More features – Page 14
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FeatureSearching for biodegradable polymers
Plastics that break down in the environment could be the answer to our pollution worries, Aisling Irwin finds – but only if they are useful in the first place
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FeaturePerovskites beyond solar cells
From solar cells and LEDs to catalysts and quantum computing, James Mitchell Crow asks if there is anything perovskites can’t do
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FeaturePass the antidote
From paracetamol to pesticides – not to mention nerve agents – there are many toxic compounds that doctors need to be able to counteract. Nina Notman investigates
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FeatureThe discovery of the noble gases
How an extra line in the solar spectrum kicked off a search for the ‘missing metals’ that turned out to be noble gases
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FeatureCan we live forever?
We are now living longer than ever before, but not always in perfect health. Anthony King talks to the researchers working to extend our healthspan
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FeatureForcing reactions with plasmons
Traditional catalysts can lack both efficiency and selectivity. Tim Wogan explains how plasmons offer the potential to do chemistry with a lighter touch
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FeatureReady for a Raman shift
Raman spectroscopy has been seen as a tool for physicists and chemists but Hayley Bennett finds it has the potential to cause a major shift in the way we do medicine
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FeatureWhat is an element?
Our understanding of what an element is has evolved over the years, but it’s still a tricky concept to nail down. Philip Ball investigates
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FeatureThe discovery of graphene
Read how Andre Geim’s Friday night experiments led to the discovery of graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms
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FeatureThe father of the periodic table
Mike Sutton looks at how Mendeleev’s patience revealed periodicity in the elements
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FeatureScience in microgravity
How does gravity affect chemistry and biology? More than you might think – and you don’t have to visit space to find out, as Rachel Brazil discovers
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FeatureScience, suffrage and misogyny
100 years after women could first vote in UK general elections, Rachel Brazil looks back at their fight for professional equality in chemistry
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FeatureA taste of wine chemistry
Nina Notman talks to the wine detectives uncovering the flavour molecules in our favourite tipples
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FeatureThe marvellous Maillard reaction
Andy Extance looks at the culinary reaction cascade that goes beyond Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner and has worrying links to health
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FeatureThe great war clean-up
A century after the end of the first world war, the task of disposing of old chemical weapons continues. Michael Freemantle reports
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FeatureHahn, Meitner and the discovery of nuclear fission
80 years ago, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner made a discovery that led to nuclear weapons – yet Meitner was never given the recognition she deserved
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FeatureThe atmospheric nitrogen question
Pollutants, key atmospheric components and vital fertilisers: nitrogen compounds are all of these, as Emma Davies finds out
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FeatureHow chemical evolution took the 2018 chemistry Nobel prize
Emma Stoye has the full story of how Frances Arnold, George Smith and Greg Winter put evolution to work in the lab
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FeatureAre the Nobel prizes good for science?
Philip Ball looks at whether prizes and awards help or hinder scientific progress
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FeatureThe nuclear option
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