Highlights
C&EN: Metal complexes rip open benzene
17 July 2025Scandium and chromium compounds team up to convert iconic molecule into linear product at room temperature.
C&EN: Crystals defy their symmetry to discern chiral light
24 June 2025Centrosymmetric crystals have always absorbed equal amounts of left- and right-handed circularly polarized light—until now.
C&EN: Magnetic stirrers linked to issues with reproducing chemistry results
17 June 2025From the lab that found impurities on your stir bar—your flask’s placement on a stirrer plate can mess with your reaction too.
C&EN: ‘Perplexanes’ achieve mind-bending molecular topology
10 June 2025Zirconium helps to weave entangled nanocarbon cages in high yields.
C&EN: Atom-thin iodine film makes its debut
29 May 2025Iodinene is the first halogen analog of graphene and is expected to be unusually metallic.
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: Reactor converts methane to heavier hydrocarbons without forming CO₂
A scaled up version of the process could help to curb methane venting and flaring at remote oil sites.
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C&EN: Graphene transistor detects SARS-CoV-2 in less than a minute
Device uses DNA probes to identify COVID-19 virus RNA with speed and high sensitivity.
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C&EN: Protein could unlock new sources of rare-earth elements
Lanmodulin can extract and purify technology metals from electronic waste and coal ash.
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C&EN: Chain-link molecules form squishy crystals
A metal-organic framework built from catenanes is surprisingly elastic.
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Nature Biotechnology: Nanotechnology offers alternative ways to fight COVID-19 pandemic with antivirals
A new wave of funding focuses on antiviral nanomaterials as pandemic countermeasures.
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C&EN: Uranium nitride triple bond is surprisingly covalent
NMR spectroscopy reveals an outlier of actinide bonding and provides a convenient method to assess bonding in other metal-nitrogen complexes.
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C&EN: Aptamer-nanopore sensor detects only infectious viruses
DNA-based device might offer rapid COVID-19 test that is not fooled by dead virus.
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C&EN: Phospha-bora-Wittig reaction makes its debut
A new variant of the classic Wittig reaction offers a route to phosphaalkenes.
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C&EN: Thorium-thorium bonding marks actinide milestone
Unusual crystalline complex shows unexpected σ-aromaticity.
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New Scientist: Why the UK doesn’t need a new coal mine
Coke-based steel-making generates billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and accounts for 7 to 9 per cent of all human-made CO2 emissions.
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