Getting crystal structure predictions right can save pharmaceutical companies hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet while the pharmaceutical industry might have a keen interest in predicting what crystal structures can form, and how stable they are, computational costs have priced out calculating the relevant properties for each compound from first principles. Now, Marcus Neumann, founder […]

Human insulin is more stable in unrefrigerated conditions than previously believed, according to a new systematic review. Examining existing research and previously unpublished manufacturer data, a team from the Cochrane Collaboration concluded that unopened containers can be stored unrefrigerated for months without a clinically relevant loss in activity. Insulin is an injectable peptide hormone used […]

A hand-held submersible device that traps dissolved compounds produced by marine organisms could provide important insights into marine chemical ecology and boost drug discovery efforts by identifying previously unknown natural product molecules. The In Situ Marine Molecule Logger (I-Smel), developed by researchers at Aix Marseille University, France, was deployed by a scuba diver at a […]

Scientists have calculated a way to determine the speed of past underwater landslides, a new study has found.  Researchers from The Ohio State University studied the remains of an underwater landslide just off the coast of Oregon – dubbed the 44-N Slide – that is part of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ).  Stretching from Vancouver […]

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has announced a new £677,000 grant scheme to address racial and ethnic inequalities in the chemical sciences. The Missing Elements Grants Scheme funding, which comes just over a year after the publication of the RSC’s Missing Elements report which highlighted the problems affecting those from minority ethnic backgrounds, will […]

A combination of microdroplet and plasma chemistry has enabled the selective, uncatalysed alkylation of primary amines at an accelerated rate. The US-based team behind the work say that the process offers a greener way to access N-alkylated compounds. C–N bonds are ubiquitous throughout organic chemistry and reactions that form this linkage are vital tools for synthetic […]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun the process of regulating 6PPD, a common chemical found in car tyres that was responsible for the mysterious death of salmon in the American Northwest in 2020. In response to a petition by three Native American tribes, the agency plans to finalise the rule by the end […]

A group’s claims surrounding a potential room-temperature superconductor have collapsed after a third high-profile paper was retracted amid allegations of data manipulation and scientific misconduct. A superconductor is a material that offers no electrical resistance. In theory, a room temperature superconductor would allow a host of technologies including magnetic levitation trains, efficient electrical grids and […]

Optics is one of the major branches of modern physics and it has its roots very firmly planted in Ancient Greece. However, whereas the modern discipline is, to quote Wikipedia quoting the Mcgraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (5th Ed.) (Mcgraw-Hill, 1993), “the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that […]

Sustainable chemistry should be defined as ‘the development and application of chemicals, chemical processes, and products that benefit current and future generations without harmful impacts to humans or ecosystems.’ That’s the outcome of a working group tasked with developing a robust and actionable definition. They’ve also come up with a set of criteria to accompany […]