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.
ResearchMolecular archery allows chemists to see how bonds form
Scientists shoot the world’s smallest projectiles – individual molecules – and use them to study how reactions happen
ResearchChunky catalyst mimics enzyme to tackle tough reactions
Tricky Diels–Alder reactions or Mukaiyama aldol additions – a bulky chiral catalyst can do them all by squeezing substrates into its chiral pocket
ResearchFirst double aromatic molecule made
Hexaselenyl benzene cation is the first stable molecule with an aromatic ring inside another aromatic ring
NewsChemistry business leader to head UK’s national life sciences institute
GlaxoSmithKline’s non-executive director Vivienne Cox has been appointed chair of the Rosalind Franklin Institute
ResearchInorganic molecule mimics odd benzene isomer
Zwitterionic boron–nitrogen compound has σ bond between two π orbitals
NewsWhat is directed evolution and why did it win the chemistry Nobel prize?
If you’ve got questions about yesterday’s chemistry Nobel prize then we’ve got answers
NewsLaser tools bag physics Nobel as first woman wins prize for 55 years
Arthur Ashkin, inventor of optical tweezers, shares honour with laser pulse pioneers Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou
NewsImmune-stimulating cancer treatment takes 2018 medicine Nobel
James Allison and Tasuku Honjo receive science’s highest honour for discovering how cancer stops immune cells from attacking
ResearchHealthy animals mimic body odour of sick companions
Sniffer mice and chemical analysis suggest that sickness odours are contagious
ResearchExotic amino acids made easy with radicals
Stereoselective radical coupling to rival classic Strecker synthesis for easy access to unusual amino acids
ResearchMetal crystals reveal long-held secret behind their ultrafast growth
Hidden pre-organisation means supercooled silver crystals can grow at a rate of up to 100 metres per second
ResearchSimple propeller molecule builds complex porous material
Symmetric compound self-assembles into holey lattice that can self-heal and store gases
NewsUltracold molecules are poised to unearth chemistry’s foundations
Molecules close to absolute zero will soon help chemists unravel the toughest questions about why reactions occur at all
ResearchClassic multicomponent reaction finally gets chiral touch
59 years after its discovery, the Ugi reaction becomes enantioselective with the help of a chiral phosphoric acid
PodcastAntihistamines
From calming a hyperactive immune system to increasing cognitive abilities, these small molecules have a big impact
ResearchSuper-reactive molecule could solve space sugar mystery
How did carbohydrates form in space and on early Earth? The clue might be in the carbene
ResearchChemists weave granny and triple trefoil knots
Interwoven grids folded into mechanically interlocked molecules, including a super-coiled three-trefoil
ResearchReverse liquid sieve lets only large particles pass
Soap film that retains smaller particles while letting bigger ones through could be useful in open surgery or water-free toilets
ResearchObserving orbitals solves hydrogen transfer puzzle
Visualising atoms’ wave function lets chemists tell true from indirect hydrogen atom transfer
