Jose-Luis Jimenez and Kimberly Prather on the intersection of aerosol science and the COVID-19 pandemic
Release Date: 01/18/2022
Stereo Chemistry: How the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was won
Stereo Chemistry
On Oct. 9, the 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper for their work in prediction and design of protein structures. C&EN’s executive editor for life sciences, Laura Howes, joins a special episode of Stereo Chemistry to discuss why the trio won, the significance of their work around proteins, and how she accurately predicted the win in C&EN’s annual “Who Will Win?” webinar. Stereo Chemistry offers a deeper look at subjects from recent stories pulled from the pages of Chemical & Engineering News. Check out Laura’s...
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C&EN Uncovered: PhD to CEO, how chemistry entrepreneurs are making the jump
Stereo Chemistry
In the 20th century, corporate powerhouses like Bell Labs and DuPont Central Research funded R&D from their balance sheets, creating a clear path for postdoctoral scientists to innovate beyond their university research. In 2024, with the decay of corporate laboratories, graduates are taking the commercial start-up route more and more. C&EN, business reporter Matt Blois discusses several such start-ups, exploring how the founders are making the transition from PhD to CEO and mapping the various routes they've taken to secure funding to continue their research. C&EN Uncovered, a...
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C&EN Uncovered: Solvent Waste Levels, EPA Regulations, and Disposal
Stereo Chemistry
On average, from 2011 to 2021, academic labs generated around 4,300 metric tons of hazardous waste each year. One of the largest lab-used solvents discarded is dichloromethane and more than half of that waste ends up burned. In today’s episode, policy reporters Krystal Vasquez and Leigh Krietsch Boerner dive into the processes academic labs use to dispose of said waste, the consequences of new EPA regulations around dichloromethane, and what solutions academic institutions are coming up with to accommodate these new rules. C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN’s podcast, Stereo...
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C&EN Uncovered: Ongoing tragedies in Flint and East Palestine
Stereo Chemistry
Tragedies in the communities of Flint, Michigan, and East Palestine, Ohio, continue to affect residents 10 years and 1 year on, respectively, from the initial events. Residents of both cities continue to rebound and rebuild despite ongoing issues revolving around the toxic chemicals that were introduced to their towns through human decisions. C&EN physical sciences reporter Priyanka Runwal traveled to both Flint and East Palestine to speak with residents about how they are recovering, how the actions of their representatives have fallen short, and their hopes to return to something of a...
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C&EN Uncovered: Can ‘forever chemicals’ be destroyed?
Stereo Chemistry
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals known as PFAS, are often called “forever chemicals” because of how long they persist in the environment. They are prevalent in drinking water and have been linked to negative health outcomes. A slew of cleantech start-ups are cropping up with the aim of breaking down and destroying PFAS molecules. In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, reporter Britt Erickson explores the technologies behind these companies and the competition among them. C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN’s podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look...
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C&EN Uncovered: The small-molecule drug renaissance
Stereo Chemistry
As the science of drug discovery has grown in scale and gotten more complicated, so have the drug molecules themselves. But there’s a promising class of drugs made of just a handful of atoms that punch above their weight by leveraging the natural chemistry of the cell. <br><br>Recent discoveries have opened up a new era of pharmaceutical chemistry that some people are calling a golden age. In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, reporter Laura Howes explains this exciting field of research and its implications for the drugs of the future. <br><br>C&EN Uncovered, a...
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C&EN Uncovered: The ocean floor is littered with valuable minerals. Should we go get them?
Stereo Chemistry
Resting on the bottom of the ocean are potato-sized nodules of valuable minerals that are more or less up for grabs. Multiple corporations and some nations are racing to build deep-sea drones that can withstand the extreme conditions at the seafloor and bring these 1-20 cm nodules to eager buyers on the surface. Many of the metals in these nodules are critical for green technologies like batteries. But these nodules are also an important part of ecosystems we are just beginning to understand. In this episode, C&EN reporter Priyanka Runwal chats with host Craig Bettenhausen about...
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C&EN Uncovered: The race to report on the Nobel Prizes
Stereo Chemistry
The Nobel Prize announcements are big events at Chemical & Engineering News. But we find out the winners at the same time as everyone else. Then, the race is on for our reporters. This year, staffers Laurel Oldach and Mitch Jacoby took on the task of covering the science prizes. In this episode, they reflect on this year’s winning research in chemistry and medicine and share what it’s like covering the most prestigious prizes in science. C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN’s podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look at subjects from...
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C&EN Uncovered: Looking back on 100 years of chemistry
Stereo Chemistry
The was published in 1923 with the stated purpose of “the promotion of research, the development of the chemical industry, and the welfare of the chemist.” The world of chemistry has grown a lot since then, and the magazine has been there to report on it all. To celebrate our 100th anniversary, C&EN reporter and informal historian Alex Tullo has sifted through thousands of issues of the magazine, and in this episode, he guides our host Craig Bettenhausen on a tour through the magazine’s history from the industrialization of plastics, to the environmental movement, to the...
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Jennifer DiStefano and Jared Mondschein on the transition from the bench to the policy office
Stereo Chemistry
Early-career scientists are increasingly gravitating toward science policy, but the transition from the research bench to the policy office can be a tricky one. What can that path look like, and how can chemistry knowledge translate into a successful science policy career? In this bonus episode of C&EN’s Bonding Time, Mark Feuer DiTusa sits down with recent science PhD graduates and science policy professionals Jennifer DiStefano and Jared Mondschein to hear about their intertwined journeys, what science policy looks like for them, and how they think policy is shaping the direction of...
info_outlineImagine you’re an atmospheric chemist. There’s a pandemic. And public health officials release information about how the virus spreads from one person to another—information that directly contradicts your knowledge of how tiny particles move in the air. What do you do? In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, Jose-Luis Jimenez and Kimberly Prather talk to C&EN editor Jyllian Kemsley about how they’ve handled that situation over the past 2 years. They share their frustrations with public health officials along with the heartbreak and rewards of communicating science with the general public, and what they plan to take from their experiences as they think about their research going forward.
A transcript of this episode is available at bit.ly/3rzzCzI.
Sign up for C&EN’s Selling Your Science: The Art of Science Communication at cenm.ag/sciencecommunication.
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Image credit: Will Ludwig/C&EN/Mariana Pereira (Jimenez)/Erik Jepsen/University of California San Diego (Prather)