Abhik Ghosh
@abhikghosh.bsky.social
Bioinorganic and materials chemist at UiT, Tromsø, Norway. Interested in porphyrins, corroles, transition metals, synchrotrons & DFT. Also birds, seafood, travel, diversity, scicomm & Sanskrit. Indian, 🏳️🌈
Pinned
Abhik Ghosh
@abhikghosh.bsky.social
· Sep 13
Friends! I’ll edit a special issue spotlighting queer researchers in porphyrin science – broadly defined – to be published in about a year. Queer PIs, students and postdocs and allies are all welcome! I am not free to reveal much more now until I have a rough headcount. Who’s in? Please repost! 🏳️🌈
My good friend Cina kicks collective ass www.chemistryworld.com/news/collect...
Collective bonding continues to divide opinion
New research supports counterintuitive explanation, but debate is far from settled
www.chemistryworld.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:06 PM
My good friend Cina kicks collective ass www.chemistryworld.com/news/collect...
A great obit:
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Leaves Behind a Troubling Legacy time.com/5524001/jame...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Leaves Behind a Troubling Legacy time.com/5524001/jame...
time.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A great obit:
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Leaves Behind a Troubling Legacy time.com/5524001/jame...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Leaves Behind a Troubling Legacy time.com/5524001/jame...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Mamdani: "Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up."
November 5, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Mamdani: "Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up."
Transitioning to ‘emeritus professor’ wasn’t always easy. Here’s how I adjusted | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Transitioning to ‘emeritus professor’ wasn’t always easy. Here’s how I adjusted
“I have learned to keep pushing forward, at a more relaxed pace,” this retired scientist writes
www.science.org
November 4, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Transitioning to ‘emeritus professor’ wasn’t always easy. Here’s how I adjusted | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix
A thoroughly researched account of the history and relationships that shaped the scientist who co-discovered the structure of DNA.
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Southern US county honouring its dark past www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
The Southern US county honouring its dark past
While other places in the US are increasingly censuring how they tell their multicultural histories to travellers, one community is highlighting them.
www.bbc.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM
The Southern US county honouring its dark past www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
Antiaromatic hydrocarbon boasts unusual stability
www.chemistryworld.com/news/antiaro...
www.chemistryworld.com/news/antiaro...
Antiaromatic hydrocarbon boasts unusual stability
Pentalene-based system can reversibly switch between aromatic and antiaromatic states without undergoing skeletal or conformational changes
www.chemistryworld.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Antiaromatic hydrocarbon boasts unusual stability
www.chemistryworld.com/news/antiaro...
www.chemistryworld.com/news/antiaro...
The mystery of why leaves change colour in the autumn bbc.com/future/artic...
The mystery of why leaves change colour in the autumn
Although the chemistry of autumn colours is well understood, there is an ongoing debate among scientists about why trees evolved their vivid autumn colours in the first place.
bbc.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The mystery of why leaves change colour in the autumn bbc.com/future/artic...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Professor Emeritus Axel D. Becke @dalhousieu.bsky.social has passed away at age 72.
October 26, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Professor Emeritus Axel D. Becke @dalhousieu.bsky.social has passed away at age 72.
Synthesis of triple stranded porphyrin nanobelts www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Synthesis of triple stranded porphyrin nanobelts www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
New paper out! Collab between my student Elin and colleagues at NASA JPL, to be included in a special PUI issue of ACS Omega. We are looking into possible prebiotic chemistry on ocean worlds like Enceladus and optimized MALDI for model ocean ocean world solns. #chemsky
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Sample Preparation for MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry of Model Prebiotic Reactions in Simulated Ocean World Environments
The prebiotic potential of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, while not well constrained, is vital in the search for potential life elsewhere. To better understand this potential, laboratory studies provide experimental insight into the chemical environment(s) of ocean worlds and any constraints to hold prebiotically relevant systems. However, simulated ocean world solutions present a technical challenge for analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry (MS), as the high saline content required for simulating ocean world environments results in ion suppression and reduced sensitivity. Here, we compare three sample preparation techniques, C4 ZipTips, C18 ZipTips, and on-plate washing, for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization – time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS of saline solutions similar to environments expected in ocean worlds. We determined that using C18 ZipTips was optimal when paired with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) matrix, whereas on-plate desalting was optimal when paired with α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) matrix. The methodology described here presents simple, low-volume sample preparation strategies for MALDI-TOF MS of model prebiotic reactions in saline solutions.
pubs.acs.org
October 21, 2025 at 1:59 PM
New paper out! Collab between my student Elin and colleagues at NASA JPL, to be included in a special PUI issue of ACS Omega. We are looking into possible prebiotic chemistry on ocean worlds like Enceladus and optimized MALDI for model ocean ocean world solns. #chemsky
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside www.americanscientist.org/article/glif...
Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside
Drugs targeting the kidneys for diabetes treatment stem from almost two centuries of research that began with an uprooted apple orchard.
www.americanscientist.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside www.americanscientist.org/article/glif...
Science research gets more engagement on Bluesky than X, study finds
October 22, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Science research gets more engagement on Bluesky than X, study finds
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
When two wave systems collide, they can form square patterns, like the ones shown here. Researchers want to understand the math underlying the strange phenomena that ripple through ocean waters. www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-m...
October 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
When two wave systems collide, they can form square patterns, like the ones shown here. Researchers want to understand the math underlying the strange phenomena that ripple through ocean waters. www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-m...
The story of radiocarbon dating bbc.com/future/artic...
The natural clocks that can pinpoint someone's time of death
When something dies, a telltale radioactive signal ticks like a natural clock. Discovering it helped us solve all sorts of natural mysteries.
bbc.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM
The story of radiocarbon dating bbc.com/future/artic...
Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered in India using an audio recorder www.earth.com/news/two-son...
Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered using an audio recorder
In India, an acoustic recording from August 24, 2025 confirms that the nocturnal bird called 'Jerdon's courser' is not extinct.
www.earth.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered in India using an audio recorder www.earth.com/news/two-son...
Oscar Wilde's library card reissued 130 years after being revoked over gay conviction www.bbc.com/news/article...
Oscar Wilde's British Library card reissued 130 years after being revoked over gay conviction
The celebrated Irish writer had his pass revoked in 1895 after being imprisoned for a gay relationship.
www.bbc.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Oscar Wilde's library card reissued 130 years after being revoked over gay conviction www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Lots of great chemsky content in @science.org this week, including a remarkable porphyrin nanobelt from the Saywell and Anderson groups 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 16, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Lots of great chemsky content in @science.org this week, including a remarkable porphyrin nanobelt from the Saywell and Anderson groups 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
prepping some ~bloodsucking insects~ for a spooky 21+ museum night this Friday, you bet we're going to be playing Jen Zaspel's horrible calpine erebids on repeat youtu.be/ZEZNcLNGMZE?...
Vampire Moths Discovered | National Geographic
YouTube video by National Geographic
youtu.be
October 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
prepping some ~bloodsucking insects~ for a spooky 21+ museum night this Friday, you bet we're going to be playing Jen Zaspel's horrible calpine erebids on repeat youtu.be/ZEZNcLNGMZE?...
Six years ago Paul Kiparsky and I were able to combine two of our intellectual passions – chemistry & Sanskrit: Why did Mendeleev give partially Sanskrit names to as yet unknown elements? Our theory still stands ... check out the story in American Scientist: www.americanscientist.org/article/the-...
October 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Six years ago Paul Kiparsky and I were able to combine two of our intellectual passions – chemistry & Sanskrit: Why did Mendeleev give partially Sanskrit names to as yet unknown elements? Our theory still stands ... check out the story in American Scientist: www.americanscientist.org/article/the-...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Great science writing. 5 stars.
www.goodreads.com/review/show/... #TheTreeofLife #Edelweiss @maxjtelford.bsky.social
www.goodreads.com/review/show/... #TheTreeofLife #Edelweiss @maxjtelford.bsky.social
October 12, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Great science writing. 5 stars.
www.goodreads.com/review/show/... #TheTreeofLife #Edelweiss @maxjtelford.bsky.social
www.goodreads.com/review/show/... #TheTreeofLife #Edelweiss @maxjtelford.bsky.social
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality
This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral.
#HispanicHeritageMonth cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral.
#HispanicHeritageMonth cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality
This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral
cen.acs.org
October 13, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality
This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral.
#HispanicHeritageMonth cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral.
#HispanicHeritageMonth cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Metal-Organic Frameworks www.science.org/content/blog...
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Metal-Organic Frameworks
www.science.org
October 11, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Metal-Organic Frameworks www.science.org/content/blog...
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
🧪🧪 Nature: More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys -- The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys
The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States, Nature has found.
www.nature.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:35 PM
🧪🧪 Nature: More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys -- The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Should You Really be Writing A(nother) Review Manuscript? doi.org/10.1021/acse...
Should You Really be Writing A(nother) Review Manuscript?
CONTENT TYPES
doi.org
October 11, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Should You Really be Writing A(nother) Review Manuscript? doi.org/10.1021/acse...