Chemistry World
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Chemistry: Covered. The latest news, research, features and opinion from across the chemical sciences. Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
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https://www.chemistryworld.com/
More than 5000 grants across the country fall within the scope of the new settlement.
NIH agrees to review hundreds of grants halted by Trump administration
Peer review for research proposals that were frozen will now resume
www.chemistryworld.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:01 PM
More than 5000 grants across the country fall within the scope of the new settlement.
The arrowheads analysed in this research were excavated from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in South Africa in 1985.
Prehistoric humans hunted with poisoned arrows thousands of years earlier than thought
Deadly plant alkaloids discovered on 60,000-year-old arrowheads
www.chemistryworld.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The arrowheads analysed in this research were excavated from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in South Africa in 1985.
Want to reignite your enthusiasm for service work? Considering activities that chime with your passions could be the way to go.
How to make academic service activities count
Five tips for tackling commitments effectively
www.chemistryworld.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Want to reignite your enthusiasm for service work? Considering activities that chime with your passions could be the way to go.
‘The plan is about building capacity for Ireland’s future – in our people, our institutions and our economy' – James Lawless, minister for further and higher education.
Landmark €4.55 billion investment in Ireland’s research sector and universities announced
Plan targets research, education and innovation
www.chemistryworld.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:00 AM
‘The plan is about building capacity for Ireland’s future – in our people, our institutions and our economy' – James Lawless, minister for further and higher education.
The 'Baghdad battery' was an unusual artefact discovered in Iraq in 1936. Now, a new reconstruction suggests it may have been more powerful than thought,
equivalent to an AA battery.
equivalent to an AA battery.
Was the ‘Baghdad battery’ really two cells?
A new study suggests it had an 'outer' cell that reacted with air to supply a higher voltage. But was it a battery at all?
www.chemistryworld.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:12 PM
The 'Baghdad battery' was an unusual artefact discovered in Iraq in 1936. Now, a new reconstruction suggests it may have been more powerful than thought,
equivalent to an AA battery.
equivalent to an AA battery.
Scientists have been using AI for decades in one form or another. And those that have been doing so have reaped the benefits in terms of publications.
AI research tools benefit individual scientists but may slow scientific progress
There may be a conflict between personal and collective gain in the sciences
www.chemistryworld.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Scientists have been using AI for decades in one form or another. And those that have been doing so have reaped the benefits in terms of publications.
Eight out of ten people in a UK survey said science makes a valuable contribution to society but a growing proportion feel they lack information about scientific developments.
Public values scientists but fewer feel informed about science, UK survey finds
Survey will provide government with insights on how the public perception of science could be improved
www.chemistryworld.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Eight out of ten people in a UK survey said science makes a valuable contribution to society but a growing proportion feel they lack information about scientific developments.
A new 'periodic table' of highly charged ions could help scientists design the next generation of atomic clocks and even aid the redefinition of the second.
Atomic physics gets its own ‘periodic table’ that covers highly charged ions
New table could help with the redefinition of the second and creation of the next generation of atomic clocks
www.chemistryworld.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:23 PM
A new 'periodic table' of highly charged ions could help scientists design the next generation of atomic clocks and even aid the redefinition of the second.
Umaymah Ahmad has been wondering which career path to take after her undergraduate degree. She spoke to current chemistry PhD Charlotte Gwinnell to find out more about what doctoral research is really like.
To PhD or not to PhD? That is the question
Undergraduate student Umaymah Ahmad finds out what it's like to go into academic research
www.chemistryworld.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Umaymah Ahmad has been wondering which career path to take after her undergraduate degree. She spoke to current chemistry PhD Charlotte Gwinnell to find out more about what doctoral research is really like.
On 3rd January the US conducted air strikes on Venezuela. Those strikes seriously damaged the maths department at a leading Venezuelan research institute and caused significant damage to its chemistry school.
