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
Nature: AI is dreaming up millions of new materials. Are they any good?
Critics slammed attempts by Google, Microsoft and Meta to speed up materials discovery. But behind the hype, there is progress.
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Nature: How should ‘mirror life’ research be restricted? Debate heats up
Some researchers are calling for strict limits, while others speak out against prematurely halting basic science.
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C&EN: Metal complexes rip open benzene
Scandium and chromium compounds team up to convert iconic molecule into linear product at room temperature.
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C&EN: Crystals defy their symmetry to discern chiral light
Centrosymmetric crystals have always absorbed equal amounts of left- and right-handed circularly polarized light—until now.
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C&EN: Magnetic stirrers linked to issues with reproducing chemistry results
From the lab that found impurities on your stir bar—your flask’s placement on a stirrer plate can mess with your reaction too.
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C&EN: ‘Perplexanes’ achieve mind-bending molecular topology
Zirconium helps to weave entangled nanocarbon cages in high yields.
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C&EN: Atom-thin iodine film makes its debut
Iodinene is the first halogen analog of graphene and is expected to be unusually metallic.
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C&EN Talented 12: Sascha Feldmann
Commanding charged particles and light for energy efficiency.
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C&EN Talented 12: Dayne Swearer
Harnessing hot electrons for clean chemicals.
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C&EN: Hydrogen plasma offers sustainable nickel production
Electric arc furnace tackles low-grade ores, emitting much less carbon dioxide than conventional methods.
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