Unravelling the unique reactions behind the sea sparkle phenomenon, with Rachel Brazil steering the way.

On 10 February, the US FDA told Moderna that it would not accept the company’s application for a new influenza vaccine – with senior leaders reportedly overruling FDA staff. A week later, the FDA has reversed its decision accepting the drug for review.

The EPA’s endangerment finding in 2009 allowed it to introduce restrictions on greenhouse gases from power stations and other sources.

Analysis of archived tree cores from Sweden shows that with rising carbon dioxide emissions trees will struggle to compete with microorganisms for nitrogen, slowing the growth of forests and reducing their importance as carbon sinks.

Learn how you can focus your efforts on compounds that are makeable and scalable, using modern retrosynthesis software and its ability to support everyday route design. Join Ewa Gajewska and Priyank Jain on 24 March.

The three – two skiers and a snowboarder – were only excluded from the events where their equipment tested positive for PFAS and were still able to take part in other events.

This exceptionally bulky ligand features trityl groups and a benzylated backbone that together create steric shielding that allows the isolation of rare low-coordinate metal complexes. www.chemistryworld.com/news/benzyla...

India’s innovation ecosystem has obstacles – but also great opportunity. This collection by the RSC’s expert India team on science, regulation and more, explores how policy can empower India’s scientists to serve society.

Giant crystals, lemon batteries and elephant's toothpaste – school science staples that have made it into the Guinness World Records.

Before your next argument about what temperature to set the thermostat at, Andrea Sella explains how they work – and explores the history of the bimetallic strip that acts as a sensor in mechanical and older thermostats.

US health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr has moved against all synthetic food dyes, criticising them as petroleum-based ‘poisonous compounds’. But is this policy based on solid evidence, or politically motivated?

Women still hold just 19% of national academy positions despite making up a third of researchers globally.

The first chemist was female. Since then, women have always played crucial roles in the development and popularisation of chemistry – although many have since been forgotten.

In 2024, a team of marine geoscientists made a controversial discovery – 'dark oxygen' was being made on the seafloor. They're now returning to back up their original finding.

Is your knowledge about the chemistry of coffee equal to your love of it? If the answer is no, it's time to correct that by joining us at 3pm GMT today for what promises to be a fascinating hour!

From choosing unusual course combinations to a constant feeling of catching up – Ada McVean shares how she navigated university as a first-generation student.

The Royal Society needs you! It is looking for important locations in the history of women in science in the UK.

We caught up with Martyn Poliakoff and Richard Catlow at the AAAS meeting and chatted to them about global scientific challenges, their love of technicians and being astounded by children’s questions.

'Ukrainians are a strong nation – we persevere and continue to live and work.’ Four years on from the full scale invasion by Russia, Ukrainian scientists have hope and plan for the future.

It sounds implausible but chains of 4 nitrogen atoms that are stable at room temperature for weeks have been created.

For decades, chemists have viewed the [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement as a stubborn rule-breaker but now the reaction is ready to settle down and behave.

The mystery of incredible bioluminescent displays goes deeper than surface level. Rachel Brazil looks at the role dinoflagellates play – as researchers continue to try to understand the secrets of nature's spectacular light shows.

The work could inform climate change models and help explain the death tolls associated with extreme heat events.

How did non-living chemistry on prebiotic Earth start to self-replicate and evolve? James Urquhart unravels the RNA mystery.

Mason Wakley looks at exciting research on plasma, the scope for a low energy plasma future and the spin-outs unlocking new potential.

Could chemistry have ended whaling more than 100 years earlier?

The technique enabled the fabrication of nanostructures in a variety of shapes from materials including quantum dots.

Research suggests that many more types of chemist are yet to be discovered...

The new approach demonstrates a more sustainable, green and efficient approach for drug synthesis.

Want to be in with a chance of becoming Chemistry World's science writer intern? Don't miss the chance to work with the team on everything from interviews and pitches, to helping put the magazine together before it goes to print. Apply before 22 February.

A new process turns wheat gluten into a flexible, water-resistant vegan leather.

Phil Robinson on the fraught competition and geopolitical tensions surrounding the acquisition of rare earth materials and the difficult transition towards sustainability.

On 10 February, the US FDA told Moderna that it would not accept the company’s application for a new influenza vaccine – with senior leaders reportedly overruling FDA staff. A week later, the FDA has reversed its decision and is accepting the drug for review. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/mode...

Last week the US EPA revoked a ruling that has stood for 16 years and led to the regulation of emissions from cars, power stations and industry. We analyse the impact this change could have on US emissions.

‘Many important moments in my career seemed entirely serendipitous, but sharing of ideas, collaboration and building of community was important to my work.’

We've been hearing from a teacher growing a 2kg copper sulfate crystal www.chemistryworld.com/culture/how-.... Which led us to wonder what other record-breaking crystals are out there?

Ewa Gajewska and Priyank Jain join us on 24 March for an hour-long webinar about modern retrosynthesis software. Learn how it can support everyday route design – and ask your questions live.

What’s the biggest single crystal you’ve grown? David Boyce and students at Queenswood School have grown a 3kg crystal of copper sulfate. Now he shares his tips for how you can do it too.

Boreal forests' growth may be slowing down despite there being more carbon dioxide than ever available. A lack of available nitrogen could be the culprit.

After 'turmoil' following the election of Trump the science community in the US faces 'rupture', says AAAS head Sudip Parikh.

Running their own beauty business, consulting and advocacy are just some of the additional jobs held by chemists in additional to their normal academic workload.

PFAS waxes found on skis and snowboards lead to three Olympic disqualifications.

Five European governments have claimed that the Russian politician Alexei Navalny was killed using a dart frog toxin – here we explain the science behind epibatidine.

BDO is one of several chemicals for which European producers (led by Ineos) have asked the EU to investigate dumping at low prices by importers. The high tariffs possibly signal a more aggressive EU stance on dumping than seen previously.

Are atmospheric nanoparticles produced during heat waves making these extreme weather events deadlier?

'No one has the authority to just pretend that the science is not there' – a former EPA science adviser decries the agency's decision to eliminate a key finding that underpins climate regulations.

This small RNA molecule holds clues as to how non-living chemistry on prebiotic Earth might have started to self-replicate and evolve.

Are we close to being able to recreate life in the lab? On last week's podcast, we discussed our recent RNA world feature, diving into the hypothesised origins of life on Earth and what it can teach us about what life could look like on other planets. www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/alp...

The fourth state of matter, as explained by Mason Wakley.

Dicamba has been shown to damage non-target plant species through spray or vapour drift or volatilisation. In 2020, lawsuits saw Bayer agree to pay $400 million (£293 million).