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
Nature: Graphene booms in factories but lacks a killer app
Although the wonder material is being made in record volume, commercial success is elusive.
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Chemistry World: Getting to know you
The public does not fear chemists, says Mark Peplow, it simply doesn’t know about them. Chemists must respond with better communication.
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The Pharmaceutical Journal: Modified yeasts could be used to produce alkaloid drugs
Fermentation process could be used to produce thousands of plant-based pharmaceuticals, but raises the spectre of illicit drug production.
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The Economist: Crystal clear?
Perovskites may give silicon solar cells a run for their money.
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Chemistry World: An unfortunate oversight
The US Toxic Substances Control Act is in dire need of reform. That demands compromises.
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Nature: A century of chemical warfare
International community renews vows to eliminate stockpiles of chemical weapons as evidence grows of chlorine use in Syria.
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Nature: The hole story
Swiss-cheese-like materials called metal–organic frameworks have long promised to improve gas storage, separation and catalysis. Now they are coming of age.
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Technologist: Europe’s cyberdefence
From organised crime to technical failures, Europe’s cyber-defender sees no shortage of challenges.
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Chemistry World: Thinking ahead
PhD courses must prepare students for a life after research.
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Nature: Graphene sandwich makes new form of ice
Unusual square structure suggests how flattened water can zip through tight channels.
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