Bethany Halford

Yes! You and several reddit threads. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

I’m very glad I got to write about 28 Years Later for @cenmag.bsky.social just in time for the Jan release of the next chapter 😆

Molecular moments in pop culture Chemical quibbles with explosions and sugar domes

Looking for a fun read? For the December #Newscripts in @cenmag.bsky.social, Fionna Samuels (@fmorningstar.bsky.social) took a look at the chemistry of two pop culture moments from the past year: An exoplosive scene in 20 Years Later and the GBBO sugar dome disaster
cen.acs.org/education/sc...

At MAHA Summit, the NIH head pushes for research that risks failure And 4 other takeaways for life scientists from the ‘off-the-record’ Make America Healthy Again conference

So, remember that MAHA summit 2 weeks ago that @statnews.com broke the news of and @maxkozlov.bsky.social somehow got into for Nature, even though it was closed to the press?

The organizers posted the entire 6.5-hour conference proceedings to YouTube last week.

cen.acs.org/policy/MAHA-...

Proteins plucked from the pages of Renaissance recipes Analyses of German medical manuals from 1531 reveal what ingredients those who handled the books used

Do you have recipe books with annotations and stains on the most popular pages? Me too, and so does the University of Manchester. Except their recipe books are medieval medical manuals.
@bethanyhalford.bsky.social for @cenmag.bsky.social
🧪 #chemsky
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Proteins plucked from the pages of Renaissance recipes Analyses of German medical manuals from 1531 reveal what ingredients those who handled the books used

Just as the page of a preferred pie crust recipe bears traces of flour and butter, the pages of two German medical manuals from 1531 hold traces of the ingredients used by medicine makers, a proteomic analysis from @stefanhanss.bsky.social and coworkers reveals
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Bitopertin was once a failed drug candidate gathering dust in Roche's portfolio. Thanks to work from Disc Medicine, FDA could soon approve it to treat a rare blood disorder. Read @rowanwalrath.bsky.social's excellent story in @cenmag.bsky.social.

How to prevent emerald-green oil paint from breaking down Chemists decipher dual degradation pathways for a once popular pigment

Monet, Munch, and Pissarro all used emerald green paint made from copper acetoarsenite pigment. Chemists have discovered that this pigment breaks down via two distinct chemical pathways. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

The goal of the poll is to highlight cool molecules as opposed to newsmakers.

Hey #chemsky - it's time to vote for your favorite molecule in @cenmag.bsky.social's Molecule of the Year contest (curated by the amazing @bribarbu.bsky.social).

Some strong candidates in here. I'm excited to see which molecule will win.
cen.acs.org/synthesis/Mo...

Why synthetic cannabinoids appear in the US funding bill The law that ended the federal government shutdown also closes a loophole in cannabis regulation

Personal opinion that I am proud to have managed to get through as the lede of this story: differentiating between diastereomers is better left to chemists than Congress.

cen.acs.org/biological-c...

Friends, what is the best text/reference about dementia in old age available?

Please RT, serious responses only please - thank you!

🧪

How preservation scientists are using chemistry to save sounds of the past Preservation scientists are using polymer chemistry to help prevent old audio and video tapes from degrading beyond recognition

There’s a lot of historically and culturally significant stuff captured on audio (and video) tape. But tapes are mass-market items that weren’t made with long-term archiving in mind.
My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social explores the chemistry involved in preserving them:
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Sam, stealer of the office chair, who I inherited from my mother in 2017 when he was 19 years old. Gone since 2019.

A guide to making gukulenin A 3-component assembly builds a natural product that could fight cancer

I love a good complex natural product. This one has two α-tropolones, 10 asymmetric stereocenters, and a a labile hemiketal. After a longstanding effort, chemists in Seth Herzon's lab have made (–)-gukulenin A. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social

cen.acs.org/synthesis/me...

10 Start-Ups to Watch 2025: Shiru searches for natural proteins to create more-sustainable food and cosmetics AI mines a database of 77 million natural proteins for novel ingredients

Shiru, one of C&EN's #10StartupsToWatch, uses artificial intelligence to discover proteins for food ingredients and other applications. cen.acs.org/business/foo... #chemsky 🧪

A breakup strategy that’s inspiring clinical candidates for cancer Scientists seek molecules that will disrupt the Ras-PI3Kα interaction

In the world of proteins that drive cancer, Ras proteins and PI3Kα are major players. Several companies are developing molecules that break up this protein power couple. My latest short news feature for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/biological-c...

An enzyme gives atropisomers a specific twist Biocatalytic approach could be used to make chiral ligands and drugs

Atropisomers are popular as chiral ligands and have been showing up in drugs and drug candidates. Making just one atropisomer isn’t trivial, though. That could change, thanks to @alisonnarayan.bsky.social and @narayanlab.bsky.social. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/synthesis/bi...

Holiday gift ideas Chemistry-themed goodies for the scientists in your life

Sharing @cenmag.bsky.social's Holiday gift ideas with the new collage art
cen.acs.org/business/con...

Thanks, Matt. Curating this list is always fun.

Holiday gift ideas Chemistry-themed goodies for the scientists in your life

Have a bit of #holiday #FridayFun with the 2025 #Newscripts Gift Guide in @cenmag.bsky.social. Find a chemistry-themed gift for the scientist on your list.
#chemsky

cen.acs.org/business/con...

True story: I once had an editor who complained that my headlines were "too cute." A week after telling me this, he titled an article he wrote about blue LEDs "Blue Light Special." 🙄

Blue light special 🔵!

With chocolate prices on the rise, perhaps you're giving out gummies this Halloween. @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social has the all the squishy details about what makes gummies so gummable.

Appreiciate the feedback

NaF is a big market. (Fl = Florida, as my college intro chem professor used to say 😉)

I love it when there's advances in chemistry that involve stuff you learn about in high school.

#chemsky - Is there interest in a longer piece about all the research happening in this area?

This reaction turns Teflon into toothpaste’s key ingredient Grinding PTFE with chunks of sodium metal creates sodium fluoride in a solvent-free reaction that aims to avoid landfills

It's been a big year for chemists trying to turn PTFE (better know as Teflon) into something that won't hang out in a landfill for 1,000 years. The latest development in this area uses chunks of sodium metal. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/materials/po...

These shape-shifting rings create customizable cores 1,2-oxaborines can shift into 11 different ring shapes to make modifying molecular cores easy

Turns out, boron-based heterocycles are anything but boring! In fact, some of them are pretty magical...1,2-oxaborines, for example, can be used as precursors to 11(!) other ring systems!

Read more in my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/synthesis/sh...