DDT collage

How DDT went from triumph to tragedy

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Few compounds have a story as controversial as this insecticide. Mike Sutton traces the tale from its beginning 150 years ago

Hands hold out a red square, blue triangle, pink circle, yellow star and green rectangle to represent the range of options now provided by different PhD courses

Diversifying the PhD

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Making courses fit for different purposes

A molecular structure featuring oxygen atoms connecting carbon rings, some of which have fluorine side groups and others include nitrogen in the rings, into a large ball-like 3d structure.

Porous organic ‘cage of cages’ crystalline structure predicted by computational modelling

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Organic cages have been used as precursors to synthesise higher-order porous structures, adding to their functionality while the ability to solution process them is retained.

Peter Atkins

Physical chemistry textbook now free to download as a ‘gift’ to the community

2024-05-23T13:30:00+01:00

Peter Atkins gives away Concepts in Physical Chemistry in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry

DCM

What the dichloromethane ban might mean for university labs in the US

2024-05-23T13:30:00+01:00

The lab use requirements outlined in the agency’s workplace chemical protection plan are impractical for academic institutions, the ACS says

Antibody-drug conjugate

Pan-cancer approval shows huge potential for antibody–drug conjugates

2024-05-21T10:25:00+01:00

Enhertu gains approval based on gene expression rather than tumour location 

Papers

Expressions of concern added to more than 60 articles in chemistry journal

2024-05-20T08:30:00+01:00

Elsevier scrutinising further articles in the journal as it attempts to discover what happened

Elisabeth Bik

Legal threats, online trolls and low pay: the world of scientific sleuth Elisabeth Bik

2024-05-16T13:31:00+01:00

Chemistry World catches up with one of the world’s leading scientific integrity experts

Scheme

Simplified hydroformylation replaces rhodium with base metal

2024-05-23T14:03:00+01:00

Bench-friendly asymmetric hydroformylation swaps toxic gas and expensive catalyst for cheap reagents and mild conditions

Structure

How A-level chemistry solved the 200-year-old problem with the haloform reaction

2024-05-23T08:30:00+01:00

Mechanistic analysis reveals unknown steps in undergraduate staple, the haloform reaction

images_large_ja4c01641_0008

Cold plasma converts biogas into long-chain hydrocarbon feedstocks

2024-05-22T08:30:00+01:00

Waste gases from landfills could be turned into valuable chemical feedstocks

A hand holding a small microchip-style sensor

Handheld ultrasensitive fentanyl sensor can distinguish between opioids

2024-05-21T13:30:00+01:00

Femtogram sensitivity could help detect adulteration of drugs

Strucure

Oxygen’s exotic yet stable bonding in graphene explained

2024-05-21T12:48:00+01:00

Aromaticity accounts for extended planar structure of oxygen on binding to three neighbouring carbons while enhancing system’s stability

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

  • Biocatalysis – A cross-RSC collection

  • Biocatalysis Faraday Discussion

  • Myth busting: Chemists, the public and the media

  • Innovating for the future of sustainable labs

Vials

One of these vials is contaminated with nanoplastics. Chemistry can tell us which one

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Nina Notman talks to the scientists finding where nanoplastics come from and where they end up

Antiaromaticity

Illuminating antiaromaticity

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Aromaticity’s dark alter-ego is ready to emerge into the sunlight. James Mitchell Crow talks to the scientists trying to exploit the instability

1959 Barbie

Conserving Barbie from degradation

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Although she is a cultural icon, conserving Barbie has its challenges: as with most plastic toys and dolls, she was not made to last. Rachel Brazil investigates how conservation scientists are approaching this sticky problem

Magnetic levitation

Superconductivity: the search and the scandal

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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

  • The pivotal role of chemistry in India’s sustainable development

  • Empowering voices: Advancing social mobility in the chemical sciences

  • The science of CBD: exploring safe limits

  • It’s a gas – with author Mark Miodownik