Chemistry World is pleased to unveil a trio of innovations this month, spanning both our print and online offerings.
In the magazine, we’ve relaunched our careers section as the Chemistry World Jobs supplement, which you can find on page 75. We’re continuing our popular series of careers profiles, but adding several other regular strands, such as the monthly ’Careers Clinic’ which brings you advice from the RSC’s careers guru Caroline Tolond.
It’s appropriate that the inaugural edition of the supplement looks at one of the most important first steps that an aspiring chemist needs to make - choosing the right degree.
For those of you just starting out, we’ve got insights from a range of undergraduate admissions tutors, and information about the RSC’s ’Meet the Universities’ event in July where you can get first-hand details about chemistry courses and university life.
You’ll find our second new invention on the Chemistry World website. With the number of science podcasts available on the web increasing at a tremendous pace, we’re pleased that the audience of our own podcast is still growing, and it’s great to get so much feedback from the thousands of you out there who are listening. But we wanted to offer you something in addition to the monthly, half hour programme. So now you can hear ’Chemistry in its Element’ every week.
This tour of the periodic table has a leading scientist or author telling the stories behind the elements in each five minute podcast.
Already online is Kary Mullis, who won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1993 for developing the polymerase chain reaction. He has given us his thoughts on the darker physiological side of iron, by exploring its involvement in neurodegenerative disease.
A few weeks ago, inspiring broadcaster and educator Johnny Ball stopped into the studio to tell us about the tragic history of polonium.
And popular science author John Emsley has been bringing us audio versions of his regular column, ’The Elements’, which appears in our sister magazine, Education in Chemistry.
Look out for future editions, which include the award-winning science writer Philip Ball revealing the truth about the Antimony War.
You can expect to find a new element every Wednesday at Chemistry World Elements
Our third innovation brings the Totally Synthetic blog to the printed page. Tot. Syn. (to those in the know) has already gained a strong online following with its regular updates from the coalface of organic synthesis.
Its busy forum has the same atmosphere as the best journal clubs, and anyone can join in to help pick apart a retrosynthetic strategy, or debate the choice of a particular protecting group. It has long been a touchstone for Chemistry World, and we’re delighted that Paul Docherty, the chemist behind the blog, has agreed to join the team.
In his first column for us, Paul looks at David Evans’ recent synthesis of callipeltoside A, which was simply crying out for some aldol reactions. And yes, that chlorocyclopropane subunit looks crazy to us, too.
As always, if you have any feedback on these new features, or any other part of Chemistry World, please email us.
Mark Peplow, editor
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