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
Engineering: Electric Vehicle Market Slowly Edges Toward Solid-State Batteries
Companies are gradually overcoming technical challenges with batteries that offer longer driving range and safer operation.
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C&EN: ‘Berkelocene’ puts exotic berkelium in a sandwich
Researchers find bonding surprises at the extreme end of organometallic chemistry.
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Nature: Can this revolutionary plastics-recycling plant help solve the pollution crisis?
A world-first facility has a new way to break down ‘unrecyclable’ plastic waste.
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C&EN: Slow proteins may contribute to many chronic diseases
Reactive oxygen species in cells cause proteins to link up through disulfide bonds, reducing their mobility.
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Engineering: Hydrogen Hubs Arise in the United States
Public funding brings producers and users of clean hydrogen together to boost adoption of the gas.
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C&EN: Simple method converts fluorspar into fluorochemicals
Generating common fluorinating agents directly from the mineral avoids the dangers of hydrogen fluoride.
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Graphene at 20
Twenty years after its discovery, the atom-thin carbon sheet is finding its footing (Science)
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The Future of Solar Power?
Perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaics are on the brink of commercialisation (Nature)
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Science: Coming of Age
Twenty years after the ballyhooed discovery of graphene, the atom-thin carbon sheets are finding their footing.
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C&EN: Recycling DNA origami nanostructures
New methods could drive down costs and waste in burgeoning applications.
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