The lost treasure of electron microscopy
Unpublished images should be brought to light to aid science communication and speed up discovery
‘Making MOFs is the most fun I have ever had in the lab’
A personal connection to the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
The molecular mechanisms behind cell cognition
Condensate formation is central to how budding yeast cells decide their response to environmental and internal conditions
Coblentz’s infrared spectrometer and the overlooked power of vibrations
Vibrational spectroscopy’s intuitive insight into molecular structure was initially shunned by chemists
Have MOFs now made it?
Will Nobel prize speed porous materials to commercial success?
Beyond selfies with Nobel laureates
Why young scientists must lead a new era of global collaboration
How the Royal Society of Chemistry is reshaping recognition in the chemical sciences
Changes over the past five years have enabled a wider variety of team and individual excellence to be celebrated
Exploring the potential uses of usnic acid
As well as protecting lichen, this compound could have medical and cosmetic applications – if toxicity concerns can be overcome
Our columnists
Philip Ball is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster who explores the history and philosophy of chemistry
The molecular mechanisms behind cell cognition
Condensate formation is central to how budding yeast cells decide their response to environmental and internal conditions
Raychelle Burks is an associate professor in the US and an award-winning science communicator and broadcaster.
Sinister snakebites
Accidental death, or a murder carried out with venom?
Nessa Carson is a synthetic organic research chemist based in Macclesfield, UK
Ask probing questions to work effectively in diverse teams
Sometimes, what you really want may not be what you say you want
Chemjobber is a US-based industry insider, telling tales of tank reactors and organic obstacles
Make versus buy (or steal)
How methylamine reveals a routine question for chemists
Derek Lowe is a medicinal chemist in the US, sharing wit and wisdom from a life spent in preclinical drug discovery
‘Making MOFs is the most fun I have ever had in the lab’
A personal connection to the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
Alice Motion is an associate professor in Australia interested in citizen science, public outreach and education
Learning about chemistry in prenatal class
Opportunities for infographics to contribute to health literacy
Chris Nawrat (aka BRSM) is a process chemist at a major pharmaceutical company in the US
(–)-Bipinnatin J
A stepping stone to greater things?
Vanessa Seifert explores philosophical issues from the novel perspective of chemistry
The conceptual challenge of consumer safety
Understanding causation can motivate product improvements
Andrea Sella is a professor of inorganic chemistry in the UK with a passion for unravelling the unlikely origins of scientific kit
Coblentz’s infrared spectrometer and the overlooked power of vibrations
Vibrational spectroscopy’s intuitive insight into molecular structure was initially shunned by chemists
Research landscape
Drowning in a sea of fakery
Addressing rising fraud in the scientific literature is a huge issue that AI is set to exacerbate
Letters: September 2025
Readers discuss negative results, chemistry cold spots and more
What I learned from going back to university in my 30s
Advice for the young student (at heart)
Chemistry ‘deserts’ threaten to push poorer undergraduates out
Course and departmental closures in the UK are creating ‘cold spots’, leaving students high and dry
If the UK wants growth fuelled by R&D, universities need relief now
The spending review has left universities struggling with deficits with few options but to hope for good news
Normalising huge substrate scopes worsens wellbeing
And holds up the pace of scientific progress
Can scientific curiosity and pressure to work long hours be balanced with well-being?
Younger researchers must beware the trap that sees their scientific fervour take over their lives
Industry landscape
‘Making MOFs is the most fun I have ever had in the lab’
A personal connection to the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
Have MOFs now made it?
Will Nobel prize speed porous materials to commercial success?
Why we should stop venerating Nobel laureates
The winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry have all made mistakes – and that’s inspirational
Trump steps up pharma tariff threat
Taxing branded drug imports could hit biotech innovators hardest
Letters: October 2025
Readers discuss chemistry degree uptake, isotope analysis best practice and green cosmetics
Profiles
Sailing towards recycling composite textiles
Sustainable Extricko is using superheated steam and pressure to recycle intractable materials used in sailing
Van Thi Thanh Ho’s mission to build up sustainable chemistry in Vietnam
She’s driving commercialisation and inspiring new generations of scientists with her passion for green technology
Karl Mueller: ‘I realised I had matured when I started giving away my best ideas’
The director of Ames National Laboratory in the US discusses getting hooked on chemistry via parental inspiration and a benchtop NMR
Karl Mueller: ‘I realised I had matured when I started giving away my best ideas’
The director of Ames National Laboratory in the US discusses getting hooked on chemistry via parental inspiration and a benchtop NMR
Reviving organobismuth chemistry
Despite its low cost and low toxicity, bismuth has found limited applications in organic synthesis. Liam Ball is working to change that
Nora de Leeuw: ‘Some of my best PhD students weren’t that great at passing exams’
The computational chemist on perspectives from outside academia and the importance of inquisitiveness
Ponnadurai Ramasami: ‘You will learn more by going the more difficult way’
The trailblazing computational chemist on the joys of teaching, inaugurating a virtual conference, and the importance of doing things the hard way
RNA as a replacement for chemical pesticides
Argentinian start-up Apolo Biotech is teaching plants to fight infections
The lost treasure of electron microscopy
By Valentine Ananikov
Unpublished images should be brought to light to aid science communication and speed up discovery
My arcane and curious connection to metal-organic frameworks
By Fernando Gomollón-Bel
Fernando Gomollón-Bel uncovers a link between his hometown and the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry