For the first time, methanetriol has been synthesised and characterised in the lab. The molecule, which has three hydroxyl groups linked to a single carbon atom, is especially unstable under ambient conditions, because it tends to quickly react with other species or decompose and decay into more stable structures. The existence of methanetriol – conventionally […]

A Scandinavian collaboration has taken another step towards generating universal blood that is suitable for everyone receiving a transfusion or an organ transplant with the use of microbial enzymes. The enzymes come from a bacterium that feeds on mucus in the gut and can prune the A and B antigens from red blood cells. Blood […]

An earthquake in Taiwan on 3 April has destroyed the chemistry department at the National Dong Hwa University (NDHU). It is hoped that the department will be rebuilt by September 2025, but in the meantime students are being transferred to other universities to complete their studies. The earthquake, which was the most powerful to hit […]

The emergence of self-driving labs and automated experimentation has brought with it the promise of increased rates of productivity and discovery in chemistry beyond what humans can achieve alone. But the black box nature of AI means we cannot see how or why deep learning systems make their decisions, making it difficult to know how […]

The EU should ban the production and export of pesticides that it has prohibited in the bloc, a coalition of citizen groups has urged. Contrary to what the agrochemical sector argues, they say that an export ban would not endanger employment or have significant economic effects. The EU has not acted on its 2020 commitment […]

Monsoon winds are carrying unexpectedly significant quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over east Asia, with the east Asian summer monsoon delivering more than twice the concentration of very short-lived ozone-depleting substances known as organic chlorine compounds into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than previously reported. That is according to new research […]

A recent modelling study has raised new concerns about the unpredictability of solar geoengineering, questioning our ability to reliably manage the outcomes of this approach in reducing the impacts of climate change. Solar geoengineering aims to cool the planet by reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface, reproducing the dimming effect observed […]

In the years following the publication of De Magnete in 1600 and the death of William Gilbert in 1603 a dispute developed between two leading English magnetists, William Barlow (1544 – 1625) and Dr Mark Ridley (1560–c. 1624), as to which of them was Gilbert’s true disciple.  We have already met William Barlow, son of a bishop, who […]

The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has announced that it will substantially increase pay for the more than 17,000 early-career researchers supported by the agency’s National Research Service Awards (NRSAs), as well as increasing childcare subsidies. The stipends for predoctoral scholars will rise by approximately 4% to $28,224 (£22,517), and those for postdoctoral scholars will […]

Diamonds have been synthesised at atmospheric pressure by researchers in South Korea. The researchers do not yet fully understand the underlying mechanism that forms these diamond films, but it involves passing methane over liquid gallium. They are working, however, to optimise the synthesis to produce higher-quality diamonds that they hope could find a range of […]