Enantioselective synthesis of elusive chiral nitrogen compounds discovered by chance
An ‘elegant and simple’ way to make nitrogen stereocentres by supramolecular recognition
Machine learning accurately predicts RNA structures using tiny dataset
Development could lead to better understanding of RNA and new medicines
Overreliance on cryocooled protein structures may compromise computational structure-based drug design
Scientists behind first of its kind study encourage more researchers to analyse protein structures at room temperature
Water splitting electrocatalyst made from unconventional alloy containing 14 elements
Simple dealloying process creates complex nanoporous alloy
Chemical definition of brine as water could help clear up Chile’s lithium controversy
As evidence grows that lithium mining damages water sources, reclassifying brine as water – rather than as mineral – could empower Indigenous communities to protect their rights and convince mining companies to act more responsibly
Electrons in zinc’s filled 3d orbitals can participate in chemical reactions
Super electrophilic trianions accept three additional electrons to support zinc in a +3 oxidation state
‘Self-inflating’ synthetic cells can capture, store and release cargo
Entirely artificial system can use chemical energy to ‘swallow’ payloads like bacteria
Giant molecular cage protects plastic-eating enzyme
Caged protein withstands temperatures much hotter than its usual melting point and becomes 1000 times more resistant to solvents
Sunlight transforms plastic into tens of thousands of new compounds
Marine plastics don’t persist forever, sun exposure can break them down into extremely complex chemical compounds in just weeks
First fluoronium crystal solves structure controversy
X-ray analysis of elusive cation finally proves it to be a symmetric near-covalent structure, not a carbocation
Hardest amorphous material can scratch even diamond
Compressing buckyballs at high temperatures makes ultra-hard and strong carbon materials
Semimetal study links spiral magnetism to Weyl fermions
Findings may help explain spatial modulations seen in the magnetism of other rare earth intermetallic compounds
How a single ingredient creates silky smooth chocolate without tempering
Natural phospholipids trigger cocoa butter crystallisation into glossy, tasty, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate
Actinide aromaticity defies predictions
First σ-aromatic thorium cluster extends σ aromaticity to periodic table’s heaviest elements
Blue light squeezes out heteroatoms from small rings
Photochemical ring editing reaction allows complete molecular shape change in a single step
Actinium’s radius revised to solve cancer therapy mystery
For decades, scientists have been using the wrong ionic radius for one of Earth’s rarest element
Methane mystery on Saturn’s moon rekindles search for life on other planets
Researchers struggle to explain suspicious amounts of methane on Enceladus while a new chapter opens in the debate around the source of Venus’s phosphine. Why is it so hard to decide what counts as a sign of life?
No more worrying about nomenclature – AI will tell you what that chemical is called
Open-source online resource converts organic chemical structures to their Iupac names and vice versa
App creates floating 3D molecules from hand-drawn chemical structures
MolAR also lets users visualise molecules in water, coffee and fruit by scanning them with a smartphone camera
First crystal structure of bleach in its 200-year history
X-ray structure of chemistry staples hypochlorite and hypobromite recorded for the first time
Tusk isotopes reveal a mammoth’s life
17,000 years after its death, scientists use strontium analysis to trace animal’s movements throughout its 28-year life
This smartwatch will self-destruct in 40 hours
Electronic waste recycling made easy with this dissolvable device
Gold(III) catalysis transforms protecting group from base-stable to base-labile
Unique orthogonality in a protecting group achieved using a gold-catalysed cyclisation for selective activation and deprotection
Transient quantum fluctuations tune polymer self-assembly
Chemists use to the universe’s random electromagnetic fluctuations to profoundly change a compound’s supramolecular organisation
Molecular cryo-EM discovers error in 25-year-old natural product structure
Nobel prize-winning biomolecule imaging technique adapted to characterise chemical compounds faster and easier than NMR and x-ray
Neural network scours vast chemical space to design drug-delivering peptides
Oligonucleotide drug activity boosted 50-fold with peptide designed by machine learning algorithm
Photocatalyst couples denitrification and water splitting to manage nitrate pollution
Hydrogen gas generated in situ serves as reducing agent
Mirror image enzyme constructs longest ever mirror DNA strand
Since chirally inverted DNA is more stable than its natural counterpart, it can be used to encode secret messages