US air strikes seriously damaged leading research institute in Venezuela
Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research's maths building 'completely destroyed' and chemistry building seriously damaged
www.chemistryworld.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:49 PM
On 3rd January the US conducted air strikes on Venezuela. Those strikes seriously damaged the maths department at a leading Venezuelan research institute and caused significant damage to its chemistry school.
Reposted by Chemistry World
Donald Trump’s US government has spent the last year dismantling the country’s scientific research and regulatory functions. Academic and industry scientists alike are concerned about what this means for the future of US innovation.
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...
Trump’s attack on science is shaking industry’s foundations
By dismantling scientific enterprise, the US risks 'taking a hammer to our miracle machine'
www.chemistryworld.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Donald Trump’s US government has spent the last year dismantling the country’s scientific research and regulatory functions. Academic and industry scientists alike are concerned about what this means for the future of US innovation.
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/trum...
Exclusive: chemistry's international governing body is moving from its home of 25 years in the US to two cities in Europe.
Iupac announces it is moving from the US to a joint home in Spain and Italy
Dual headquarters decision a result of strong bids from both cities
www.chemistryworld.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Exclusive: chemistry's international governing body is moving from its home of 25 years in the US to two cities in Europe.
Dissolved in poly(alpha-olefin) oil, the reagents don’t ignite or smoke in air, making them easier to handle and less prone to degradation on storage, while maintaining performance across a range of reaction types.
New reagents take the burn out of butyllithium
Merck KGaA's non-pyrophoric butyllithium in poly(α-olefin) oil make BuLi stable to air and water
www.chemistryworld.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Dissolved in poly(alpha-olefin) oil, the reagents don’t ignite or smoke in air, making them easier to handle and less prone to degradation on storage, while maintaining performance across a range of reaction types.
In the first-ever episode of our chemistry news podcast, host Mariana Kneppers gives you the latest chemistry headlines and invites Jennifer Newton and Jamie Durrani to share their thoughts on total synthesis, followed by halogen-bond catalysis.
Halogen-bond catalysis & the future of total synthesis
In this inaugural podcast episode, we explore the future of a 200-year old field of chemistry, investigate an up-and-coming form of catalysis and hear the latest headlines
www.chemistryworld.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:45 PM
In the first-ever episode of our chemistry news podcast, host Mariana Kneppers gives you the latest chemistry headlines and invites Jennifer Newton and Jamie Durrani to share their thoughts on total synthesis, followed by halogen-bond catalysis.
The chemical composition of calcium carbonate crusts in Pompeii's water supply reveal that if you were a hygiene-conscious Roman before the aqueduct was built, you'd probably want to hit the baths early in the day.
Three centuries of Roman limescale reveals a dirty secret about Pompeii’s public baths
Carbon isotope ratios suggest that pre-aqueduct, the water was often contaminated with human waste
www.chemistryworld.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:24 AM
The chemical composition of calcium carbonate crusts in Pompeii's water supply reveal that if you were a hygiene-conscious Roman before the aqueduct was built, you'd probably want to hit the baths early in the day.
A new family of materials maintains conductivity in liquid, liquid crystal and solid states.
New material demonstrates ionic conductivity across three states
'State-independent' ionic conductivity could create safer solid-state batteries and faster electronics
www.chemistryworld.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:04 PM
A new family of materials maintains conductivity in liquid, liquid crystal and solid states.
Two startups that produce chemicals from whisky residues are attempting to fill the economic gap left as the nearby oil refinery closes. Government funds will support designing and building new biorefineries to ferment omega-3 fatty acids and acetone, butanol and ethanol.
Funding boost for Grangemouth whisky waste-to-chemicals firms
Governments hope £9 million in grants will help MiAlgae and Celtic Renewables replace oil-refining jobs
www.chemistryworld.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Two startups that produce chemicals from whisky residues are attempting to fill the economic gap left as the nearby oil refinery closes. Government funds will support designing and building new biorefineries to ferment omega-3 fatty acids and acetone, butanol and ethanol.
