Highlights
Nature: Fresh claim of making elusive ‘hexagonal’ diamond is the strongest yet
04 March 2026After decades of debate, researchers say that they have found the clearest evidence yet for this rare form of carbon.
C&EN: Copper finally joins the metallocene club
17 February 2026More than 70 years after ferrocene’s discovery, cuprocene fills a long-standing gap in the sandwich menu.
C&EN: Lighting a better path for biobased furans
16 January 2026Photocatalytic hydrolysis offers a shortcut for renewable chemicals.
C&EN: Gas looping boosts efficiency of carbon nanotube production
22 December 2025Methane pyrolysis reactor recycles process gases to improve output of nanotubes and hydrogen.
C&EN: Enhanced rock weathering shows little climate benefit in large trial
18 December 20253-year Swiss study underscores the importance of site selection to maximize CO2 sequestration.
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
Chemistry World: Power to the people
Tesla’s Gigafactory is set to be a milestone for electric vehicles.
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Chemical & Engineering News: Parmesan test can detect cheesy imposters
Real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese does not contain cyclopropane fatty acids, found in the milk of cows fed fermented fodder.
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Nature: Mirror-image enzyme copies looking-glass DNA
Synthetic polymerase is a small step along the way to mirrored life forms.
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ACS Central Science: A Conversation with Makoto Fujita
His “crystalline sponge” is helping researchers figure out the architecture of organic molecules.
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Nature: A chemist’s contradictions
A review of ‘The Experimental Self: Humphry Davy and the Making of a Man of Science’
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Nature Biotechnology: Citizen science lures gamers into Sweden’s Human Protein Atlas
EVE Online combines space exploration, political intrigue, and now, an opportunity to spot proteins inside cells.
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Nature: UK graphene inquiry reveals commercial struggles
Concerns about the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute reflect a broader decline in industrial research and development.
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Chemistry World: Shadow of Chernobyl
Taking the long view on the cost of nuclear power.
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The BMJ: The 100 000 Genomes Project
Part research project, part commercial stimulus, this enormous sequencing programme could usher genomic medicine into mainstream use.
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Chemistry World: Family friendly science
The perception that young scientists need to sacrifice family life for a career in research must change.
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