Neil Withers

Our kids have got one, have had a bit of a go but never really mastered it (but shown more application than I did: one trip down the drive, fell on my arse, never again). A doctor friend recommended wrist protectors as she had seen tons of breaks!

John Frank Davidson. 7 February 1926—25 December 2019 | Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society John Davidson was an engineer who made major contributions to chemical engineering science. His elegant and concise analytical models have underpinned the development of fluidised bed reactors used in...

It's a Small World in The UK Establishment part 5745: this Biographical Memoir of John Davidson FRS, chemical engineer, vice-master of Trinity College etc etc, was checked for family details by inter alia his son-in-law the Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin doi.org/10.1098/rsbm...

Who/what to blame for current state of UK?
Nigel Lawson, imo, not blamed enough for 3 policy doctrines which caused long-term damage:
1. Energy is just another commodity that can safely be left to the market
2. Financial services industry should be deregulated
3. The trade deficit doesn't matter

A person is browsing the Royal Society of Chemistry membership page on a laptop, with the text 'RSC membership is the key to staying informed' and 'Join for unlimited access to Chemistry World' displayed.

“Chemistry World … holds huge amounts of information and knowledge about different fields.” Shefali Saxena, MRSC

RSC members get Chemistry World’s news and expert analysis, interdisciplinary perspectives and crucial topic updates on demand. Join for full access: buff.ly/7BTzLFY #ChemSky

Were you at the ABSW meeting last year where the three writers talked about them?

Editing the structure of molecules Nina Notman meets the chemists expanding the toolbox of reactions capable of adding, deleting and switching single atoms in rings at the heart of organic molecules

Amazingly, you can also read another specialist take on it www.chemistryworld.com/features/edi...

and a less specialist www.theguardian.com/science/2023...

Historians dispute Bayeux tapestry penis tally after lengthy debate Two Bayeux scholars at loggerheads over whether dangling shape depicts dagger or the embroidery’s 94th phallus

Did you miss the story??

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

So frustrating, isn't it? Yet we get a deluge of dull PR from companies announcing... nothing.

Confession: I Googled to see if these lyrics were from Spinal Tap's Stonehenge...

Interesting to see how things have changed since 2017, which sources tell me is 8 (eight) years ago...

www.chemistryworld.com/features/mof...

It's not as good as shutters, but it's better than nothing

No, but you'll have to explain to me (and @eaterofsun.bsky.social) how the heat passes from the hot windows through the curtains to heat the rest of the room, rather than just staying between the curtains and the window, as is my experience.

I can only assume thermally lined curtains haven't made it to Southern Europe yet...

Don't look back, Ilan Gur

Are any of you good people going to the ABSW awards shindig next week? I'm planning to attend to cheer on @rachelbrazil.bsky.social and her nom for specialist feature.

Hope to see some familiar faces...

And thanks/grr to Quanta for the article, as it was something I was considering commissioning...

They were originally *all HAND DRAWN* - for a decade!

I think I missed this when it came out late last August, but great to read about how Jane Richardson invented protein ribbon diagrams in Quanta:
www.quantamagazine.org/how-colorful...

In which I meander from 'carbon-based lifeforms' (argh) to refineries, MOF carbon-capture and end up at liquid carbon.

Chemistry's capital C From refinery scale to a nanosecond existence, carbon is everywhere - in life as well as chemistry

'Our reliance on carbon-containing compounds, especially as fuel, has come at too high a cost,' writes @neilwithers.bsky.social. 'Efforts to decarbonise our economy are progressing, of course, but where does that leave the places and people who produce carbon chemicals?'
#ChemSky

Oh no! I'll be in London on the 9th of July if you're still around, otherwise Cambridge mostly

That reminds me - are you still coming to the UK to facilitate receiving some marmalade??

'I got absolutely revectored last night...'

A badly own drawn Venn diagram showing three sets Wout, van and Poel(s), and the positions of cyclists Wout van Aert, Wout Poels and Matthieu van der Poel

Congrats! Please enjoy my Venn diagram that proves the potential existence of Wout van der Poel(s)

It's the benzentary. Benbizentary? Bizenetenary.

Happy 200th birthday benzene!

Why I returned the Faraday prize to the Royal Society Andrea Sella explains how inaction over Elon Musk's membership motivated him to act

'US science is suffering a destruction from within.'
Andrea Sella explains why he returned the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday prize over their inaction regarding Elon Musk’s membership. #ChemSky #SciSky #ScienceSky

How decarbonisation will help the UK’s last refineries survive Carbon capture and low-carbon hydrogen are central to any possibility of supplying liquid fuels compatible with net zero, reports Andy Extance

My latest story for Chemistry World describes UK oil refineries' ambitious attempts to ensure they don't go from economic lynchpins to historic relics. 🛢️

Read it here: 🤳

www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...

Thoughts and prayers.

Royal Society prize winner returns award in protest over Elon Musk Andrea Sella is latest scientist to express dismay over UK science academy’s refusal to criticise tech billionaire

www.ft.com/content/8778...
Kudos to Andrea Sella for taking a stand against @royalsociety.org’s inaction over Elon Musk FRS

Cryptic chemistry crossword #089 'Scream about first class pottery' while you complete this cryptic chemistry crossword

‘Scream about first class pottery’ while you complete this #cryptic #chemistry #crossword
www.chemistryworld.com/puzzles/cryp...