Neil Withers
@neilwithers.bsky.social
đ€ 1493
đ„ 886
đ 243
Features Editor for Chemistry World, Twitter refugee. Tractor fan
reposted by
Neil Withers
John Timmer
13 days ago
Fantastic piece by
@dereklowe.bsky.social
. Feeds into an ongoing debate among scientists: is it possible to dedicate yourself to finding the truth about the real world, and not vocally oppose an administration that constantly undermines the truth? Is doing so political, or just being a scientist?
loading . . .
âThe truth is supremely valuable and we cannot lie our way to itâ
As a scientist with family in Iran, Derek Lowe finds his own government's approach to truth alarming
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/the-truth-is-supremely-valuable-and-we-cannot-lie-our-way-to-it/4023195.article
3
15
9
reposted by
Neil Withers
Philip Ball
21 days ago
Glad to see this profile of Fritz Strassmann in
@chemistryworld.com
. As the standfirst says, his moral courage in the face of the Nazis does indeed deserve wider recognition. (You can read a briefer account of that in my book Servingh The Reich.)
www.chemistryworld.com/features/fri...
loading . . .
Fritz Strassmann: the principled chemist who discovered nuclear fission
Analytical chemist Friedrich Strassmann played a crucial role in discovering nuclear fission with Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner, but his principled opposition to Nazi ideology nearly destroyed his career...
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/fritz-strassmann-the-principled-chemist-who-discovered-nuclear-fission/4023103.article
1
15
8
Achievement unlocked!
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
1
4
1
We're all about the weirdly massive crystals today!
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
0
3
0
News you can use
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
0
2
0
It would be very difficult to separate hundreds and thousands (sugar strands) by colour - that's the thinking behind the image, by the way.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
0
1
0
Applications for the internship are open now!
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
0
4
2
A search for "*chem*" in the Epstein files reveals: Lots of references (eg Whitesides' CV); a pool with algae needing treatment; typos for 'them'; messages to someone who was late because they had 'chem tutoring' (yikes)
2 months ago
0
1
0
Presented without comment
2 months ago
2
1
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Chemistry World
3 months ago
The 'Baghdad battery' was an unusual artefact discovered in Iraq in 1936. Now, a new reconstruction suggests it may have been more powerful than thought, equivalent to an AA battery.
loading . . .
Was the âBaghdad batteryâ really two cells?
A new study suggests it had an 'outer' cell that reacted with air to supply a higher voltage. But was it a battery at all?
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/was-the-baghdad-battery-really-two-cells/4022804.article?utm_campaign=organic_social&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
10
85
27
reposted by
Neil Withers
Chemistry World
3 months ago
Applications close on 12 January (that's next Monday) â don't miss the chance to further your sci-comm career by working with our team.
loading . . .
Digital Content Assistant
Circa: Salary - Salary Plan, 30,291.00 GBP Annual Join the Royal Society of Chemistryâs flagship magazine, Chemistry World, as Digital Content Assistant where you will support the delivery of high-qua...
https://rsc.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/RoyalSocietyofChemistry/job/Digital-Content-Assistant_JR275-1?utm_campaign=organic_social&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
0
1
2
The unionisation of C&EN will confuse all their readers...
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
1
1
0
Join us!
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
1
1
My query made it! Have a read. It's been bothering me for years...
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Stuart Batten
4 months ago
Some photos of the boss and his Nobel Medal, taken immediately after the ceremony.
#NobelPrize
#ozchem
0
5
1
reposted by
Neil Withers
Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
4 months ago
This is a great dive into anthocyanins, tannins, and the oxidation chemistry of port in
@chemistryworld.com
đ·
loading . . .
The chemistry of port
In Portugalâs Douro valley, centuries-old winemaking traditions meet modern chemistry to create a sweet and intense fortified wine. BĂĄrbara Pinho talks to the experts about the compounds and reactions behind a festive favourite
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-chemistry-of-port/4022483.article
1
25
9
reposted by
Neil Withers
Stuart Batten
4 months ago
Richard Robson always had very small research groups and limited, sporadic funding. This has never been better illustrated than by the acknowledgement slides to the Nobel lectures of Robson, Kitagawa, and Yaghi (only 1 of 4 slides shown below). We punched above our weight!
#ozchem
#NobelPrize
0
20
6
I noticed exactly this walking from Kings Cross to Nature Towers last night: a queue of buses, taxis, cars and vans (cos roadworks) - but so quiet. Used to be deafening on York Way.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
1
0
Don't have nightmares
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
0
2
0
I heartily agree. Worth it for the part-finished raised carvings alone â incomplete art, frozen in time. But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick! Rameses III's girdle!!
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
1
5
1
Glad to see AI has finally found its niche
www.aptaclub.co.uk/baby/baby-to...
loading . . .
Poogle It! - Free AI Baby Poo Tracker Tool | Aptaclub UK
Worried about your baby's poo? Poogle It! Scan your baby's nappy with our free AI poo checker to get insights and track changes. Sign up now to get started.
https://www.aptaclub.co.uk/baby/baby-tools/poo-tracker.html
5 months ago
0
1
0
That's all folks!
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
0
9
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Jet Lee
6 months ago
This is a very well-written piece on this year's MOF Nobel prize with a lot of personal accounts from the community
add a skeleton here at some point
0
4
1
reposted by
Neil Withers
Julia Robinson
6 months ago
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the
#Nobelprize
in
#chemistry
for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself!
