Main Chemical Feed

Global map reveals the vast scale of underground fungal networks

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:00:59 +0000

Our soils are teeming with networks of fungi, and we're starting to understand how important they are

Have we finally worked out how Venus flytraps snap shut?

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:00:51 +0000

It was widely thought that the movement of water through Venus flytrap cells caused the trap to close, but detailed experiments have led scientists to propose an alternative mechanism

El Niño has started and the weather could get weird

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:38:04 +0000

Global weather agencies have declared that El Niño has begun, and models show it is more likely than not to be a "super" El Niño. The climate pattern boosts extreme weather around the world, and could lead to record temperatures

Toy universe shows that time could be a quantum illusion

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:00:36 +0000

An experiment with a toy universe made up of extremely cold atoms shows how time can emerge from quantum interactions, instead of existing by default

Croatian researchers thrust into limelight as their 1990s’ peptide discovery goes mainstream in the US

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:50:00 +0000

Trump administration hopes to approve peptides popular with MAHA wellbeing advocates. How are the researchers at the centre of this coping with sudden media fame?

Dramatic photo of ibis being guided to their winter homes wins award

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:09 +0000

Student Gunnar Hartmann wins Nature’s 2026 Scientist at Work photography competition for this shot of migrating northern bald ibis in Spain

If scientists discover aliens, they have a plan for ‘disclosure day’

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:55:00 +0000

New guidelines aim to help scientists verify, communicate, and manage evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence

The one film to watch before seeing Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:30:56 +0000

With Steven Spielberg’s new extraterrestrial film Disclosure Day just out, it’s the ideal time to watch Close Encounter of the Third Kind – perhaps the perfect UFO film, says film columnist Bethan Ackerley

Ditching cigarettes for vapes may curb the cancer benefits of quitting

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:00:47 +0000

A study of 4.5 million people suggests that ex-smokers who take up vaping are more at risk of dying from lung cancer than people who quit without the use of e-cigarettes

El Niño has begun. It may become the strongest this century

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

After clearing a spring forecasting hurdle, scientists see growing odds of a powerful climate event that could disrupt weather worldwide

Why setting up a café is a good idea for chemistry students

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:36:00 +0000

Where support benefits both mentors and mentees

Australia forges closer research links to EU as it gets ready to join Horizon Europe by 2027

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Becoming part of one of the world’s largest funding programmes will allow Australian researchers direct access to funding and to lead projects

After years of opposition, Mexico’s president is reconsidering fracking

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:20:00 +0000

The government has tasked a group of scientists with assessing new technologies for “sustainable” oil and gas drilling—but many experts say it’s a fantasy

How did the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak start? Scientists are investigating new scenarios

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:55:00 +0000

Understanding how the first patient became infected may shed new light on Andes virus’ transmission patterns and incubation period

Deep-sea vehicles spot ‘alien’ sharks deep beneath the waves in the Pacific

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:45:00 +0000

Goblin sharks have never before been filmed in their natural habitat

The ocean current that warms Europe may be more resilient than feared

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Studies of the Atlantic's circulation find signs of both weakening and unexpected stability in the face of global warming

Laser-boosted microscopes could reveal new drug targets, sharpen views inside cells

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Enhanced cryo–electron microscopy promises to bring previously elusive proteins into view

New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte's The Story of Birds offers an excellent and sometimes startling account of bird evolution, finds Michael Marshall

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Feedback is alarmed by a study that explored how funny people think they are, and that discovered certain traits in those who rate themselves the most humorous

Wolves seen hunting European bison in rare camera-trap recording

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:39:59 +0000

Europe’s largest land animal, the bison, is thought to be relatively unthreatened by predators, but footage from Białowieża Primaeval Forest in Poland shows it does face attacks from wolves

Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:00:37 +0000

Researchers diving 7 kilometres deep in a crewed submersible have discovered a vast collection of whale bones, including fossils up to 5 million years old and species new to science

Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:00:31 +0000

The outer solar system once seemed like a quiet backwater. But a glut of tiny, strange moons with unruly orbits are coming into view, revealing hints of a surprising past – and the origin of Saturn's rings

Click chemistry marks 25 years & covalent bonding in the actinides

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:40:00 +0000

Click chemistry: it’s in the name. How has this unique discipline made its mark over the last quarter decade? And, we discuss the first experimental evidence of how covalent bonding works in the actinides.

Outgoing US National Academy of Sciences head warns of ‘turmoil’ in her final State of Science address

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:56:00 +0000

NAS president addresses research funding worries, the need to revamp the promotion and tenure system and how AI can help

A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could destroy the ozone layer

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:28:35 +0000

Climate models suggest a small nuclear war in the tropics would do even more damage to the ozone layer than a larger nuclear war in more northerly latitudes, increasing exposure to dangerous ultraviolet radiation all over the world

Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:23 +0000

A senior figure in the Ukrainian defence industry told New Scientist that a test took place two years ago involving fully autonomous drones set to destroy anything in a given area, with confirmed casualties

A Waymo nearly hit me, but I'm still optimistic about driverless cars

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:37:43 +0000

A near miss with a Waymo while cycling through London hasn't changed my optimistic stance on driverless cars, but we can't ever let our guard down, says Matthew Sparkes

Surprising oxidising power of carbon dioxide freed by photochemistry

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:20:00 +0000

Iron-based photocatalyst enabled a range of useful organic molecules to be synthesised from alkenes

How far will EU push for fairer trade with China?