The market for skin-lightening is only growing, and with products containing harmful chemicals on the rise, it's a problem that isn't going away. Zahra Khan looks at what is going on.
The toxic chemistry behind skin bleaching products
The global skin-lightening market is worth over $10 billion and growing, but the unregulated products driving it contain dangerous chemicals linked to serious health risks. Zahra Khan speaks to the sc...
www.chemistryworld.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:33 AM
The market for skin-lightening is only growing, and with products containing harmful chemicals on the rise, it's a problem that isn't going away. Zahra Khan looks at what is going on.
'The commitment of the new government in Syria to fully and transparently cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is both welcome and commendable’.
Syrian government renews commitment to destroy chemical weapons programme
UN officials welcome opportunity to eliminate country's programme 'once and for all'
www.chemistryworld.com
January 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM
'The commitment of the new government in Syria to fully and transparently cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is both welcome and commendable’.
A new AI tool reduces the computing power required to virtually screen for small molecule–protein interactions.
AI tool dramatically reduces computing power needed to find protein-binding molecules
New protocol is up to 10 million times faster than current docking-based methods
www.chemistryworld.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:00 AM
A new AI tool reduces the computing power required to virtually screen for small molecule–protein interactions.
The researchers believe the system, which is highly robust to noise, could scale more easily than current quantum computers that use ion-trap qubits and the superconducting qubits that won the 2025 Nobel prize for physics.
Purer silicon lets robust quantum computing get started on a new medium
System is highly accurate and amenable to scaling without compromising quality
www.chemistryworld.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:30 AM
The researchers believe the system, which is highly robust to noise, could scale more easily than current quantum computers that use ion-trap qubits and the superconducting qubits that won the 2025 Nobel prize for physics.
At COP28, 133 countries threw their hats in the ring and pledged to triple renewable energy. But with the demands of new tech set to increase hugely, how do we ensure that safety remains paramount?
How safe is the next generation of battery chemistries?
Rapid advances mean researchers are struggling to understand these batteries' safety and fire hazards
www.chemistryworld.com
January 17, 2026 at 5:01 PM
At COP28, 133 countries threw their hats in the ring and pledged to triple renewable energy. But with the demands of new tech set to increase hugely, how do we ensure that safety remains paramount?
According to researchers, this ‘curiosity-driven’ work reminds chemists that attributing the effect to one dominant cause oversimplifies a ‘fundamentally complex phenomenon’. CW's Mason Wakley reports.
Anomeric effect cannot be explained by hyperconjugation alone
Computational studies suggest this textbook principle is governed by a range of factors
www.chemistryworld.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:30 PM
According to researchers, this ‘curiosity-driven’ work reminds chemists that attributing the effect to one dominant cause oversimplifies a ‘fundamentally complex phenomenon’. CW's Mason Wakley reports.
The wolffish is no stranger to chomping on things that other marine life wouldn't move a fin for, and now, research shows what makes the wolffish so formidable. Rebecca Trager has all the details.
Wolffish teeth contain a rare material that shrinks when squeezed rather than expanding
Osteodentin found in the core of this bottom-dwelling Atlantic Ocean predator's teeth could inspire new designs for stronger, more resilient materials
www.chemistryworld.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The wolffish is no stranger to chomping on things that other marine life wouldn't move a fin for, and now, research shows what makes the wolffish so formidable. Rebecca Trager has all the details.
The findings on 1,3-butadiene were announced on New Year's Eve and contrast with regulations that came into effect during Joe Biden’s presidency.
EPA delivers mixed finding on carcinogenic rubber ingredient
US environmental agency says 1,3-butadiene is harmful for some industry workers, but not for the environment or those living near plants using it
www.chemistryworld.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The findings on 1,3-butadiene were announced on New Year's Eve and contrast with regulations that came into effect during Joe Biden’s presidency.