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: Electric molecular motor charges ahead
Oscillating voltage prompts molecular rings to trundle around a circular track.
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C&EN: Battery anodes recycled in a flash
Jolt of electricity zaps impurities in graphite anodes, potentially offering a cheaper and greener recycling strategy.
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C&EN: These DNA nanoshells trap a broad spectrum of viruses
Using sugar chains as a ‘virus glue’ could help DNA origami structures become antiviral agents.
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C&EN: Mirror-image polymerase makes key parts of mirror ribosome
Ongoing effort to create a reflection of life’s protein-making machinery could provide access to mirror molecules for diagnostics, therapeutics, and more.
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C&EN: Molecular ring mimics photosynthetic machinery
Spoke-like templates bend a linear chain of 24 porphyrins into a light-harvesting hoop.
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C&EN: Chemistry and biology unite to recycle mixed plastics
No presorting needed in 2-step process that turns multiple plastics into single products.
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C&EN: Click and bioorthogonal chemistry win 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless receive prize for their work on reactions that quickly link up molecules and their application in living cells.
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C&EN: Blue-light special offers sweeter route to 𝐶-glycosides
Glycosyl sulfones need no catalyst for light-triggered radical coupling.
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C&EN: Molecular containers go supersized
Large macrocycle offers wider base for record-breaking cavitands that can trap and separate fullerenes.
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C&EN: Cyclodextrins line up for better filtration membranes
Porous films can separate molecules such as cannabidiol from organic solvents.
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