Accidental discovery depolymerises commercial plexiglass
Light-triggered process breaks down waste plastic
Ancient Vesuvius victim’s brain contains first natural organic glass ever seen
Extreme heating followed by rapid cooling formed unique material in a Herculaneum man
Flea treatment-tainted pet fur lining songbird nests may be killing chicks
Multiple insecticides in blue tit and great tit nests linked to unhatched eggs, chick deaths
How does your mummy smell? If it’s ancient Egyptian, woody, spicy and sweet
Analysis of odours could one day categorise which era a mummy came from
Designer protein performs multi-step catalysis with life-like performance
Supramolecular ‘qudits’ offer a way to power-up quantum computers
Careful catalyst design boosts ethanol to hydrogen production
Reprocess, reuse, repeat: greener recycling of perovskite solar cells cuts costs
Chlorine radicals could be used to destroy methane heading for the atmosphere
Medieval bear’s teeth shed light on historic heavy metal pollution
Highlights
Melanie Sanford’s route from college gymnast to groundbreaking researcher
One-time gymnast Melanie Sanford has made a name for herself in catalysis and organometallic chemistry. Rebecca Trager charts her path to success, from her mentors to her mentoring
Studying materials in action
Experiments on battery electrodes and fuel cell catalysts while they’re being used – operando spectroscopy – can revolutionise our understanding of these crucial materials. Clare Sansom reports
Putting the F in pharma
Adding fluorine to drug molecules can be tricky, but is often worthwhile. Rachel Brazil talks to the chemists trying to tame the ninth element
Low concentration chemicals spur toxicological debate
Improved analytical techniques mean tiny amounts of endocrine disrupting compounds or PFAS can be found in many places. But is it a problem? Anthony King talks to the scientists on both sides of the fence
On the trail of the male contraceptive pill
As multiple novel male contraception compounds enter clinical trials, is family planning about to undergo a second revolution? James Mitchell Crow reports
Topics
AI inspired by AlphaFold can predict chromatin structures found in chromosomes
System could help unravel how genome folding influences genes
Computational study says nucleophile finds σ-holes more attractive than π-holes
A σ-hole leads to a stronger bond with NH3 than a π-hole on the same atom
Computer simulations shed light on how material can shrink when heated
New theory offers insights into the origin of the very low and negative thermal expansion observed in cordierite
Simulations suggest why highly unsaturated molecules are so abundant in the interstellar medium
Computer simulation of carbonless DNA prompt researchers to consider alternative biochemistries
Chemists use AI to uncover pigments used on Berlin Wall murals
GPT-based AI tool predicts inorganic crystal structures
AI tool learns to build molecules fragment by fragment
Ancient Vesuvius victim’s brain contains first natural organic glass ever seen
Extreme heating followed by rapid cooling formed unique material in a Herculaneum man
Teaching enzymes new reactions through genetic code expansion and directed evolution
Anthony Green’s research group at the University of Manchester, UK, reengineers enzymes to have catalytic functions beyond those found in nature
Reading into the dangers of poison paint in Victorian-era books
Brightly coloured fabric covers hide poisonous dye legacy
Stonehenge Altar stone likely came from Scotland, not Wales
Mineral analysis matches sandstones from over 750km away
Seed oil-based polymer should survive a day in the rain but degrade within years in the sea
Researchers create polyesteramides from brassylic acid and explore their potential as a replacement for polyethylene
Paul Anastas: ‘I’m proudest of being part of a global green chemistry community’
The father of green chemistry on his love of the environment, striving for unattainable perfection and breathing life into an old town library
Science needs to get its house in order when it comes to energy use and waste
Labs have an outsized environmental footprint but solutions are within reach
Biomass, plastic waste and carbon dioxide feedstocks key to cutting chemical industry’s emissions
Royal Society report warns that without intervention defossilisation of the chemicals sector will take many decades
Chemists funded to cut the environmental footprint of their labs
The Royal Society of Chemistry to support 33 projects in 11 countries aiming to make chemistry research greener
Analysis of three French chemistry labs shows how they could halve their carbon footprint by 2030
Open-source tool helps researchers evaluate a series of carbon mitigation strategies
Forming bonds through Covid-19
How studying chemistry helped ward off loneliness during the pandemic
1.2GHz NMR magnet arrives at University of Warwick
New instrument is 20% more powerful than the UK’s current largest NMR spectrometer
Protests and alarm as European research sector braces for cuts
Swiss science organisations are the latest to speak up after a wave of cuts is proposed across Europe
Last time Congress saved science from Trump’s cuts. Don’t bet on it this time
Trump administration has taken charge of the purse strings
Trump’s former science adviser urges universities to seize moment for regulatory reform
White House is ‘very keen’ on rolling back administrative workload and that could serve researchers well, Kelvin Droegemeier claims