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If you feel like shifting your attention away from what’s happening here on planet Earth in 2020 for a moment, join Bruce C. Gibb on a tour through the chemistry of the largest planet in the Solar System.
Ayanna Jones, Samantha Mensah and Devin Swiner, three of the #BlackInChem co-founders, talk to Nature Chemistry about the origins, goals, initiatives and joy of this movement.
It is far from certain how simple chemical reactions became interconnected networks that gave rise to life on early Earth. Exploring the possible ways in which this could have occurred is an active area of research and a collection of articles in this issue consider what chemical steps may have been taken on the path towards life as we know it today.
Manza B. J. Atkinson talks to Nature Chemistry about his path to become a chemist, and how he applies the scientific method to all aspects of his life — from financial analysis to coaching youth sports teams.
Stay-at-home policies invoked in response to COVID-19 have led to well-publicized drops in some air pollutants. The extent to which such reductions translate to improved air quality is dictated by not only emissions and meteorology, but also chemical transformations in the atmosphere.
There are plenty of online resources to ensure that learning can continue for students who cannot access universities during a pandemic, but what options are there for practical aspects of science courses? Daren J. Caruana, Christoph G. Salzmann and Andrea Sella offer a manifesto for home-based experiments.
Valuing diversity leads to scientific excellence, the progress of science and, most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do. We must value diversity not only in words, but also in actions.
Despite the romantic mythology that often accompanies stories of scientific discovery, pinpointing the exact moment in history when a new concept emerged is often a matter of debate — and the hydrogen bond is no exception explains Bruce C. Gibb.
The gap between fundamental academic research and the applied industrial research that is necessary to ensure real-world applications can be bridged by engaging in well-defined collaborative academia–industry projects and fostering better communication between the scientists involved in them.
Chemistry is now starting to embrace preprints, with more and more researchers in chemical and materials sciences posting their manuscripts online prior to peer review. Preprints can speed up the dissemination of scientific results and lead to more informal exchanges between researchers, hopefully accelerating the pace of research as a whole.
Yujia Qing, an early-career researcher at the University of Oxford, talks to Nature Chemistry about winning the Dream Chemistry Award 2019, her chemistry dream of ‘Sequencing Life’, and the challenge this represents.
Academic labs can be difficult places to work — but why is that the case and what can be done to address the issues that lead to harmful working environments?
