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A holistic approach to success
Three activities that helped me to thrive in academia and beyond
What science communication can learn from a summer of sport
Alice Motion suggests ways scientists can take inspiration from how events like the Olympics engage with viewers
Science needs to get its house in order when it comes to energy use and waste
Labs have an outsized environmental footprint but solutions are within reach
The power of a printed chart
Even in this online era, some things are still best kept on paper
Can supercapacitors be the next energy superheroes?
Offering complementary properties to batteries, their time might be round the corner
Everyone belongs in the chemical sciences
Speaking up to make our workplaces more inclusive
A post-Flixborough risk assessment
In the last 50 years, attitudes to safety have improved so that first-hand experience of lab incidents is now rare
Engaging with the complex legacy of Humphry Davy
Online courses and student-run projects show there’s great interest in discussing Davy’s links to slavery and scientific racism
Our columnists
Philip Ball is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster who explores the history and philosophy of chemistry
Triggering a nuclear chain reaction
How Leo Szilard’s concept emerged from a rich interchange of ideas across disciplinary silos
Raychelle Burks is an associate professor in the US and an award-winning science communicator and broadcaster.
Using XRF to uncover the secrets of three Irish chalices
Investigating a medieval manufacturing mystery
Nessa Carson is a synthetic organic research chemist based in Macclesfield, UK
Inertia, decisions and robots
Our cognitive biases can make it difficult to choose what’s best for science
Chemjobber is a US-based industry insider, telling tales of tank reactors and organic obstacles
The power of a printed chart
Even in this online era, some things are still best kept on paper
Derek Lowe is a medicinal chemist in the US, sharing wit and wisdom from a life spent in preclinical drug discovery
The US abortion drugs regulation challenge has stalled, but it will return
Having failed in the US Supreme Court, anti-abortion activists are trying other ways to prevent access to mifepristone
Alice Motion is an associate professor in Australia interested in citizen science, public outreach and education
What science communication can learn from a summer of sport
Alice Motion suggests ways scientists can take inspiration from how events like the Olympics engage with viewers
Chris Nawrat (aka BRSM) is a process chemist at a major pharmaceutical company in the US
(–)-Bipolarolide D
A rare example of a [6 + 2]-cycloaddition
Vanessa Seifert explores philosophical issues from the novel perspective of chemistry
There’s more to alchemy than its mystical nature
It was crucial to the development of chemistry
Andrea Sella is a professor of inorganic chemistry in the UK with a passion for unravelling the unlikely origins of scientific kit
Harmoinen’s inverter drives and a crucial step towards reducing energy consumption
For the 200th Classic Kit, Andrea Sella celebrates a crucial efficiency improvement for motors
Research landscape
A holistic approach to success
Three activities that helped me to thrive in academia and beyond
How hoarding knowledge is hurting the industry in the long run
Sharing results that are not commercially viable would speed up research
The striking truth
Better pay can benefit the whole research enterprise
Breaking the cycle of teach, test, forget
A focus on exams makes it harder for students to cultivate a deep understanding of their subject
Holes in the ‘holey graphyne’ story
The challenges – and importance – of questioning published results
Harnessing fear and greed for innovation
Many powerful emotions motivate us in the search for new knowledge
UK researchers need to know academic freedom is safe from political interference
The UK science secretary’s recent statements are causing alarm in the research community
Industry landscape
How hoarding knowledge is hurting the industry in the long run
Sharing results that are not commercially viable would speed up research
Science needs to get its house in order when it comes to energy use and waste
Labs have an outsized environmental footprint but solutions are within reach
Can supercapacitors be the next energy superheroes?
Offering complementary properties to batteries, their time might be round the corner
Stability milestone for nitrene
Bench-stable transition metal–nitrene complexes beckon
Letters: July 2024
Readers discuss DDT, reveal new information about Humphry Davy and ponder how to deal with errors
Profiles
Inspiration on a surfboard and in the chemistry classroom
Sarah Gerhardt’s curiosity connects her passions for science, teaching and surfing
Emmeline Edwards: ‘I connect the dots’
The Haitian-American neurochemist on her journey from Haiti to the US as a teenager, and her journey from chemistry to brain science
Gregory Robinson: ‘We were members of the last generation to attend segregated schools’
The synthetic inorganic chemist on attending a segregated school in Alabama, balancing football and chemistry, and tennis as a muse
Gregory Robinson: ‘We were members of the last generation to attend segregated schools’
The synthetic inorganic chemist on attending a segregated school in Alabama, balancing football and chemistry, and tennis as a muse
How Rainbow Lo is accelerating innovation
Impatient for change, she joined Paris-based sustainable ‘deep tech’ agency Hello Tomorrow
How advances in antiretrovirals have impacted my life with HIV
Eddie Heywood explains how having a range of drugs has helped a whole generation live with HIV – now their biggest concern is remembering to take them
Using analytical chemistry to illuminate the unlisted ingredients in tattoo inks
Discovery that more than 80% of the tattoo inks sampled had unlisted ingredients prompts New York-based lab to launch a website providing chemical information to tattoo artists and their clients
A sustainable career in sustainability
How Xampla’s principal scientist Lynette Holland became an industry leader without sacrificing her work-life balance
How hoarding knowledge is hurting the industry in the long run
By Samantha Ratnayake
Sharing results that are not commercially viable would speed up research
Lab digitalisation and industry 4.0
By Thomas McGlone
How technology can help us run our labs more efficiently