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Breakout Ventures raises $114M fund to back AI science startups
Breakout Ventures is finding growing success by backing early-stage startups in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry.
Ocean warming may supercharge a tiny microbe that controls marine nutrients
As deep-sea waters warm, scientists expected trouble for the microbes that help keep ocean chemistry in balance. Instead, researchers found that Nitrosopumilus maritimus can adapt to warmer, iron-limited conditions by using iron more efficiently. Because these microbes control key nitrogen reactions that support marine life, their adaptability could help sustain ocean productivity. In a warming world, they may play an even bigger role in shaping marine nutrient cycles.
UA Little Rock to Host Hands-On Workshop on the Science of Art Conservation
Students and faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will have the opportunity to explore how chemistry helps preserve works of art during a hands-on conservation science workshop ... UA Little Rock to Host Hands-On Workshop on the Science of Art Conservation
Scientists may have discovered a brand-new mineral on Mars
Scientists studying Mars may have uncovered a brand-new mineral hidden in the planet’s ancient sulfate deposits. By combining laboratory experiments with orbital data, researchers identified an unusual iron sulfate—ferric hydroxysulfate—forming in layered deposits near the massive Valles Marineris canyon system. The mineral likely formed when sulfate-rich deposits left behind by ancient water were later heated by volcanic or geothermal activity, transforming their chemistry.
Scientists Map the Hidden Chemistry of Solar-Powered Catalysts
A new computational approach reveals how subtle structural changes in polyheptazine imides can dramatically influence their ability to convert sunlight into chemical energy. Photocatalysis offers a promising way to convert abundant sunlight into useful chemical energy. Among the materials attract
New iron nanomaterial wipes out cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
Scientists at Oregon State University have engineered a powerful new nanomaterial that zeroes in on cancer cells and destroys them from the inside out. Designed to exploit cancer’s unique chemistry—its acidity and high hydrogen peroxide levels—the tiny iron-based structure sparks not one but two intense chemical reactions, flooding tumors with cell-damaging oxygen molecules. This dual attack overwhelms cancer cells with oxidative stress while sparing healthy tissue.
New iron nanomaterial wipes out cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
Scientists at Oregon State University have engineered a powerful new nanomaterial that zeroes in on cancer cells and destroys them from the inside out. Designed to exploit cancer’s unique chemistry—its acidity and high hydrogen peroxide levels—the tiny iron-based structure sparks not one but two intense chemical reactions, flooding tumors with cell-damaging oxygen molecules. This dual attack overwhelms cancer cells with oxidative stress while sparing healthy tissue.
Vast web of cold gas observed at the heart of the Milky Way
Using the Chile-based ALMA telescope, the researchers examined the dynamics and chemistry of a central region.
The need for science diplomacy in a fragmenting world
After receiving a US science diplomacy prize, Chemistry World talks to Martyn Poliakoff and Richard Catlow about global scientific challenges, their love of technicians and being astounded by children's questions
Organic molecules found in a 500-million-year-old fossil, upending the science of paleontology
Biological polymer chitin survives 500 million years in fossils, revealing carbon conservation and ancient chemistry.
Ultrafast quantum chemistry engine could speed up the development of new medicines and materials
The powerful software can reduce the time needed to simulate reactions with large molecules from weeks to just minutes.
Schubert Biochemistry Lab Advances Science and Patient Care
The Schubert Research Clinic Biochemistry Laboratory plays a critical role in supporting investigators by delivering high-quality clinical and research assays that move science—and patient care—forward.
After Decades of Global Searching, Scientists Finally Create the Silicon Aromatic Once Thought Impossible
A long-standing chemistry challenge has been solved with the synthesis of a five-atom silicon aromatic ring.
