Vials

One of these vials is contaminated with nanoplastics. Chemistry can tell us which one

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Nina Notman talks to the scientists finding where nanoplastics come from and where they end up

A chemical plant with grass in the foreground

Biomass, plastic waste and carbon dioxide feedstocks key to cutting chemical industry’s emissions

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Royal Society report warns that without intervention defossilisation of the chemicals sector will take many decades

Ludwig van Beethoven

Lead found in Beethoven’s hair reveals news insight into his ailing health

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Kidney and liver problems that killed the composer, as well as hearing loss, are associated with high lead levels

Andres Jaramillo

Periodic table of food initiative to uncover exactly what’s in our food

2024-05-10T08:30:00+01:00

Project will create database of food compounds to standardise understanding of biomolecular composition of foods

Tear gas

Explainer: what is tear gas?

2024-05-09T14:33:00+01:00

Accusations of the use of tear gas as a weapon of war in Ukraine have put these agents in the spotlight once more

Gas masks in the trench

Claims of tear gas use against Ukrainian troops ‘insufficiently substantiated’

2024-05-09T13:56:00+01:00

Chemical weapons watchdog says more evidence is needed on whether Russia violated convention

Portrait of Zhang Yongzhen

Chinese scientist who published Sars-CoV-2 genome without approval regains access to lab

2024-05-08T13:30:00+01:00

Following Zhang Yongzhen and his team’s eviction from their lab, a protest appears to have forced a U-turn from authorities

DCM

Ban on most uses of dichloromethane finalised in US

2024-05-07T14:17:00+01:00

New rule phases out consumer use of the chemical within a year, and prohibits most industrial and commercial uses within two years

Beaver teeth

Rodents’ striking orange teeth not down to iron-rich enamel as thought

2024-05-13T13:30:00+01:00

Metal provides strength but the colour is the result of something else

Sugar

Precious metal-free catalyst conjured using sugar can turn CO2 into chemical feedstock

2024-05-10T14:56:00+01:00

Simulations and analysis uncover more active metastable phase of molybdenum carbide

Electrolysis

Electrochemical acid–base reactions can be fine tuned to control reactivity

2024-05-09T08:30:00+01:00

Two new parameters can offer tunability to a wide range of electrochemical reactions

Figure

Ultracold snapshots reveals in exquisite detail how a bacterial flagellum rotates

2024-05-08T08:30:00+01:00

Studies explain how motor can flip from clockwise rotation to anticlockwise

HIV ribbon

How HIV drugs have changed over the decades

2024-05-07T09:01:00+01:00

From one big pill that only prolonged lives a few months, through the 20 pills a day years to modern combination therapies, treating HIV is a science success story

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

  • Biocatalysis – A cross-RSC collection

  • Biocatalysis Faraday Discussion

  • Myth busting: Chemists, the public and the media

  • Innovating for the future of sustainable labs

Antiaromaticity

Illuminating antiaromaticity

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Aromaticity’s dark alter-ego is ready to emerge into the sunlight. James Mitchell Crow talks to the scientists trying to exploit the instability

1959 Barbie

Conserving Barbie from degradation

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Although she is a cultural icon, conserving Barbie has its challenges: as with most plastic toys and dolls, she was not made to last. Rachel Brazil investigates how conservation scientists are approaching this sticky problem

Magnetic levitation

Superconductivity: the search and the scandal

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Recent high profile controversies haven’t deterred scientists from searching for one of research’s ultimate prizes: room temperature superconductors. Kit Chapman reports on the claims

Oceans

The oceans’ climate challenge

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Nina Notman speaks to the researchers unpicking the many ways the climate crisis is impacting our oceans – and vice versa

  • Lab XAS: A new tool for materials characterisation

  • The pivotal role of chemistry in India’s sustainable development

  • Empowering voices: Advancing social mobility in the chemical sciences

  • The science of CBD: exploring safe limits

  • It’s a gas – with author Mark Miodownik