Stories by Chemistry World

Archaic humans used manganese dioxide to start fires, not—as thought—just for body paint

The new DNA-changing tech has attracted millions of dollars from AstraZeneca, DuPont and other big companies

A gold-based compound will help clean toxic metals released by China's vast polyvinyl chloride industry

Methane cannot be seen by the eye, but a new infrared image shows it pouring from smokestacks

Ups and downs of Ebola vaccines, home-brewed heroin, better solar-cell material, why lobsters turn from blue to red, and the first new class of antibiotics in years top a banner year for chemistry

Made with nanoscale holes, the gold could be used as an electric switch

The November collapse released enough mercury and arsenic to cause irreversible health damage

Chemists learn to distill alcohol with light instead of heat. Light beer may have new meaning

Long-term study of children ties exposure to sleep disorders later in life

The pores are permanent, and might be great for uses like carbon capture

Tu Youyou won for an antimalarial drug, but China shrouded her work in secrecy and provided few incentives

A compound called a sterol improves lens transparency in early tests

Testing for three brain chemicals reveals impairment faster than standard neuropsychological exams

Plants, engineered to make extra substances that protect human cells, show GMO crops may improve health

A $20-million prize will go to the best technology

Innovative biorefinery transforms five million tons of grape skins into preservatives, sugars and methane

Potentially ancient carbon sparks debate about when the first microorganisms appeared on Earth

New method—using water reactions to keep substances apart—could speed creation of important industrial compounds

Both environment and industry advocates criticize Environmental Protection Agency rule

Long-sought method could turn superthin material into usuable computer components

New materials hold charge longer and use nontoxic, inexpensive metals

It does no better than plain soap against 20 strains of bacteria

Chemicals in the Tianjin explosion exceeded permitted amounts and were stored improperly

A small plant, related to mustard, soaks up TNT from soil and could clean up military firing ranges