Highlights
C&EN: Precise deuteration eases ‘heavy drug’ synthesis
10 September 2026Nickel catalyst swaps hydrogen for deuterium to produce drugs that are metabolized more slowly.
Engineering: Can ‘Superwood’ Replace Concrete and Steel?
25 August 2026Engineered woods aim to curb construction’s climate emissions.
ACS Central Science: These Graphene Experts Are Trying to Close the Reproducibility Gap in Two-Dimensional Materials Research
14 May 2026Too much work on graphene and related materials cannot be repeated — a problem that wastes time and holds back commercialization. New rules could help solve it.
C&EN Talented 12: Aisulu Aitbekova
13 May 2026Combining light and heat to produce sustainable chemicals.
C&EN Talented 12: Martina Benešová-Schäfer
13 May 2026Building targeting systems for radioactive cancer treatments.
TESTIMONIALS
“As an editor and reporter, Mark Peplow is fast, accurate, and versatile. He covers science policy and pure research with equal passion, and his writing combines a scientist’s precision with a journalist’s verve.” Tim Appenzeller
Former Chief Magazine Editor at Nature, now News Editor at Science
"Mark guided me through some of the most challenging stories I've written. These are pieces I might not have attempted were it not for his steady editorial hand." Linda Nordling
Freelance Journalist, South Africa
“Working with Mark is never anything other than a pleasure. He is the kind of editor that writers hope for: able to identify what needs fixing and what doesn’t, bringing to bear a wealth of knowledge, always clear, prompt and easy to talk with. Much of that comes from being a splendid writer himself.”
Philip Ball
Freelance Science Writer
Author Archives: Mark Peplow
C&EN: Blue-light special offers sweeter route to 𝐶-glycosides
Glycosyl sulfones need no catalyst for light-triggered radical coupling.
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C&EN: Molecular containers go supersized
Large macrocycle offers wider base for record-breaking cavitands that can trap and separate fullerenes.
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C&EN: Cyclodextrins line up for better filtration membranes
Porous films can separate molecules such as cannabidiol from organic solvents.
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C&EN: New form of lithium reacts 20 times as fast as powdered metal
Crystallized dendrites offer high purity and surface area when preparing organolithium reagents.
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C&EN: Perfluorinated ligand makes long-awaited debut in rhodium complex
After a 40-year wait, fully fluorinated cyclopentadienyl derivative finally connects with a metal partner.
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C&EN: Paper strip detects SARS-CoV-2 variants
Foldable assay could help track different COVID-19 mutants for low-cost surveillance.
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C&EN Talented 12: Ming Joo Koh
This organic chemist uses common metals to shrink synthetic chemistry’s environmental footprint.
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C&EN Talented 12: Weixue Wang
This assay inventor identifies drug candidates for targets once thought to be undruggable.
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C&EN: Nickel catalyst enables versatile amine synthesis
Method creates hundreds of different amines from handy nitriles.
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C&EN: Single catalyst molecules tracked in solution
Fluorescence microscopy traces Grubbs catalysts’ winding paths during polymerization.
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