Neil Withers
@neilwithers.bsky.social
Features Editor for Chemistry World, Twitter refugee. Tractor fan
It would be very difficult to separate hundreds and thousands (sugar strands) by colour - that's the thinking behind the image, by the way.
Rare earth elements power smartphones, wind turbines and more – but extracting them remains problematic. New research could change how these critical metals are refined – Victoria Atkinson explains how.
New separation methods aim to improve global rare earth supply
Rare earth elements are essential for modern technology, but their similar chemistry makes separation difficult and expensive. Now researchers are exploring new technologies to streamline processing a...
www.chemistryworld.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
It would be very difficult to separate hundreds and thousands (sugar strands) by colour - that's the thinking behind the image, by the way.
Applications for the internship are open now!
Mason Wakley got on so well with his internship at Chemistry World that he is now a science correspondent. One to read if you're just starting out and curious where your career could take you, or just interested in what working at CW is like.
The summer I became a science journalist
Mason Wakley on being a science writer intern at the Royal Society of Chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Applications for the internship are open now!
A search for "*chem*" in the Epstein files reveals: Lots of references (eg Whitesides' CV); a pool with algae needing treatment; typos for 'them'; messages to someone who was late because they had 'chem tutoring' (yikes)
February 3, 2026 at 9:53 AM
A search for "*chem*" in the Epstein files reveals: Lots of references (eg Whitesides' CV); a pool with algae needing treatment; typos for 'them'; messages to someone who was late because they had 'chem tutoring' (yikes)
And the link to the PDF
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
February 3, 2026 at 9:46 AM
And the link to the PDF
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
Presented without comment
![An email from Joscha Bach to Jeffrey Epstein 23 March 2019, highlighted text saying "I also liked Lee Cronin, who is an unusual mixture of apparent ego and [s]elf disdain, which he happily extends to
everyone else. His assertion [t]hat he doubts his own ideas more than those of all the others seems [a]Imost credible, and if true would make him devoid of a good baseline to [j]udge the quality of his own ideas, but he has some original ideas about [b]uilding chemical computers"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wknx7pshwftmi2gqwlz46rgr/bafkreibmopfpdtdrlotabohqmvspne4jmmxfaiuwo6vseblp2bmsbudp3m@jpeg)
February 3, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Presented without comment
Reposted by Neil Withers
The 'Baghdad battery' was an unusual artefact discovered in Iraq in 1936. Now, a new reconstruction suggests it may have been more powerful than thought,
equivalent to an AA battery.
equivalent to an AA battery.
Was the ‘Baghdad battery’ really two cells?
A new study suggests it had an 'outer' cell that reacted with air to supply a higher voltage. But was it a battery at all?
www.chemistryworld.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:12 PM
The 'Baghdad battery' was an unusual artefact discovered in Iraq in 1936. Now, a new reconstruction suggests it may have been more powerful than thought,
equivalent to an AA battery.
equivalent to an AA battery.
Reposted by Neil Withers
Applications close on 12 January (that's next Monday) – don't miss the chance to further your sci-comm career by working with our team.
Digital Content Assistant
Circa: Salary - Salary Plan, 30,291.00 GBP Annual Join the Royal Society of Chemistry’s flagship magazine, Chemistry World, as Digital Content Assistant where you will support the delivery of high-qua...
rsc.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Applications close on 12 January (that's next Monday) – don't miss the chance to further your sci-comm career by working with our team.
The unionisation of C&EN will confuse all their readers...
We are proud to announce the formation of the Chemical & Engineering News Guild. We represent staffers across the editorial and operations teams at C&EN. 1/6
January 6, 2026 at 8:44 AM
The unionisation of C&EN will confuse all their readers...
Join us!
Looking for an exciting sci-comm gig? Digital content assistant at the RSC's Chemistry World magazine could be it. Position closes on January 12, 2026 – new positions at the magazine don't come very often, so this could be a great opportunity.
Digital Content Assistant
Circa: Salary - Salary Plan, 30,291.00 GBP Annual Join the Royal Society of Chemistry’s flagship magazine, Chemistry World, as Digital Content Assistant where you will support the delivery of high-qua...
rsc.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Join us!
My query made it! Have a read.
It's been bothering me for years...
It's been bothering me for years...
From colonising Mars to measuring with Mars Bars — addressing your wilder monetary queries
as.ft.com/r/1be38a10-3...
as.ft.com/r/1be38a10-3...
From colonising Mars to measuring with Mars Bars — addressing your wilder monetary queries
[FREE TO READ] In the latest of his Christmas columns, the FT’s Undercover Economist fields some of your most outlandish proposals, and concludes that there is no such thing as a stupid question
as.ft.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:49 AM
My query made it! Have a read.
It's been bothering me for years...
It's been bothering me for years...