Five Berkeley Lab Scientists Receive DOE Early Career Research Awards
Five scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have received Early Career Research Program (ECRP) awards from the Department of Energy. The ECRP program, now in its 16th year, was established to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers at the outset of their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work. Recipients use the funding to pursue projects that have the potential to solve scientific challenges and advance the country’s STEM capabilities. To be eligible for the program, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution, or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility, who is within 10 years of having earned their doctorate. Awards to an institution of higher education will be approximately $875,000 over five years, and awards to a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility will be approximately $2,750,000 over five years. This year’s Berkeley Lab awardees and their projects are listed below: Timon Heim: Better detectors for more powerful particle colliders Timon Heim is a staff scientist in the Physics Division. His ECRP project will develop a new type of detector that can track the particles generated by collisions in particle colliders with high spatial and temporal resolution. Current detectors in use at high-energy colliders, like the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, can track the trajectory and measure momentum of particles, but they can’t track a particle’s time of arrival with sufficient precision to discern from which of the many particle interactions they originate. Heim’s proposed technology — called a 4D tracking detector, because it captures data about particles’ positions in space and time — aims to solve this challenge, allowing researchers to glean more precise data from collision experiments to uncover new insights into fundamental forces and potentially discover new particles. The enhanced capabilities of 4D detectors will be a necessity for experiments at future colliders, such as the Muon Collider or Future Circular Collider. The project will develop custom microelectronics that process the signal of a pixelated silicon sensor that can register charged particles passing through it in an extreme radiation environment that these colliders produce during operation. The goal is to measure individual particles’ position with 50-micro-meter spatial and 50 pico-second (one trillionth of a second) temporal precision, for an incoming flux of around 1 billion particles per second per square centimeter. Harrison Lisabeth: Studying underground processes to unleash abundant energy Harrison Lisabeth is a research scientist in the Energy Geoscience Division focused on combining real-world experiments and AI to guide development of geothermal energy systems. His project will explore how deep underground rock formations – where geothermal wells are dug – are stressed by chemical reactions of the minerals and mechanical strain from movements in the Earth. A better understanding of subsurface stresses is essential to engineer safe and reliable geothermal wells that access the heat of deep rocks to produce electricity. It is estimated that the U.S. could generate ten times the amount of energy needed to power the grid using geothermal sources. Lisabeth plans to simulate how minerals grow, dissolve, and influence the behavior of surrounding rock in geothermal reservoirs by tracking chemical changes in rock samples under pressure in the lab. The project will also develop machine learning models to predict geologic strain based on field measurements and refine existing models that describe how common rock types deform under stress. Combining these approaches, Lisabeth hopes to develop a framework to predict stress to improve stability and longevity of geothermal wells. Daniel Carney: Pushing the quantum boundaries of particle measurement Daniel Carney is a staff scientist in the Physics Division who uses quantum information science to study particle physics and gravity. At very small scales, “quantum noise” — random fluctuations from the act of measurement — can drown out faint signals from rare processes. Carney’s ECRP project, “Fundamental Physics at the Quantum Limits of Measurement,” aims to build a new mechanical quantum sensor that can measure extremely small particle interactions below the limits of that quantum noise. The approach uses lasers to hold a tiny bead containing radioactive atoms; when one decays, the system measures the bead’s motion and the energy of any particles emitted. The experiment’s initial goal is to search for heavy sterile neutrinos, hypothetical particles predicted by some extensions of the Standard Model. The system could also help measure the mass of the neutrino, study the way particles interact through the electromagnetic and weak forces, and hunt for low-mass dark matter — all unsolved mysteries in particle physics. Callum Wilkinson: Using machine learning to demystify neutrinos Callum Wilkinson is a staff scientist in the Physics Division and part of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. DUNE will create an intense beam of neutrinos that interact in detectors in Illinois and, after an 800-mile journey through the earth, in massive detectors in South Dakota. By precisely measuring neutrinos and how they change, researchers will get a better understanding of their fundamental properties and whether they are responsible for why there is so much more matter than antimatter in our universe. Wilkinson’s ECRP project will apply two machine learning techniques to improve the analysis of DUNE’s data and enhance the experiment’s precision. One approach will look for hidden patterns in how neutrinos interact and produce low-energy particles, while the other will help correct for distortions in what the detectors record. The methods will be tested on one of DUNE’s prototype detectors and could be used in other neutrino experiments, improving their measurements and helping scientists build better models. Aditi Krishnapriyan: Machine learning methods that scale as datasets grow Aditi Krishnapriyan is a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Applied Mathematics and Computational Research Division (AMCR) and assistant professor at UC Berkeley. Her project, awarded through UC Berkeley, will develop machine learning methods that scale with dataset size for modeling complex, multi-scale phenomena. The resulting tools can be applied in a wide range of research, including the study of new electrolytes for batteries or the examination of molecular interactions. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Empowering the next generation of scientists
Nature Reviews Chemistry - We are a group of graduate students from the University of California, Los Angeles who represent the Organization for Cultural Diversity in Science. In this Comment we...
Science on the double: How an AI-powered 'digital twin' accelerates chemistry and materials discoveries
Understanding what complex chemical measurements reveal about materials and reactions can take weeks or months of analysis. But now, an AI-powered platform developed by researchers at the Department of ...
Science on the Double: How an AI-Powered 'Digital Twin' Accelerates Chemistry and Materials Discoveries
A new AI-accelerated platform creates digital replicas of chemical experiments, enabling real-time optimization and rapid feedback.
Noninvasive paths to complex brain science: Rice bioengineer named Sloan Research Fellow
Rice bioengineer Jerzy Szablowski has been named a 2026 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in chemistry, one of the most competitive honors for early career scientists in the U.S. and Canada.
