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Sit back and settle in for a tour of the chemical analysis instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope and the techniques being used to explore the planets beyond our Solar System.
Governments worldwide are committing more funding for scientific research in the face of the ongoing pandemic and climate crises. However, the funding process must be restructured to remove the barriers arising from conscious and unconscious biases experienced by minoritized groups, including women, and particularly women of colour.
Decisions, decisions. There’s a lot to think about when moving on from a postdoctoral position and Shira Joudan takes us through the considerations that led to her ultimately taking a tenure-track position in a new city.
Madison Knapp and Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb explore the functions of chlorophyll and explain how our understanding of this green pigment has changed over time.
Lukas Veth and Paweł Dydio discuss the importance of ligands in transition metal catalysis, looking at the success story of xantphos and why it should earn the title of ‘privileged ligand’.
Tova N. Williams explores the history of madder, its components and the perhaps confusing terminology that surrounds this long-known source of red colour.
Choline 2-hexenoate is an ionic compound that is a liquid at room temperature, and is just one of a class of compounds that have huge potential in biomedical research and clinical applications, explains Eden E. L. Tanner.
The tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) cation, or ‘rubipy’ to its friends, has had a significant influence on our understanding of the photophysics of transition metal complexes, and has also helped revolutionize organic photochemistry, explains Daniela M. Arias-Rotondo.
In early 2020, Shira Joudan was in the final stages of her PhD when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the challenging circumstances, she graduated, found a postdoc position and will begin her independent academic career in early 2023.
In 1931, Erich Hückel published a landmark paper — the seed of the now famous 4n + 2 rule for aromaticity in annulenes that bears his name. Electron counting has since been extended to other classes of compounds, resulting in a multitude of rules aiming to capture the concept of aromaticity and its impact in chemistry.
In 2017 Professor Frances S. Ligler was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her inventions in portable optical biosensors. Professor Ligler now talks to Nature Chemistry about the challenge of developing new sensor designs into reliable products, and some of the pitfalls to avoid in the development process.
Claire Murray ponders on the attraction benzene — a small, seemingly simple molecule — has long exerted on scientists, some of the insights gained through its exploration, and the varied applications found for this hexagonal ring and its derivatives.
Jennifer Rudd reflects on how, in recent history, carbon dioxide has been largely vilified for its role in global warming. Yet responsibility for the current climate crisis lies squarely with humans, not a molecule that is crucial for life on Earth.
Athina Anastasaki from ETH Zürich talks to Nature Chemistry about her career, her research in polymer chemistry and the challenges she dealt with in her academic pathway.
