Highlights
ACS Central Science: Pharm to Table Podcast Duo Bridges the Academia–Industry Divide
29 April 2026The Merck colleagues and cohosts advocate closer collaboration between academic and industry chemists.
New Scientist: We need more radioactive drugs. Can we make them from nuclear waste?
22 April 2026The rise of a new generation of radiotherapies means we will soon need much greater quantities of radioactive atoms. That’s why companies are scrambling to refine them from all manner of radioactive waste.
Science: Whistleblower alleges Finnish startup’s vaunted solid-state battery isn’t what it claims
22 April 2026Donut Lab’s assertions of lightning-fast charging and high energy storage have led to a criminal complaint.
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.
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: Molecular shuttle thinks inside the box
Flat guest molecules zoom back and forth within iridium-based nanobox.
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Nature: Robot chemist sparks row with claim it created new materials
Researchers question whether an AI-controlled lab assistant actually made any novel substances.
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Nature: Google AI and robots join forces to build new materials
Google DeepMind tool predicts nearly 400,000 stable substances, and an autonomous system learns to make them in the lab.
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Nature: A new kind of solar cell is coming: is it the future of green energy?
Firms commercializing perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaics say that the panels will be more efficient and could lead to cheaper electricity.
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C&EN: Lithium-ion battery recycling goes large
As companies scramble to increase recycling capacity, they are navigating a tricky path through shifting battery chemistries and a raft of new regulations.
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C&EN 10 Start-ups to Watch: DePoly
Recycling complex plastic waste for a circular economy.
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C&EN: Antifungal analog offers reduced toxicity
Improved version of amphotericin B is now in clinical trial, but debate continues about its mechanism of action.
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C&EN: Skeletal edit swaps carbon for nitrogen
Single-atom edit offers medicinal chemists a direct route from quinolines to quinazolines.
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C&EN: A shocking way to produce hydrogen from plastic waste
Flash Joule heating converts polymers into low-cost hydrogen and graphene.
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C&EN: Catalyst persuades alcohols to offer a helping hand for C-H activation
Tailored ligand on palladium catalyst uses hydrogen bonding to orchestrate reaction.
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