News & Comment

Centrifugal force can be used to improve the alignment of block copolymer domains in a thin film.

The use of molecular balances allows for dissecting competing solvent effects from hydrogen bonding interactions.

Chemistry degrees are often very broad. What might a degree look like if we covered fewer topics more deeply?

Solid-state synthesis provides a route to more sustainable fertilizer.

Boroles can be irradiated with light to form borapyramidanes. The two boron-containing structures are found to have a close chemical relationship.

R/S Chemistry is a free, game-based learning tool for students to practise stereochemical assignments in an interactive setting, leading to increased student engagement in the topic.

The lower solvation of phenol at the air–water interface speeds up its photoionization.

Convenient synthesis of planar-chiral rhodium catalysts enables asymmetrical C–H activation.

As academic staff scrambled into emergency remote teaching during COVID-19 restrictions, we also had to move in-person exams online without compromising integrity. This disruption caused us to think carefully about how chemistry is assessed, because ‘business as usual’ was no longer possible — and at some institutions, there are no plans for in-person exams to return.

Protein structure and interactions can be characterized in cells using ¹⁹F NMR.

Polyarylenes are now afforded through the cycloaromatization of isopropyl-substituted arenes on Au surfaces. The reaction mechanism is elucidated through computational and in situ scanning probe microscopy investigations.

Our remodelled research agenda suggests setting priorities that outline a clear framework for making decisions on current and future research activities. We propose collaborative and collective global approaches to maximize our joint efforts, especially among early career researchers (ECRs), to remodel research agendas for the ultimate benefit of humanity.

Chemists make crucial contributions to society and are often found in a broad range of workplaces. To sustain these impactful contributions, a diverse range of career skills must be embedded into the curricula.

A student-designed, student–faculty partnership was piloted to increase representation from diverse voices in the faculty hiring process while also rebuilding trust between faculty and students.

Numerous studies show that gender-based bias affects the distribution of research funding, with researcher-focused assessments being particularly prone to bias. Considering the negative impact on science when bias intrudes on funding decisions, granting agencies need to improve their efforts to document, monitor and reduce it.

Drying DNA with crystalline calcium phosphate can help boost its stability.

Virtually all prospective medical students are required to take courses in general and organic chemistry, but are they really necessary? We discuss the relevance of chemistry to modern medicine and the arguments for and against its use as an essential prerequisite.

The world is facing multiple unfolding global crises and chemistry systems are integral in both the cause and solution to these challenges. Systems thinking can be used not only to support student learning of chemistry concepts, but also to build community within and beyond the classroom.

Integrating bio- and chemocatalysis in one-pot enabled new reaction pathways to amides with broad substrate scope and enantioselectivity under mild conditions, building towards more sustainable chemistry.

No matter your career stage, pregnancy in the lab raises complex questions — and definitive answers are hard to come by. In conversation with members of Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC), we share our experience, discuss research into the challenges and move the conversation to the support needed by people who are pregnant. We conclude that community is critical to improve experiences.