Diamond

The diamond synthesisers

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Nina Notman takes a whistle-stop tour of the synthetic diamond industry and learns about some of the applications its lab-grown diamonds are being used for

Clam shells on a beach

Surprise discovery as clam found to be producing complex antibiotic

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Erythromycin was previously believed to be only synthesised by bacteria

An erupting volcano

Mauna Loa volcano eruption disrupts critical climate data collection

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Lava flow took out power to the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii 

News

People on a protest. Their placards read UAW on strike.

Strike continues as University of California reaches partial agreement with union

2022-12-01T15:30:00+00:00

Historic wins on pay and working conditions secured, but student employees and researchers still waiting

The exterior of a nuclear power plant

Situation at Ukrainian nuclear plants worrying as shelling and power cuts threaten containment

2022-11-30T15:15:00+00:00

Back-up diesel generators have been needed to maintain cooling at plants across the country

ExoMars rover

European Space Agency unveils plans to get troubled rover to Mars

2022-11-29T15:00:00+00:00

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended European cooperation on launch of Rosalind Franklin rover

Anyang explosion

At least 38 killed in industrial fire in China

2022-11-29T11:37:00+00:00

Sparks from welding work appear to have ignited textiles at the plant

Ephemeral tattoo

Made-to-fade tattoos

2022-11-28T10:02:00+00:00

Ephemeral’s biodegradable ink disappears in 9–15 months

Research

Coca plant

Coca plants’ production pathway for cocaine finally unravelled

2022-12-01T07:53:00+00:00

167-year-old biosynthetic mystery may be solved

PVC plastic

New lease of life for waste PVC chlorinating aromatics

2022-11-30T09:30:00+00:00

Electrochemical process could tackle hard to recycle plastic

Scientists stood in a lab

Radium chelator researchers working to improve targeted cancer therapies

2022-11-29T14:00:00+00:00

Oak Ridge National Lab team investigate factors underpinnning Ra2+ complex stability and selectivity in attempt to expand the therapeutic utility of radium-223

Magnet motor

Powerful rare-earth free magnet ‘evolved’ and refined by machine learning algorithm

2022-11-25T09:30:00+00:00

Combination of iron, cobalt and boron points to alternatives to metals beset by geopolitical battles

n-butyl lithium

Mystery surrounding metalation reaction’s reagent excess solved

2022-11-24T15:45:00+00:00

Multiple ‘base-eating’ aggregates discovered in classic directed ortho lithiation

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Solvent bottles

Themed collection: Sustainable Laboratories

Voice of

Sustainable labs

The Sustainable Laboratories report

Voice of

Anju Massey-Booker

Sustainability applies to all polymers, not just plastics

Voice of , by

Circle of hands

Belonging and connection – Building a better chemistry culture

Voice of

  • Themed collection: Sustainable Laboratories

  • The Sustainable Laboratories report

  • Sustainability applies to all polymers, not just plastics

  • Belonging and connection – Building a better chemistry culture

Significant figures

Celebrating science's forgotten heroes

Betty Harris

Betty Wright Harris’s explosive career

Masataka Ogawa

Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

Elizabeth Fulhame

Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

William Knox Jr

William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

Margaret Melhase

Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

Prafulla Chandra Ray

PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

James West

Jim West’s marvellous microphone

A framed portrait of Marie Anne Paulze Lavoisier

Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier the invisible assistant

A framed image of June Lindsey

June Lindsey, another forgotten woman in the story of DNA

  • Betty Wright Harris’s explosive career

  • Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

  • Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

  • William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

  • Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

  • PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

  • Jim West’s marvellous microphone

  • Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier the invisible assistant

  • June Lindsey, another forgotten woman in the story of DNA

More...

Features

Unravelling the secrets of Ancient Egyptian chemistry

Unwrapping ancient Egyptian chemistry

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From mummification to metallurgy, Rachel Brazil looks at the impressive chemistry used by this ancient civilisation

Louis Pasteur collage

Celebrating Louis Pasteur’s bicentenary

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Mike Sutton reflects on the dramatic discoveries of Louis Pasteur, born 200 years ago

Half eaten cake

The brain chemicals that control what we enjoy

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Researchers are trying to understand how orexins influence our appetites, and whether we can use them to treat addiction and obesity, explains Andy Extance

Molecular electronics diagram

When will molecular electronics make the connection?

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Computer chips based on single molecules may remain a work in progress, finds James Mitchell Crow but the technologies developed along the way are being used by chemists to explore their reactions