Reposted by Neil Withers
Some photos of the boss and his Nobel Medal, taken immediately after the ceremony. #NobelPrize #ozchem
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Some photos of the boss and his Nobel Medal, taken immediately after the ceremony. #NobelPrize #ozchem
Reposted by Neil Withers
This is a great dive into anthocyanins, tannins, and the oxidation chemistry of port in @chemistryworld.com 🍷
The chemistry of port
In Portugal’s Douro valley, centuries-old winemaking traditions meet modern chemistry to create a sweet and intense fortified wine. Bárbara Pinho talks to the experts about the compounds and reactions behind a festive favourite
www.chemistryworld.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
This is a great dive into anthocyanins, tannins, and the oxidation chemistry of port in @chemistryworld.com 🍷
Reposted by Neil Withers
Richard Robson always had very small research groups and limited, sporadic funding. This has never been better illustrated than by the acknowledgement slides to the Nobel lectures of Robson, Kitagawa, and Yaghi (only 1 of 4 slides shown below). We punched above our weight! #ozchem #NobelPrize
December 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Richard Robson always had very small research groups and limited, sporadic funding. This has never been better illustrated than by the acknowledgement slides to the Nobel lectures of Robson, Kitagawa, and Yaghi (only 1 of 4 slides shown below). We punched above our weight! #ozchem #NobelPrize
I noticed exactly this walking from Kings Cross to Nature Towers last night: a queue of buses, taxis, cars and vans (cos roadworks) - but so quiet. Used to be deafening on York Way.
A quiet EV upside the FT highlights: less noise.
Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are already seeing calmer, quieter streets—and better sleep—as EV adoption rises.
EVs are notably quieter at low speeds, though tyre noise dominates above ~50 km/h.
Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are already seeing calmer, quieter streets—and better sleep—as EV adoption rises.
EVs are notably quieter at low speeds, though tyre noise dominates above ~50 km/h.
November 26, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I noticed exactly this walking from Kings Cross to Nature Towers last night: a queue of buses, taxis, cars and vans (cos roadworks) - but so quiet. Used to be deafening on York Way.
Don't have nightmares
Without the assistance of ants, what the researchers described as 'a pleasing mouthfeel' might have been a different story.
Traditional yoghurt recipe reveals ants’ fermentation power
Rebecca Trager meets a cross-disciplinary team investigating an ancient way to make yoghurt, which involved a trip to a tiny Bulgarian village
www.chemistryworld.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Don't have nightmares
I heartily agree. Worth it for the part-finished raised carvings alone – incomplete art, frozen in time.
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
Get to Made in Ancient Egypt at the Fitzwilliam Museum, if you can. Reveals the makers, techniques, mistakes, trials and gorgeous successes 📜
October 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I heartily agree. Worth it for the part-finished raised carvings alone – incomplete art, frozen in time.
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
Not quite focusing on the lgbt communities @mscaitlinmoran.bsky.social is after, but I quite like the papers on 'liminal balance' and 'interior archipelago' in UK canal communities scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=e...
PS top use of the word cut.
PS top use of the word cut.
scholar.google.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Not quite focusing on the lgbt communities @mscaitlinmoran.bsky.social is after, but I quite like the papers on 'liminal balance' and 'interior archipelago' in UK canal communities scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=e...
PS top use of the word cut.
PS top use of the word cut.
That's all folks!
Andrew N. Fitch: Solving molecular organic crystal structures from powders ##PowderXRayDiffraction##RealSpaceStructureSolution##OrganicMolecules... ##IUCrhttps://journals.iucr.org/paper?S2053229625009052
Solving molecular organic crystal structures from powders
Powder diffraction is a widespread technique found in academic, forensic, industrial research and quality-control laboratories the world over. The recent article by Kabova et al. [(2025), Acta Cryst. C81, 559–569] provides step-by-step guidance on how to proceed and the software the authors use, from sample preparation and the powder diffraction measurement itself, to the verification of the final structure.
journals.iucr.org
October 21, 2025 at 8:17 AM
That's all folks!
Absolutely right, thanks for spotting those - all fixed now (you might need to clear your cache etc)
October 20, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Absolutely right, thanks for spotting those - all fixed now (you might need to clear your cache etc)
Reposted by Neil Withers
This is a very well-written piece on this year's MOF Nobel prize with a lot of personal accounts from the community
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:45 AM
This is a very well-written piece on this year's MOF Nobel prize with a lot of personal accounts from the community
Ha ha, glad to hear it!
Hope the uber rather than bike doesn't mean you've had another injury...
Hope the uber rather than bike doesn't mean you've had another injury...
October 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Ha ha, glad to hear it!
Hope the uber rather than bike doesn't mean you've had another injury...
Hope the uber rather than bike doesn't mean you've had another injury...
Reposted by Neil Withers
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
Also featuring structures and graphs from the kind folks at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre - we know you lot love structures and graphs...
October 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Also featuring structures and graphs from the kind folks at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre - we know you lot love structures and graphs...
Julia's also got input from tons of other MOF experts, including @sbattenresearch.bsky.social who did his PhD with Robson in this area in the very early days.
Go and read it! Well done @robinson-julia.bsky.social , top work
Go and read it! Well done @robinson-julia.bsky.social , top work
October 15, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Julia's also got input from tons of other MOF experts, including @sbattenresearch.bsky.social who did his PhD with Robson in this area in the very early days.
Go and read it! Well done @robinson-julia.bsky.social , top work
Go and read it! Well done @robinson-julia.bsky.social , top work