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:46:00 +0000

Strengthening rules on pharmaceutical and chemical trade could protect critical industries

Robots are about to overtake armed soldiers as the deciders of war

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:00:55 +0000

Uncrewed ground vehicles have already been tested for defending the front line by the Ukrainian military. Despite their limitations, these remotely controlled robots could be the deciding factor in many conflicts

Study finds sharp decline in Black, Hispanic researchers receiving NIH funding

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:45:38 +0000

Drop in those receiving grants and fellowships in 2025 shows impact of Trump administration rollbacks to diversity initiatives

Will the World Cup kick off disease outbreaks?

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 03:45:00 +0000

Don’t expect pathogens to steal the show, says research group that studied the risk of visiting fans spreading infections

First results put neutrino experiment in China on track for breakthrough

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 01:20:00 +0000

JUNO could beat much bigger and more expensive rivals to order neutrinos by mass

Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:01:51 +0000

Scrape marks inside a skull and sharpened limb bones in a set of remains found in Scotland may be evidence of unusual Iron Age funerary rituals

Frozen squirrel scat preserves ancient DNA from hundreds of species

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:00:33 +0000

A complex ecosystem of woolly mammoths, bison, horses and big cats has been elucidated by studying the faeces of small rodents that probably ate the bigger animals

The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:00:22 +0000

Bleaching has devastated reefs around the world, raising fears of an irreversible shift. Yet new interventions have revealed that corals can be remarkably resilient if we can give them enough help to recover

Ukraine war sanctions straining Russia’s chemistry sector

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:41:00 +0000

Domestic producers are adapting to fill gaps in supply chains

Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:01:59 +0000

Drill cores at the impact site of the Chicxulub asteroid show evidence that, alongside widespread destruction, the collision created a vast underground ecosystem filled with hot water that sheltered microbial life

The 2027 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 2 research/teaching positions

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The 2027 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 2 research/teaching positions.

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

On June 10, 2025, the 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 4 research/teaching positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? This will serve as the first open thread post.

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread.

Are you having problems accessing the Google Sheet because of a Google Documents error? Email me at chemjobber@gmail.com and I will send you an Excel download of the latest sheet.

A cosmic case of mistaken identity that can only be solved right now

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:00:32 +0000

Brown dwarfs are somewhere between the size of a planet and a star, so how could we have potentially mistaken two of them for distant galaxies? Columnist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein argues that solving this cosmic mix-up is particularly possible now, as galaxy research has never been stronger

Extreme weather likely to increase methane emissions from landfills

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Observations and models reveal precipitation and temperature linked to 13% of emissions from these sites

Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:00:45 +0000

Physics is considered a cold, hard science – but it will transform your life if you view it with a bit more subjectivity, says Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

You don't need to worry about recursive-self-improving AI – yet

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:14:51 +0000

Anthropic has warned that recursive-self-improving AI could be on the horizon, but the truth is the company is more immediately concerned with marketing itself for a blockbuster initial public offering on the stock market, says Matthew Sparkes

What really happened when ancient humans migrated out of Africa

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:38 +0000

The out-of-Africa migration, in which ancient humans went on to inhabit every other continent except Antarctica, may not have been one moment in time, but a long and slow process. Columnist Michael Marshall examines how archaeologists are rethinking this critical part of our history

What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:35 +0000

Lapses in memory are a normal part of ageing but can also be signs of dementia. Here’s how to distinguish between typical brain ageing and cognitive decline

Wildlife thrives in solar farm built on restored peatland

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:11 +0000

A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that combining energy generation with habitat restoration could benefit biodiversity, the climate and the economy

Can Apple and Google stop children from sharing explicit images?

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:02:52 +0000

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned tech firms, including Apple and Google, that they must voluntarily implement tools to stop children sharing explicit images, but experts warn this is easier said than done

Half the world's reservoirs could be clogged up with dirt by 2060

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:05:57 +0000

Each decade the world is losing over 7 per cent of its freshwater storage capacity to sediment build-up, according to an analysis of over half a million reservoirs

Understanding anorexia’s grip on the brain could unlock new therapies

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:00:41 +0000

One-third of people with anorexia nervosa don’t recover and treatment has remained stagnant for years. Now we’re beginning to understand how the condition takes over the mind

What kind of damage has RFK Jr’s health department inflicted on vaccine research in the US so far?

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:46:00 +0000

Since becoming health secretary in early 2025, Robert F Kennedy Jr has confirmed the worst fears of his critics