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
@chemistryworld.com
loading . . .
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/how-the-pioneers-of-metal-organic-frameworks-won-the-nobel-prize/4022318.article
0
15
9
Here it is! The full
#LongRead
feature article on this year's
#ChemNobel
-
@robinson-julia.bsky.social
managed to speak to Kitagawa yesterday!
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
loading . . .
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/how-the-pioneers-of-metal-organic-frameworks-won-the-nobel-prize/4022318.article
6 months ago
1
13
9
reposted by
Neil Withers
Jet Lee
6 months ago
A fun read while getting my
#MOF
fix
#chemsky
#MOFs
#NobelPrize
#chemistry
@chemistryworld.com
www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worke...
loading . . .
âI worked on it little by little, with the help of a beerâ: Making MOFs out of paper
Chemistry World talks to Ryo Horikoshi about engaging students with chemistry concepts using his stunning paper models
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worked-on-it-little-by-little-with-the-help-of-a-beer-making-mofs-out-of-paper/4021198.article
0
6
2
Ooh, looking back at the Nobel nominations database, which now goes up to 1974, John Goodenough was first nominated *in 1974* - before he'd even made a battery, and 44 years before he won it....
6 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Stuart Batten
6 months ago
Just a little humble brag. Here's me getting my PhD with my supervisors - Bernard Hoskins and newly minted
#NobelPrize
Laureate Richard Robson. So thrilled for Richard, and thinking also of Bernard tonight (who passed away many years ago but was a crucial collaborator of Richard's).
#Chemsky
#ozchem
add a skeleton here at some point
0
54
8
Can't wait to see the write-up of the MOF/[porous] coordination polymer/whatever nomenclature debate on the BBC!!!
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
0
2
0
I always say that although the Nobel gets criticised it is definitely good for one thing: getting some proper chemistry* in front of people's eyeballs, once a year. So it's great to see this real in-depth reporting from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oh. *and biology
6 months ago
1
5
1
I didn't realise Robson was from Yorkshire! Just 12 miles (as the crow files) from where Geoffrey Wilkinson was born...
6 months ago
1
5
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Jamie Gould
6 months ago
Another person who would surely have been in contention is Gérard Férey, who sadly passed away in 2017. His MIL-53 and MIL-101 structures continue to wonder and show new applications.
0
16
3
Always good to remember that the T in BET adsorption is Edward Teller, 'father of the H bomb'
6 months ago
1
0
0
In all seriousness, I've long been impressed by how MOFs bring together so many different bits of chemistry - a well deserved prize!
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
0
8
0
Ah, but is it [organic, solid state, coordination, physical] chemistry?
6 months ago
4
3
3
So what meeting has Kitagawa got to go to?? Hopefully champagne is involved!
6 months ago
0
3
0
I predict a lot of happy
#OzChem
ists
6 months ago
2
9
0
MOFs in a box
6 months ago
0
3
0
It's MOFs!
6 months ago
0
6
0
What's in the box??
#ChemNobel
#ChemSky
6 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Patrick Walter
6 months ago
Morning all. An exciting day in the chemistry calendar. The
#NobelPrize
in chemistry will be announced in a little over an hour. We're keeping track of all the developments as they happen at Chemistry World
#chemnobel
www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-202...
loading . . .
The 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry as it happens â live
Join us as we provide analysis and commentary in the run up to the announcement of the biggest prize in chemistry
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-2025-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-as-it-happens-live/4022193.article
0
3
1
The laureates' 'prize-earning' papers in Phys Rev Lett, Phys Rev B from 1985 + 1987 have 276, 342 and 518 citations [Scopus] - low for Nobel-winning work, maybe? [1/2]
6 months ago
1
3
2
Electrons go wheeee
6 months ago
0
7
0
It's a good day for Johns in California!
#PhysicsNobelPrize
6 months ago
0
0
0
Well that's perfectly clear. WTF??
add a skeleton here at some point
7 months ago
1
1
0
Well that's perfectly clear. WTF??
add a skeleton here at some point
7 months ago
0
1
0
In my very early days as a journal editor, somebody had a Word doc â several pages long â with the best comments from referee reports. It was pretty funny, but some of them probably belonged in this article
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
loading . . .
âLipstick on a pigâ: how to fight back against a peer-review bully
Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02922-y
7 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Neil Withers
Chemistry World
7 months ago
While alchemy is increasingly seen as a precursor to modern chemistry, 'witchcraft' â practised by lower-status women â is still ignored. But was the 'magic', from flying ointments to healing potions, grounded in real pharmacology?
loading . . .
From flying ointments to healing herbs: the forgotten chemistry behind historical witchcraft practices
The unusual concoctions of village witches have historically been dismissed as nonsense hocus pocus - but is this the whole story? Victoria Atkinson investigates the chemistry behind the myth and whet...
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/from-flying-ointments-to-healing-herbs-the-forgotten-chemistry-behind-historical-witchcraft-practices/4022002.article?utm_campaign=organic_social&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
1
10
5
Number four in Multidisciplinary Chemistry (Excluding review journals) Will Surprise You !1!
add a skeleton here at some point
8 months ago
1
2
0
Itâs amazing who you bump into on a sunny day in LondonâŠ
#ChemSky
8 months ago
2
15
2
Load more
feeds!
log in