
High temperature superconductor used to create 45.5 Tesla field magnet 9000 times more powerful than a fridge magnet
NewsPolymer microballs and fatberg crystals top science photo competition
From virtual reality to citizen science, photo competition shows breadth of UK research
ResearchFirst atom-thick perovskites show there’s no limits to crystallinity
Could 2D perovskite oxides become the next graphene?