Genetically engineered bacteria have been created that can convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the polymer plastic bottles are made from, into paracetamol.
The researchers, from the University of Edinburgh and AstraZeneca, both in the…
Category: 6. Chemistry
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Letters: July 2025 | Opinion
Polymorph problems
I was interested in issues raised in your article ‘Crystal clear structure prediction’.
My PhD supervisor in the early 1960s refused to recognise the existence of amorphous solids. Organic compounds were either crystalline…
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In-silico analysis of potential phytochemicals targeting mitogen activating protein kinase-14 (MAPK14) gene in colorectal cancer
Structure retrieval
The Protein Data Bank’s (PDB) PDB ID:1OUY represents the target protein MAPK14’s 3D structure39. It was rendered visible by Discovery Studio and refined by eliminating elements other than proteins, such as heteroatoms,…
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Crystal defies Pasteur’s chirality rules in breakthrough discovery
Expectations over optical behaviour that have been widely held since Louis Pasteur’s seminal discoveries in 1848 have been upended by a new study. Researchers observed optical behaviours linked to chirality in crystalline lithium cobalt…
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Linear structure gives dysprosium complex record-breaking magnetic properties | Research
A new dysprosium complex retains magnetic memory at 100K, the highest temperature recorded for this class of compound. The researchers behind the work attribute the material’s properties to its unusual linear structure, and suggest that such…
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11 executives jailed over Italian PFAS pollution | Business
An Italian court has jailed 11 executives over charges relating to groundwater pollution with per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) from Miteni’s fluorochemicals plant in Trissino, Italy, since its construction in the…
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Pitfalls in cytotoxicity studies could be tripping up chemists | Research
Cytotoxic analyses of green chemicals are yielding inconsistent – and potentially misleading – conclusions about the safety of such chemicals, new research suggests. ‘What surprised us almost immediately was that, for the exact same…
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Chemistry’s capital C | Opinion
Whenever a character in a science fiction film or TV programme describes life as ‘carbon-based’, it always makes me groan a little inside. After all, our bodies are 60% water, and even DNA itself has more oxygen – by mass or atoms – in…
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Frozen in Time: Scientists Watch Atoms Form Clusters for the First Time
A new method uses helium droplets combined with ultrashort laser pulses to trigger chemical reactions in a controlled way. This approach offers new insights into how energy and charge are transferred during the formation of chemical bonds. For…
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US approves twice yearly injection to prevent HIV | Business
An injection that can prevent HIV infection for six months has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gilead’s Yeztugo (lenacapavir) becomes the longest acting form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against the risk…
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