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: MXenes make durable solid lubricants
Titanium carbide nanosheets offer low friction and long-lasting wear resistance.
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C&EN: Tandem catalyst converts propane to propylene
Nanoparticles unite platinum and indium oxide catalysts for better yields at lower temperature.
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C&EN: Pesticide breakdown products found in hundreds of US streams
Extensive environmental survey of pesticides and their transformation products reveals potential for hidden toxicity.
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C&EN: Which air purification technologies can tackle COVID-19?
Air-cleaning devices that claim to remove SARS-CoV-2 have hit shelves, backed by varying levels of data.
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C&EN: Europium reveals billion-year pause in mountain formation
Chemical anomalies in zircons highlight hidden geology of the Proterozoic’s ‘boring billion,’ a time of evolutionary stasis.
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C&EN: Milder synthesis takes the pressure off carbon-based nanothreads
Using furan as a starting material boosts production of diamond-like polymers.
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C&EN: Einsteinium complex isolated
Experiments using scant nanograms of element 99 lead to first measurement of an einsteinium bond length.
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C&EN: Diamonds really are forever
At pressures five times greater than at the Earth’s core, diamond still retains its usual structure.
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C&EN: Catalyst boosts prospects for fuel-cell vehicles
Platinum-molybdenum carbide spurs water-gas shift reaction, solving catalyst poisoning problem.
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C&EN: Surface swabbing helps researchers get a handle on COVID-19 cases
Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 on high-contact surfaces could enable community surveillance to preempt outbreaks.
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