News & Comment

The United Nations has proclaimed 2011 to be the International Year of Chemistry. Under this banner, chemists should seize the opportunity to highlight the rich history and successes of our subject to a much broader audience — and explain how it can help to solve the global challenges we face today and in the future.

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.

Experimental data is the foundation on which science is built. Providing easier ways to find and search it is one way in which new online technologies can help to advance research.

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

The importance of an up to date and easy to find website should not be underestimated by scientists looking to establish links to others in their community — and represents good value for relatively little effort.

Chemistry lacks the easily articulated grand challenges associated with physics or biology, and it generally gets a rough ride in the mainstream media. All the more reason that it needs effective advocates and champions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Is any experiment worth your health — or your life?

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but when that picture appears on the front cover of a scientific journal, that estimate is probably a little on the low side.

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.

The editorial process at Nature Chemistry differs in some important ways from that employed at other chemistry journals.