Scientific community and society articles within Nature Chemistry

Featured

  • Thesis |

    As scientists, are the decisions we make all about weighing up cold hard facts or does the last time we ate come into play? Bruce Gibb offers us some food for thought.

    • Bruce C. Gibb

  • Editorial |

    To join in with the International Year of Chemistry celebrations, we launched a competition earlier this year inviting aspiring science communicators to write an essay about one of seven elements.

  • Thesis |

    Two constitutional isomers with exceptionally similar structures have had very different impacts in chemistry and beyond. With this example, Bruce Gibb highlights just how difficult it is to predict how much a particular compound or piece of chemical research will contribute to society, especially in the short term.

    • Bruce C. Gibb

  • Commentary |

    Changes in the chemical industry over the past decade — ranging from globalization to an increased focus on speciality chemicals — threaten to leave the aspiring industrial chemist unprepared. This Commentary discusses those changes and outlines strategies to enter the job market as well equipped as possible.

    • Keith J. Watson

  • News & Views |

    Stereochemistry represents a common thread uniting chemists from a range of sub-disciplines at the Bürgenstock conference, an annual scientific meeting rich in tradition and characterized by intensive, interdisciplinary discussion.

    • Mark S. Taylor

  • Commentary |

    Chemistry creates both agony and hope in less-developed countries — although it may provide solutions to many of the problems faced there, the lack of expertise and poor infrastructure renders research extremely difficult. What challenges must scientists overcome and what can be done to improve matters?

    • C. N. R. Rao

  • Commentary |

    As well as teaching students what we know, it is becoming increasingly important to teach them how we think. We must take a scientific approach to science education and experiment with teaching methods, including context-led work and media-rich resources, to foster active and independent student engagement.

    • David K. Smith

  • Thesis |

    Could short, non-traditional sabbaticals help scientists better organize their research groups and make improvements to their laboratory's IT infrastructure? Bruce Gibb ponders this question.

    • Bruce C. Gibb

  • Editorial |

    When it comes to research misconduct, burying one's head in the sand and pretending it doesn't exist is the worst possible plan.

  • Editorial |

    Who is the greatest chemist of all time?

  • Commentary |

    Scientists worldwide are urged to communicate their research to the public, but what is the best way to judge the effectiveness of their efforts? Using our YouTube chemistry channel as an example, we highlight the unexpected difficulty of measuring the 'impact' of such outreach activities.

    • Brady Haran
    •  & Martyn Poliakoff

  • In Your Element |

    Pierangelo Metrangolo and Giuseppe Resnati celebrate the bicentenary of the discovery of iodine — a good time to also bring to its conclusion an international project that aims to define and categorize halogen bonding.

    • Pierangelo Metrangolo
    •  & Giuseppe Resnati

  • Editorial |

    Revising a manuscript in response to the comments of referees should not be about doing the bare minimum to get a paper published. Addressing criticisms that are genuine and constructive can lead to much more compelling research articles.

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl wonders just what we're buying — and buying into — when we shop for our laboratories.

    • Michelle Francl

  • News & Views |

    The annual Bürgenstock conference brings together a select band of chemists to talk about the many different facets of stereochemistry, and the unique format of the meeting encourages plenty of discussion and debate alongside the traditional lectures and poster presentations.

    • Paul W. Davies

  • Editorial |

    Press embargoes of research articles can serve journals, researchers and journalists — as long as everyone plays by, and understands, the rules.

  • Editorial |

    Twitter is more than just the place to go to find out what celebrities have had for breakfast — if you look hard enough, it can be a useful source of chemistry news, highlights and debate.

  • Editorial |

    As the beautiful game once again takes to the world stage this summer, it is worth remembering that 2010 also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the professional debut of a very tiny football.

  • Editorial |

    Although politics has been defined as the 'science of government', there is little science in government. Recent events in UK politics have highlighted the lack of scientifically literate elected representatives — a situation that must change for the good of society.

  • Editorial |

    Cuts in pharmaceutical R&D jobs might provide short-term improvements to the bottom line, but do not bode well for the industry in the long run.

  • Thesis |

    We should do less staged science and more science on stage, suggests Michelle Francl.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Editorial |

    Is any experiment worth your health — or your life?

  • Thesis |

    In the sink-or-swim world of academia, Bruce C. Gibb considers what support structures should be put in place for those who have only just entered the water.

    • Bruce C. Gibb

  • Commentary |

    Traditional scientific conferences can be costly and time-consuming, and certainly aren't 'green', with participants travelling long distances to attend. Are there advantages to meetings held in the virtual world, and can they really offer equally satisfying — or even better — experiences compared with the real world?

    • Christopher J. Welch
    • , Sanjoy Ray
    •  & Martin Leach

  • Editorial |

    The financial crisis that continued to grip the world in 2009 has brought the question of who should pay for scientific research — and what it should set out to achieve — into sharper focus than ever.

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl wonders why people almost inevitably draw scientists as men with weird hair and glasses, and why there is no such thing as a 'draw a lawyer' test.

    • Michelle Francl

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