Essential reads from 2024
With offices and labs winding down for the festive season, the Chemistry World team has selected some of our favourite stories from 2024 to keep you occupied over the holidays.
The articles below include deep dives into chemistry’s most intriguing questions, reflections on the year’s major news events, top tips for running your lab effectively, inspiring stories from the global science community, and much more.
January
January
How a new carbon allotrope could change the definition of aromaticity
New experiments are uncovering the secrets of cyclocarbons – molecular forms of pure carbon that had eluded chemists for decades
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The rise of techno-science
Appreciating technology’s role in understanding how the world works
Visionary chemistry is making labs accessible to blind students and researchers
Efforts underway in Texas are ushering in a new era of inclusivity with mouth models, lithophanes, robots, talking tools and more
Editing polymer backbones
Changing the chemical makeup of a polymer backbone could revolutionise how we make, use and even recycle plastics. James Mitchell Crow reports
February
February
Seven musicians who you might not know are chemists
From experimenting in the lab to experimenting with sound
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The chemistry of love
There’s chemistry behind every step of a romantic relationship, from the initial spark to the pain of break up, as Zahra Khan discovers
Big deals confirm renewed interest in radiopharmaceuticals
Acquisitions of RayzeBio and Point Biopharma highlight the potential of targeting radioactivity directly to tumour cells
Riding the microwave: three chemists share their stories
Disagreements surrounding non-thermal effects didn’t stop microwave reactors becoming a standard part of laboratory life
March
March
Bad habits obscuring thermodynamic reality of photocatalytic reactions
Dubious assumptions and contentious nomenclature muddying the literature
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Sustainability – from dirty word to industry imperative
Efforts to reduce the environmental impact of chemical processes have shaped the evolution of the entire sector
How we set up the Chemical Society of The Gambia
Overcoming red tape and technical hurdles to bring together the country’s chemists
The community of colleagues supporting each other through redundancy
The #SandwichTogether group on LinkedIn has also seen help pour in for affected Pfizer employees from across industry
April
April
Telling left from right: chirality detection faces up to its weaknesses
New solutions are being found to an enduring problem in chemistry
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Oil and gas industry emissions are not on track to hit climate goals
Several big firms have rolled back their targets, saying governments need to set pace with policy
A key chemistry journal disappeared from the web. Others are at risk
Japanese scientific society suspends journal publication saying it has ‘completed its role’
Superconductivity: the search and the scandal
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
May
May
Davy notebook project paints complicated picture of influential chemist
Humphry Davy was a prolific scientist, but could also be petty, selfish and prejudiced
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Pan-cancer approval shows huge potential for antibody–drug conjugates
Enhertu gains approval based on gene expression rather than tumour location
Why are computational chemists making up their data?
‘Synthetic data’ is being used in chemistry, but is it something we should worry about? Hayley Bennett explains
I ran a marathon in full PPE
Racing to become the official fastest marathon runner dressed as a scientist
2024 industry in review
The pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries have had somewhat divergent fates this year. But both have seen significant manufacturing and supply chain challenges, although for different reasons.
Chemicals industry roundup 2024
Europe continues to struggle with high energy and feedstock costs, while US and Asia negotiate supply gluts
Pharmaceuticals roundup 2024
Diabetes and weight loss drugs have surged in popularity, revealing supply frailties
June
June
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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Why don’t we know how antidepressants work yet?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are at the centre of a collision between social and biochemical outlooks on depression, finds Andy Extance
‘Fire and devastation’: 50 years on from the Flixborough disaster what’s changed?
Lessons from deadliest chemical accident in UK history are still relevant today
How to organise your data
Six tips for keeping your results in order
July
July
From baby boomers to gen Z, how do different generations approach chemistry?
Are differences in attitudes and training affecting science?
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Fast charging supercapacitors
Rapid development of the alternative energy storage technology to rechargeable batteries is already having real world impact. James Mitchell Crow talks to the scientists working on upping their performance
New gene-editing tool found in bacterium could carry out extensive genome remodelling
Highly selective mechanism can insert, remove and flip large portions of DNA
How can your lab cut water use in reflux reactions?
Practical advice builds on a new study comparing air-cooled condensers
August
August
Working in the chemical industries, plural
Despite often being presented as a monolith, there’s a huge variety of activities, working practices and reaction scales across industrial research
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Electrification of process heat stands to slash industry’s emissions
Technologies available now can decarbonise most heat demand, but cost and infrastructure barriers still exist
The GLP-1 weight loss revolution
Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist drugs, such as semaglutide, could save countless lives at risk due to diabetes and obesity. Rachel Brazil looks at the difficulties in making the peptides themselves, and what’s coming next
How a new strategy aims to break the catalytic speed limit
The Sabatier principle normally defines the maximum reaction rate enabled by catalyst materials, but scientists now think that they can go even faster, explains Andy Extance
September
September
Analysing a chemist’s wish-list
Analytical techniques have come a long way, but what does the future hold? Rachel Brazil asks the experts what they’d like to see
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Nicotine analogues emerging in e-cigarettes to evade regulations
Tests show products contain widely variable amounts of compounds with unknown risks
Chemistry courses, departments face closure in the UK highlighting higher education’s financial woes
Courses are facing the axe at Aston University and the University of Hull, with others struggling
The science education programme partnering with people in prison
Think Like a Scientist focuses on empowering students
October
October
Large language models are great, but they don’t speak to me
AI has some made tremendous achievements, but some things mean more than words
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How AI protein structure prediction and design won the Nobel prize
David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper won this year’s Nobel prize in chemistry. Jamie Durrani investigates the origins of a biochemistry revolution
Twelve Nobel laureates tell us about winning chemistry’s biggest prize
Winners from the last two decades look back on the day a call from Stockholm changed their lives
How taking part in extracurricular activities during your PhD can help you build your CV
Opportunities to take part in teaching, event organisation and outreach all develop valuable skills
November
November
The new signs bringing greater understanding to organic chemistry
Rebecca Trager speaks to a US team developing a sign language lexicon for chemistry concepts that combines form with meaning to make the field more accessible for everyone
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‘It could be a catastrophe’: Déjà vu and panic for scientists as Trump wins second term
The research community fears another Trump presidency will be worse than the first, but the chemical and biotech sectors are more optimistic
My assistance dog gave me the confidence to start a PhD
When anxiety threatens, Phoenix is on hand to help
The race to commercialise nuclear-powered batteries
‘Radiovoltaic’ devices can deliver long-lasting power to pacemakers, planetary rovers and more
December
December
Life on ice
We may be able to freeze embryos, but challenges remain for larger organs. Hayley Bennett talks to the scientists trying to push the boundaries of cryopreservation
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Forty years on from the Bhopal disaster what lessons have been learnt?
India looks to the future as survivors fight on to receive adequate compensation and medical care
20 years. 20 chemists. 20 stories. Part 2
How has chemistry changed in the last two decades?
The champagne cases
When bottles of bubbly conceal criminal activities