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: My Work
The hole story
Nature article about Swiss-cheese-like materials called metal–organic frameworks.
Posted in Feature reporting
Comments Off on The hole story
The robo-chemist
A Nature article about the effort to build a machine that can synthesize any organic compound.
Posted in Feature reporting
Comments Off on The robo-chemist
Lights, Camera, Acrimony!
A torrid tale of physics and showmanship, for Nautilus magazine.
Posted in Feature reporting
Comments Off on Lights, Camera, Acrimony!
Cellulosic ethanol fights for life
Exclusive news story for Nature magazine.
Posted in News reporting
Comments Off on Cellulosic ethanol fights for life
Malaria drug made in yeast causes market ferment
Synthetic biology delivers combination therapies into an uncertain market.
Posted in News reporting
Comments Off on Malaria drug made in yeast causes market ferment
China’s stem-cell rules go unheeded
Nature investigation discovers that unproven therapies are still widely available despite health ministry ban.
Posted in News Editing
Comments Off on China’s stem-cell rules go unheeded
Molecular robot mimics life’s protein-builder
Ribosome-inspired nanomachine links amino acids in pre-determined sequence.
Posted in Highlights, Molecular, My Work
Comments Off on Molecular robot mimics life’s protein-builder
Chernobyl’s legacy
A journey to the heart of the exclusion zone, on the 25th anniversary of the nuclear accident.
Posted in Feature reporting, Highlights
Comments Off on Chernobyl’s legacy
