All The crucible articles
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Opinion
A high-pressure insight into the structure of water
The hydrogen-bonded network in liquid water resists compression; density increases instead arise from molecules moving into voids
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Opinion
A broader view of condensates
Exquisite insight into chromosome separation reveals the intricate relationships between molecular changes and large-scale cell processes
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Opinion
Enormous enzymes expand the limits of molecular biology
Identifying the PKZILLAs, used by algae to make toxins, stretched the capabilities of current analytical methods – and the limits of our preconceptions
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Opinion
Triggering a nuclear chain reaction
How Leo Szilard’s concept emerged from a rich interchange of ideas across disciplinary silos
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Opinion
A common misunderstanding about wave-particle duality
Instead of treating quantum particles as shape-shifters, we should think in terms of probability distributions
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Opinion
The 1920s chemists who thought they’d achieved the alchemists’ dream
The now-forgotten transmutation controversy hung on apparent evidence of mercury transforming into gold
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Opinion
Heated crystals jump to enantiomeric separation
Chiral asparagine monohydrate crystals can segregate by handedness – if you arrange them carefully first
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Opinion
An unprecedented supramolecular structure brings new complexities to life
The transcription factor FOXP3’s interactions with DNA present more evidence of the importance of disorder
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Opinion
Atmospheres conducive to life
Researchers propose a new biosignature that could hint at habitable exoplanets
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Opinion
Searching for new physics using ultracold molecules
‘Clock transitions’ could make it possible to discover if a flaw in the Standard Model exists – without the need for high-energy particle colliders
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Opinion
Moving beyond protein structure
Efforts to understand how intrinsically disordered regions interact have produced a variety of answers
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Opinion
Why Roman concrete is still stronger than RAAC (and other modern concretes)
Researchers are searching for ways to replicate the self-healing properties of the ancient material
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Opinion
Shape is not enough to distinguish life from abiotic systems
No morphological differences between living and non-living systems are yet known
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Opinion
Can life exist outside of the habitable zone?
Speculation about conditions on Venus raises questions about our existing definitions
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Opinion
How van der Waals first linked liquids and gases
150 years ago, a doctoral thesis changed our understanding of matter
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Opinion
The long and short of telomere rejuvenation
Telomerase is unlikely to be a straightforward elixir of youth
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Opinion
Interpreting the impact of AI large language models on chemistry
LLMs may outperform Alphafold, but currently struggle to identify simple chemical structures
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Opinion
Human genome editing in perspective
Ethical, cultural and safety considerations are high priorities for researchers