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
The nonclassical cation: a classic case of conflict
Mark Peplow celebrates decades of debate about the structure of the 2-norbornyl cation.
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Fear and loathing
Facts are not enough to tackle chemophobia.
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Rock samples suggest meteor caused Tunguska blast
Grains from Siberian peat bog may be remnants of the biggest Earth impact in recorded history.
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Two techniques unite to provide molecular detail
Raman spectroscopy souped up with scanning tunnelling microscopy hones in on individual atoms and bonds.
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Chemical forensics confirm French wine had early roots
Ancient jars hold residue of 2,500-year-old vintage.
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Helium reserves under pressure
The fate of one of the world’s main sources of the gas hangs in the balance, and the global helium market faces a period of turbulence that could send prices soaring.
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The anatomy of sleep
The ebb and flow of neurotransmitters switches our brains between sleep and wakefulness in carefully regulated cycles.
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US bill would keep helium store afloat
Russia and Qatar prepare to dominate market as gas price inflation puts researchers under pressure.
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Protein gets in on DNA’s origami act
Engineered bacteria make self-assembling tetrahedra.
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A fixation with nitrogen
Despite decades of work to develop alternative ways to make ammonia, the Haber–Bosch process is here to stay, Mark Peplow discovers.
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