Large language models are better than humans at answering chemistry questions
AI models outperform human chemists in every topic area. But are they really better chemists?
Colour-changing textiles for temperature regulation
A new smart fabric switches between reflecting and absorbing states without external energy inputs
AI robots work together to perform autonomous synthesis and analysis
System offers route for rapid testing, analysis and interpretation of a wide range of chemistries
Tomato sweetness boosted by gene editing to knock out two genes
Glucose and fructose levels were increased by 30%
Microcrystal electron diffraction promises a revolution in study of proteins, small molecules
The race to commercialise nuclear-powered batteries
Nanoplastics found to interfere with activity of antibiotic
Failings in response to East Palestine train derailment compounded human and environmental impact
Nanoscale peaks and valleys create long-lasting frost-resistant surfaces
Synthetic strategies overcome Bredt’s rule, unlocking complex bridgehead alkenes
Highlights
The health of chemistry across the pipeline
More students in the UK are studying chemistry at A-level than 20 years ago, but how does that translate to universities?
Clearing up the compostable plastic mess
Rather than a potential triumph, the compostable plastics we use look increasingly like a tragedy. Andy Extance looks at the problems and seeks solutions
Battery-free bioelectronic implants
Spurred by advances in energy-harvesting materials, a new generation of advanced implantable biomedical devices is emerging that does away with the bulky battery. James Mitchell Crow reports
The problem of plastic in our soils
Not just a marine issue, new research shows microplastics are also changing agricultural land. Bárbara Pinho finds out how and what we can do to prevent it affecting our food
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
Topics
Large language models are better than humans at answering chemistry questions
AI models outperform human chemists in every topic area. But are they really better chemists?
AI robots work together to perform autonomous synthesis and analysis
System offers route for rapid testing, analysis and interpretation of a wide range of chemistries
Proteins with multiple structures open up AlphaFold’s black box
AI prediction model often fails to identify fold-switching, helping show how it works and the limits of its usefulness
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
Lead found in Beethoven’s hair reveals new insight into his ailing health
Kidney and liver problems that killed the composer, as well as hearing loss, are associated with high lead levels
Chemical analysis reveals origins of early English silver coins
Byzantine silver plates were melted down to make many of the first Anglo-Saxon coins
Using analytical chemistry to illuminate the unlisted ingredients in tattoo inks
Discovery that more than 80% of the tattoo inks sampled had unlisted ingredients prompts New York-based lab to launch a website providing chemical information to tattoo artists and their clients
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
Redox reactions ‘mine’ old fluorescent light bulbs for europium
In just three simple steps rare earth element can be recovered, avoiding ‘ecologically devastating’ mining
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
There’s a world of chemistry in water
Managing our most precious resource
University of Reading proposes closing its chemistry department next year
The university joins several others that are considering the future of their departments and undergraduate programmes
‘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
Nobel prize winners far more likely to come from wealthy families highlighting inequality in the sciences
Winners today come, on average, from less wealthy families than when the prize began but there is still a long way to go
Nobel prize-winning scientists mobilise for Kamala Harris
82 Nobel laureates warn of the threat Donald Trump poses to science, climate and living standards
Thousands of published studies may contain images with incorrect copyright licences
Questions raised over copyright licence that covers images created using scientific illustration service Biorender