C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)

This is what skating on plastic looks like! Read more on our website: cen.acs.org/environment/...

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Meet the C&EN team in person at the #ChemSocial. This event offers an opportunity to connect with C&EN editors, ask questions about our coverage, share story ideas, or simply enjoy conversation over chemistry trivia and snacks.

RSVP here: cvent.me/WaxYbE?RefId...

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Breakout Ventures eyes neuroscience and AI with new fund The venture capital firm has $114 million to invest

Investment firm @breakout-ventures.bsky.social has $114 million in new venture capital funds that it expects to put toward #neuroscience start-ups and firms using technology to make “science scalable,” as managing partner Lindy Fishburne puts it.

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Researchers have prepared flat, porous sheets of just carbon and hydrogen arranged in a hexagonal network. The 2D material is the first crystalline covalent organic framework (COF) with an all-carbon backbone. Read more: cen.acs.org/materials/2-...

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How ancient pottery preserves plant-eating proof Organic residues on pots from northern and eastern Europe show plants were an important part of the local diet several thousand years ago

Analysis of 85 pieces of Mesolithic pottery from hunter-gatherer-fisher communities in northeastern Europe shows the value of combining analytical techniques to improve the understanding of ancient diets and cooking methods.

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Chemistry labs make tons of plastic waste. Can we recycle it? Chemists and innovative recyclers are trying to turn gloves, pipette tips, and other laboratory plastic waste into something useful

Chemists and innovative recyclers are trying to turn gloves, pipette tips, and other laboratory plastic waste into something useful.

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AI agent automates literature scans, synthesis, and structural analysis for COF discovery The large language model automates literature search, synthesis, and structural analysis to speed up materials discovery and development

A team led by 2025 chemistry Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi has developed an artificial intelligence agent to speed the discovery of covalent organic frameworks (COFs).

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The latest Discovery Report examines how chemical engineers address real-world challenges across clean energy and advanced manufacturing. The report highlights current pressures and new advancements in the field. Read more: cen.acs.org/sections/dis...

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GRAS update proposal coming this spring, says FDA food chemical safety chief ‘No one knows’ how many food ingredients have been generally recognized as safe and introduced without FDA review, Mark Hartman says

The US Food and Drug Administration is proposing updates to how the agency reviews food ingredients entering and already in the marketplace.

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Join us for C&EN’s Future of Chemistry panel on designing out pollution. Hear from experts advancing new approaches to reduce pollution and waste across a product’s lifecycle. RSVP here: connect.discoveracs.org/cen-future-o...

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Research emerging from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) suggests that taking a daily multivitamin can slow two epigenetic markers of aging in older adults: cen.acs.org/biological-c...

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C&EN is conducting focused user testing at #ACSSpring2026 to better understand how audiences navigate our onsite experience. These conversations take only 15 minutes, and participants will receive a limited‑edition C&EN chemistry hoodie.

Sign up: cen-interviews-2026.youcanbook.me

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Opinion: A new role for chemists: Tackling toxic air in conflict zones As modern warfare weaponizes the very air we breathe, chemists should leverage their skills and knowledge to detect, neutralize, and reclaim toxic atmospheres in the world’s most devastated conflict z...

As modern warfare weaponizes the very air we breathe, chemists should leverage their skills and knowledge to detect, neutralize, and reclaim toxic atmospheres in the world’s most devastated conflict zones.

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This biomaterial becomes stronger when wet Nickel-linked chitosan forms a biodegradable plastic replacement

Most biobased materials soften when they’re wet. A team led by Javier G. Fernández at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia has now shown that the opposite can happen: add a dash of nickel to chitosan, and the material grows stronger in water. #chemsky 🧪

The Schrödinger equation turns 100 Century-old quantum formulation continues to be one of chemistry’s most-used tools

The Schrödinger equation was integral to changing the way the world saw chemistry as a science.

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US companies providing gut-microbiome home-testing kits can give consumers very different results. That’s the finding of researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. cen.acs.org/biological-c...

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If there's a topic you want us to put under the microscope, send us a DM.

C&EN's brand-new short video series is here! Each month, ChemReels features science communicators diving into chemistry subjects you've been curious about, with all the technical detail intact. Join Maciek Majdecki as he guides us through the incredible science of fluorescence:

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“It looks like a tiny solar system. But instead of planets, it’s a snapshot of my research journey in the lab,” says Sadiya Tanga, a chemistry graduate student at Ashoka University. Read more: cen.acs.org/synthesis/Ch...

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Opinion: Chemists belong in the nail salon conversation Much can be done to protect worker health and tackle one of the most chemically intensive service environments in the US

Despite decades of reformulation and “free from” marketing, many nail products still contain sensitizing acrylates, volatile organic solvents, and inadequately labeled toxicants.

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Phosphine unexpectedly mimics metals in a photocatalytic reaction Main-group catalysts could make synthesis greener and less costly

Chemists at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that phosphine can exhibit metal-like behavior in photocatalytic reactions like the one happening inside this vial.

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Genomics, multiomics, and spatial biology at AGBT 2026 At DNA-sequencing conference, instrumentation companies competed on price and showed off new assays

Geneticists and instrument vendors gathered in Orlando, Florida, last week for the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology #AGBT2026 conference, which showcases the latest in DNA sequencing.

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The science behind the fluoro wax tests at the Olympics Fluorine-containing waxes were banned from ski competitions in 2023

This year’s Winter Olympics was the first to deploy the fluoro wax test, which is based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to detect carbon-fluorine signatures.

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In a process that takes just seconds, James Tour’s group at Rice University can transform discarded glass and coal waste to silicon carbide nanowires—strong filaments that can be used to reinforce plastics and cement. Read more: cen.acs.org/environment/...

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March 6 Policy Watch: The NRC OKs TerraPower’s advanced-reactor construction permit In other developments, EPA, HHS, and USDA aim to reduce US pesticide use, and several NSF infrastructure projects face delays

March 6 Policy Watch: The NRC OKs TerraPower’s advanced-reactor construction permit

In other developments, EPA, HHS, and USDA aim to reduce US pesticide use, and several NSF infrastructure projects face delays.

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Shintech to invest $3.4 billion in US vinyl chemicals Investment in Louisiana will include a new ethylene cracker

Betting on a recovery in the vinyl industry, Shintech, the US arm of Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical, plans to spend $3.4 billion to expand chlor-alkali, ethylene, and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) capacity at its site in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

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European cleantech firms secure more cash Start-ups in biorefining, hydrogen storage, and ionic liquids attract funding

Cleantech chemistry start-ups in Europe continue to attract investment to commercialize their technologies despite tough market conditions experienced by traditional chemical manufacturers in the region.

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Iran war threatens global helium supply Attacks on Qatar and the Strait of Hormuz remove one-third of the world’s helium from the market

The war in Iran has taken one-third of the world’s helium supply off the market. And if the conflict continues for more than 2 weeks, disruption for helium users could take months to resolve.

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A chemistry researcher has had 35 of his papers retracted within 24 months for a variety of reasons, including fundamental errors in chemical analyses, compromised peer review, image-related problems, and citation manipulation. cen.acs.org/research-int...

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TSCA needs fixing, but Congress still split on how Experts poke holes in suggested solutions at a hearing on Senate Republicans’ draft to expedite EPA new chemical reviews

Members of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works heard expert testimony Wednesday on a Republican draft bill to change the Toxic Substances Control Act.

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