AI can tell Scottish and American whiskies apart
Machine-learning method identifies prominent aromas
European Commission bans bisphenol A in food packaging
There will be an 18-month phase out period to allow industry time to adapt
Electrochemical process that bypasses limestone could slash cement’s huge carbon footprint
Gigaton-scale carbon reductions offered by process that makes use of carbon-free calcium silicates from abundant minerals and recycled concrete
GPT-based AI tool predicts inorganic crystal structures
CrystaLLM uses GPT to arrange atoms, turning text-based data into numerical tokens
AI aids discovery of solar cell materials with near-record efficiency
Debunked dogma: disordered proteins disregard ligands’ chirality
mRNA therapy might one day treat deadly pre-eclampsia in pregnant women
Gold monolayers could provide platform for studying properties of 2D metals
Antiaromatic hydrocarbon boasts unusual stability
Crispr gene-editing booster molecule can damage DNA far from target site
Highlights
A mouthful of mouthfeel
Andy Extance learns how the chemicals in food and drink create sensual culinary experiences
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
How tyres are turning green
As the shift to using renewable and recycled materials in car tyres accelerates, Nina Notman talks to the manufacturers driving the change
20 years. 20 chemists. 20 stories. Part 2
How has chemistry changed in the last two decades?
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
Topics
GPT-based AI tool predicts inorganic crystal structures
CrystaLLM uses GPT to arrange atoms, turning text-based data into numerical tokens
AI tool learns to build molecules fragment by fragment
Software tasked with designing a type-II kinase inhibitor suggests 97 candidates in 10 minutes, three of which were both synthesisable and effective at micromolar and nanomolar concentrations
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?
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
The value of research is measured in many ways
Academia is a broad church
One Nation One Subscription sees India grant researchers access to 13,000 journals
Scheme will involve 30 major publishers opening their journals to over 6000 institutions
University of Hull confirms chemistry department closure
Department closure follows series of similar proposals at UK universities
Learning to listen
Many things have changed in the last two decades, but effective collaboration is more important than ever
Reprieve for University of Reading’s chemistry department
Proposed closure has been averted although MSc and MChem programmes will end