Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Becoming an assistant professor brings with it several challenges, one of which is developing new relationships that can be professionally and personally beneficial. Shira Joudan reflects on getting to know people at a new institution, having different types of relationships, and how they help with happiness and success.
Ciro Romano, Jack I. Mansell, and David J. Procter have explored the versatility and selectivity of samarium diiodide, and its use as a radical relay catalyst.
Thomas Kruse and Søren Østergaard reflect on the development of the GLP-1 analogue, semaglutide, which is reshaping peptide therapeutics in type 2 diabetes, weight management, and beyond.
As the search for new faculty begins across many chemistry departments, Bruce Gibb takes the opportunity to assess his potential biases — and discusses how to address them.
Becoming an assistant professor brings with it numerous challenges, one of which is teaching undergraduate courses for the first time. Shira Joudan reflects on the ups and downs of setting up and delivering her first course.
Didier Astruc surveys the numerous applications of ferrocene, from catalysis to materials and redox-related devices including biosensors and nanomedicine.
In the third of a trilogy of essays on types of intelligence, Bruce Gibb mines the thoughts of some of his peers on what personal qualities help chemists achieve success in the lab.
Few explosives are better-known to non-chemists than trinitrotoluene (TNT). Thomas M. Klapötke reflects on the enduring appeal of TNT and whether its starring role as an explosive is nearing its end.
Teaching the history of science along with the science itself can give students greater context about the topic they are learning and a wider perspective on how it has developed. Michelle Francl, who has wrestled with how much time to spend on teaching history in the chemistry classroom for years, considers how unconventional histories can shift the curriculum.
Clinton Veale and Fanie van Heerden discuss the story of natamycin. From its humble telluric origins in Pietermaritzburg, this unique antimicrobial agent has risen to become a mainstay of the food and beverages industry.
There are lots of expectations for assistant professors, and many opportunities that are good for your career. Shira Joudan reflects on making a personalized reference document for how to decide which opportunities are best to pursue, and to which to say ‘no’.
Different roles require different types of intelligences, and trainee chemists are often tested on their linguistic and logical–mathematical intelligences at the expense of other types. Bruce Gibb describes the types of intelligences that chemists use, and suggests ways to teach and test them.
Critical realism distinguishes the ‘real’ world from the ‘observable’ one, which scientists explore as actors rather than as passive, neutral observers. Through this lens, it is clear that a diverse community that interrogates the world from different angles is an asset to the practice of chemistry itself.
Critical race theory — an academic framework that serves to understand systemic racism in the USA and beyond — can help inform endeavours to advance justice and equity in the chemistry community.
Martin Johansen and Abhik Ghosh reflect on the unusual chemistry of carbones — whose central carbon atom bears two lone pairs — and their role as double-dative ligands.