Lessons from a Nobel laureate teach us how to think better
In a world of AI, chemists need statistical thinking
The year no one won the Nobel prize in chemistry
What happened in 1924?
Fermi’s questions and the importance of estimation
Knowing how to approximate the unknown is a much undervalued skill
A chemist in the flower garden
The beautifully complex molecules plants produce are as inspiring as the blooms themselves
Poring over biomacromolecules
What will nanopore sequencing turn its hand to next?
Proteins’ shape and function are two sides of the same coin
A new perspective on the relationship between chemistry and biology
How hoarding knowledge is hurting the industry in the long run
Sharing results that are not commercially viable would speed up research
Lab digitalisation and industry 4.0
How technology can help us run our labs more efficiently
Our columnists
Philip Ball is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster who explores the history and philosophy of chemistry
A broader view of condensates
Exquisite insight into chromosome separation reveals the intricate relationships between molecular changes and large-scale cell processes
Raychelle Burks is an associate professor in the US and an award-winning science communicator and broadcaster.
What’s lurking in your drink and drugs?
How to test illicit substances at festivals and identify the rodent in your beer
Nessa Carson is a synthetic organic research chemist based in Macclesfield, UK
Working in the chemical industries, plural
Despite often being presented as a monolith, there’s a huge variety of activities, working practices and reaction scales across industrial research
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
A chemist in the flower garden
The beautifully complex molecules plants produce are as inspiring as the blooms themselves
Alice Motion is an associate professor in Australia interested in citizen science, public outreach and education
The science education programme partnering with people in prison
Think Like a Scientist focuses on empowering students
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
How much science should there be in philosophy?
A debate about metaphysics that’s crucial to how we understand the world
Andrea Sella is a professor of inorganic chemistry in the UK with a passion for unravelling the unlikely origins of scientific kit
Fermi’s questions and the importance of estimation
Knowing how to approximate the unknown is a much undervalued skill
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
A chemist in the flower garden
The beautifully complex molecules plants produce are as inspiring as the blooms themselves
Poring over biomacromolecules
What will nanopore sequencing turn its hand to next?
With departments and courses facing closures UK chemistry needs a new hero
Harry Kroto’s star status helped to save the subject 20 years ago
On your best behaviour
Which might be different at work and at home
Letters: October 2024
Readers celebrate an MSc course, manufacturing and multi-dimensional space
Profiles
Teaching enzymes new reactions through genetic code expansion and directed evolution
Anthony Green’s research group at the University of Manchester, UK, reengineers enzymes to have catalytic functions beyond those found in nature
Carol Robinson: ‘I really wanted to wave the flag about technicians’
The mass spectrometry trailblazer on leaving school at 16 and waving the flag for technicians
The early-career engineer showcasing women in the chemical industry
Jordan Riddle explains how embracing change and extra curricular activities has benefited her work in chemical production
The early-career engineer showcasing women in the chemical industry
Jordan Riddle explains how embracing change and extra curricular activities has benefited her work in chemical production
Ijeoma Uchegbu: ‘My approach is always to be kind’
The innovative nanoscientist on the power of kindness and how she scrubbed eugenicists from campus buildings
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
How Rainbow Lo is accelerating innovation
Impatient for change, she joined Paris-based sustainable ‘deep tech’ agency Hello Tomorrow
Why we need public analysts
By Duncan Campbell
As the Association of Public Analysts winds up, Duncan Campbell reflects on the continued importance of the profession
Celebrating the coffee break
By Victoria Atkinson
One of the most surprisingly productive parts of the day