Highlights
Science: Nobel Prize honors researchers who showed how ‘handedness’ can emerge in chemistry
08 October 2026Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win award for reactions leading to mirror-image molecules.
Nature: Chemists struggle to ditch hazardous solvents — even after decades of ‘green’ efforts
26 September 2026Laboratories are still using dangerous and carbon-intensive liquids much more often than environmentally friendly ones, according to a 40-year survey of patents.
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.
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
Category Archives: Highlights
C&EN: The structure of bleach
X-ray crystallography of sodium hypochlorite plugs long-standing gap in literature.
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C&EN: How many chemical elements does it take to build a car?
Detailed inventory shows that electric vehicles are more vulnerable to material supply challenges than gas guzzlers.
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C&EN: Ultrasound boosts battery recycling
Rapid process recovers valuable metals from old electrodes.
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C&EN: Copper catalysts team up for chiral amide synthesis
Blue light powers a radical route to ubiquitous functional group.
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C&EN: Retina protein may be a magnetic compass for birds
Cryptochrome 4 forms radical pairs that could guide the migration of the European robin.
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C&EN: X-rays activate cancer drug
Radiation removes molecular mask to free anti-cancer agent, offering simultaneous chemotherapy and radiotherapy with fewer side effects in mice.
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C&EN: COVID-19 test used in UK mass screening program receives stinging rebuke from FDA
US health agency’s warning for Innova raises fresh questions about efficacy of ‘Operation Moonshot’ antigen test.
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C&EN: Can industry decarbonize steelmaking?
Major steelmakers and disruptive start-ups look to hydrogen and renewable electricity to make green steel.
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C&EN: Polyacetylene comes full circle
Synthesis of cyclic polyacetylene offers fresh take on classic semiconducting polymer.
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C&EN: Catalytic patch activates cancer drug
Microneedle array carries palladium nanoparticles that switch on local melanoma treatment, avoiding side effects.
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