2025 in review
It’s that time of year again: offices, labs and departments are slowing down for the holidays. To keep you entertained and inspired over the festive period, the Chemistry World team has selected some of our favourite stories from 2025, including long reads covering fascinating areas of chemical research, important news stories, top tips for achieving your career goals, and much more.
2025 in review
Our favourite stories from 2025
Chemistry department woes, Trump, Gen AI and pollution capture headlines in 2025
The stories that dominated the news this year
AI continues to make waves and structural editing impresses in 2025
The research that has amazed and amused us this year
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2025
Policy swings have made it a slippery year for pharma
Chemicals industry roundup 2025
Europe hit hard by China’s independence push, but India is growing
Latest
Research
Supramolecular gels improve performance of aircraft deicing fluids
Made using low-cost reagents, the gels could be more sustainable than current anti-icing products
Feature
The JWST reveals the molecular origins of planetary systems
The world’s most expensive infrared spectrometer – the James Webb Space Telescope – is unearthing extraordinary exoplanet chemistry. James Mitchell Crow looks to the skies
Feature
The Antarctic manganese mystery
RRS Sir David Attenborough scientists are trying to measure the potentially crucial role of ocean manganese, finds Andy Extance. But how do you do cutting-edge science in the inhospitable Southern Ocean?
Opinion
What’s on your lab technology wish list?
Once-magical tools are now mundane. What will the next miracles be?
Opinion
I was almost robbed of my love for chemistry – but I fought my way back
An abusive lab member made my dream course a nightmare. By speaking up, I’m reclaiming my joy
Research
The chemist using curry to understand indoor air pollution
Ashish Kumar’s research reveals how cooking shapes the air we breathe indoors
Supramolecular gels improve performance of aircraft deicing fluids
Made using low-cost reagents, the gels could be more sustainable than current anti-icing products
Stiffest organic crystals reported to date discovered in well-known material
Mucic acid crystals owe their rigidity to a dense network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds
Tree-D printing for Christmas
Thianthrenium reagent captures elusive protein interactions in living cells
Shedding light on how photoactive crystals respond in real time
AI continues to make waves and structural editing impresses in 2025
Insulating window material prevents heat loss while allowing more light through than glass
AI flexes its protein design muscles for harsh environments
Protein design takes big leap forward as model produces enzymes almost as effective as nature’s
Reprieve for Grangemouth ethylene
UK government agrees £150 million deal to support the country’s last ethylene production plant
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2025
Policy swings have made it a slippery year for pharma
Chemicals industry roundup 2025
A unifying force for African medicines
Learning computational chemistry in a new role
US backs Bayer–Monsanto with glyphosate decision
UK agrees higher drug prices to secure zero-tariff deal with US
Raj Shah: ‘A good laugh in the lab is often as important as a good reagent’
Global analysis identifies trends in platform chemical research
Langmuir’s pump and the optimism of science
Creativity nurtured by an explorative environment
Structure as a strategy
Progress in materials chemistry has often come from changing what things are made of, yet today we understand that how those components are arranged is just as important
Reprieve for Grangemouth ethylene
UK government agrees £150 million deal to support the country’s last ethylene production plant
An analytical gold mine
How forensic techniques can help trace the origin of illegally sourced gold
A unifying force for African medicines
The new African Medicines Agency is hugely important but faces significant challenges
Learning computational chemistry in a new role
A change of team brings new opportunities to build knowledge
Raj Shah: ‘A good laugh in the lab is often as important as a good reagent’
The award-winning chartered chemical engineer celebrates mentoring, curiosity and lubrication
What’s on your lab technology wish list?
Once-magical tools are now mundane. What will the next miracles be?
Walter Kohn: from kindertransport and internment to DFT and the Nobel prize
Explore the legacy of Walter Kohn, the 1998 joint winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry
Restoring integrity: tackling fraud and data manipulation in scientific research
Learn how you can fight back against fraudulent research and paper mills
Optimising method transfer in regulated environments
Learn how to minimise risk and promote data quality with data-driven approaches and digital tools
Food and us: the incredible story of how food shapes humanity
Learn about the intricate interplay between our genetic and physical makeup and the food we eat
News
US influence on international research partnerships in decline
Analysis of co-authorship data identifies trends in scientific collaboration
Research
Shedding light on how photoactive crystals respond in real time
Lauren Hatcher discusses her work developing techniques for time-resolved crystallography
Research
Romans’ hot recipe for self-healing concrete unravelled in Pompeii
Discovery of building materials abandoned at construction site reveals secrets of ancient concrete that can set underwater
Careers
In times of strife, should you hold a work Christmas party?
Celebrations are important, even when redundancies and funding cuts mean many chemists aren’t in the festive mood
Sponsored
Biphenyl: 20 years of Restek innovation
How Restek’s Biphenyl column changed chromatography
Explainer: the Welch Award in Chemistry
Many people have never heard about one of the biggest awards in chemistry. Chemistry World sets the record straight.
Optimising method transfer in regulated environments
Learn how to minimise risk and promote data quality with data-driven approaches and digital tools
SYNTHIA for chemists: faster route design
Discover how SYNTHIA accelerates retrosynthesis by helping chemists design, compare and refine routes with customisable filters and commercial building blocks
Developing a CITK protein degrader using the QuicTPD™ platform
Learn about the latest technology to accelerate the design of cancer treatments
Lab Innovations 2025 returns to shape the future of laboratories
Scientists, researchers, engineers, industry leaders and innovators gather for UK’s must-attend industry event
X-Pulse 90: expanding the capabilities of benchtop NMR spectroscopy
Learn how X-Pulse 90 is delivering a step change in benchtop NMR by providing flexibility without compromising performance
Why understanding our foraging instinct is the key to using statistical tools
Your inner hunter-gatherer is stopping you solving problems
In times of strife, should you hold a work Christmas party?
Celebrations are important, even when redundancies and funding cuts mean many chemists aren’t in the festive mood
Learning computational chemistry in a new role
A change of team brings new opportunities to build knowledge
Statements alone don’t make labs inclusive for disabled chemists
Leaders need to provide proactive support to disabled employees making adjustment requests
A love story: a polymer chemist accidentally falls for rubber
Born in 1950s Moscow, Irene Yurovska faced major hurdles as a Jewish woman but rubber bounced into her life and changed its trajectory forever
Royal Society of Chemistry calls for labs to become more inclusive for disabled chemists
I was almost robbed of my love for chemistry – but I fought my way back
Choosing the perfect path to an industrial R&D career
What can biochemists learn from drama?
The art of hosting successful chemical plant visits
The chemist who commemorates lab discoveries on his body