Drones are changing the way industry and science operate. Small, manoeuvrable, unmanned aircraft allow access to difficult or dangerous-to-reach sites and equipment, so it isn’t surprising that the chemical industry, as well as fields like atmospheric chemistry and astrochemistry, are investing in them. But what is surprising is the sheer diversity of how they are […]

The US plans to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in July and will pay more than $600 million (£476 million) in back dues to the organisation, which aims to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. The US – a founding member of […]

Scientists have discovered phosphates in ice grains from Saturn’s frozen moon Enceladus, dramatically raising chances that the liquid ocean beneath its crust might harbour extraterrestrial life. A new study, led by planetary scientist Frank Postberg at the Free University of Berlin, describes the detection of sodium phosphates in salt-rich ice grains sampled by the Cassini […]

Multi-element nanoparticles can now be made with a more diverse array of metals, thanks to a new technique developed by researchers in China. These materials could find use in a wide range of applications due to their interesting and tuneable electronic, chemical and physical properties. Over the last two decades, there has been growing interest […]

‘Artificial atoms’ that form molecular orbitals reminiscent of those in well-known organic molecules have been produced by researchers in the Netherlands using strategically positioned caesium atoms on the surface of a semiconductor. The artificial atoms should allow researchers to measure the energies of molecular systems that would be unstable in real life, and thereby potentially […]

Fossilised ‘protosteroid’ molecules discovered in 1.6 billion year old rocks could be signs of a hidden world of ancient organisms belonging to the earliest forms of complex life. The finding suggests that short-lived precursors in modern steroid biosynthesis were once functional end products in their own right, solving a decades-old mystery surrounding the early evolution […]

The clouds of sulfuric acid in the Venusian atmosphere are not as corrosive to biopolymers as planetary scientists had assumed. RNA and DNA bases were found to be stable in sulfuric acid at the temperatures present in the planet’s clouds, a study has shown. The surface of Venus is a blistering 462°C, hot enough to […]

Experiments probing how force accelerates chemical reactions have provided new insights into mechanochemical kinetics. The findings by US-based scientists could inform the development of chemical manufacturing methods that are more sustainable and less wasteful than current approaches. In mechanically activated organic chemistry, force drives the making and breaking of covalent bonds. This helps to minimise […]

An elusive nitrene-like arsenic intermediate has been isolated and characterised for the first time. Analysis has confirmed many of the properties predicted for arsinidenes, but the unusual reactivity suggests heavier main group elements may have more unique chemistry than previously thought. Carbenes and nitrenes are powerful synthetic intermediates, each containing a neutral centre with two […]

Today we celebrate the completion of the fourteenth journey around the Sun by the Renaissance Mathematicus. Yes folks, the Renaissance Mathematicus has now been dispensing history of science gems for fourteen long years. It seems that he’s here to stay, so what has he got to say for himself on this auspicious occasion?  Unlike thirteen, […]