Science on the Double: How an AI-Powered 'Digital Twin' Accelerates Chemistry and Materials Discoveries
Scientists have developed Digital Twin for Chemical Science, an AI-powered platform that facilitates real-time analysis of chemical reactions essential to batteries and other energy technologies.
Warm Up This Winter with WCU’s Science on Tap Talks
WCU’s Science on Tap returns, featuring monthly talks by WCU experts on physics, kinesiology, psychology, and chemistry.
Asteroid Bennu reveals a new pathway to life’s chemistry
Dust from asteroid Bennu is revealing a surprising origin story for life’s building blocks. New research suggests some amino acids formed in frozen ice exposed to radiation, not warm liquid water as scientists long believed. Isotopic clues show Bennu’s chemistry differs sharply from well-studied meteorites, pointing to multiple pathways for creating life’s ingredients.
From 'Wait, What' to 'Here's Why,' Stevens-Truss Champions Science
Once a 'wait, what' kid, Regina Stevens-Truss, the Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry at K, tells her students to follow their dreams.
Life may have started as sticky goo clinging to rocks
Life may have started in sticky, rock-hugging gels rather than inside cells. Researchers suggest these primitive, biofilm-like materials could trap and concentrate molecules, giving early chemistry a protected space to grow more complex. Within these gels, the first hints of metabolism and self-replication may have emerged.
Commentary: Students cannot use ChatGPT as a shortcut in science and maths problems
Students who use AI to solve STEM problem sets can evade detection, but they skip the mental work that builds understanding, says chemistry tutor Kelvin Ang.
Science meets spirits at Emerald Coast Science Center fundraiser Feb. 28 in Fort Walton Beach
The Emerald Coast Science Center blends cocktails with chemistry for an adults-only evening of education and entertainment.
How Accurate Was The Science In Breaking Bad?
Breaking Bad may have brought new meaning to the term on-screen chemistry, but were its characters' crystal meth-making exploits scientifically accurate?
Kids learn about biology, chemistry and physics at Science Alive
The event featured Kate the Chemist, hands-on activities, animals from Potawatomi Zoo and more as kids engaged with science and scientists.
The science behind some of the world’s fastest ice
Olympic ice is engineered to balance grip and glide. Here’s how physics, chemistry, and meticulous ice making shape the fastest sport on ice.
Sisters In Science: How One UMBC Lab Kindled A Family Tradition Of Discovery - UMBC: University Of Maryland, Baltimore County
On the fourth floor of UMBC’s Meyerhoff Chemistry Building, where students are hard at work exploring the intricacies of RNA molecules that may hold the...
New-look Bulls bid to build chemistry vs. Raptors
New-look Bulls bid to build chemistry vs. Raptors
Scientists want you to smell ancient Egyptian mummies
A mixture of archeology and chemistry brings the aroma of mummification to museums.
Why Exercise Science Still Treats Men As the “Default” Body
New research suggests that long-standing assumptions about sex and gender continue to shape how studies are designed, interpreted, and reported.
Candy experiments teach chemistry at Great Lakes Science Center
Smitten with Science programming features Candy Chromatography workshops on Feb. 8, 15 and 22, teaching kids STEM concepts through hands-on candy experiments led by Andy Pallotta.
New catalyst turns carbon dioxide into clean fuel source
Researchers have found that manganese, an abundant and inexpensive metal, can be used to efficiently convert carbon dioxide into formate, a potential hydrogen source for fuel cells. The key was a clever redesign that made the catalyst last far longer than similar low-cost materials. Surprisingly, the improved manganese catalyst even beat many expensive precious-metal options. The discovery could help turn greenhouse gas into clean energy ingredients.
The summer I became a science journalist
Mason Wakley on being a science writer intern at the Royal Society of Chemistry
Electric fields flip the rules of water chemistry
nside electrochemical devices, strong electric fields dramatically alter how water molecules behave. New research shows that these fields speed up water dissociation not by lowering energy costs, but by increasing molecular disorder once ions form. The reaction becomes entropy-driven—exactly the opposite of what happens in ordinary water. The findings also reveal that intense fields can push water from neutral to highly acidic, with major implications for hydrogen production.
Scientists discover molecule in space that hints at origin of life
A 13-atom molecule containing sulfur has been discovered in interstellar space for the first time, providing insight into the origins of the chemistry of life.
Scientists finally explain Earth’s strangest fossils
The Ediacara Biota are some of the strangest fossils ever found—soft-bodied organisms preserved in remarkable detail where preservation shouldn’t be possible. Scientists now think their survival in sandstone came from unusual ancient seawater chemistry that created clay “cements” around their bodies after burial. This process captured delicate shapes that would normally vanish. The finding helps clarify how complex life emerged before the Cambrian Explosion.
Scientists just overturned a 100-year-old rule of chemistry, and the results are “impossible”
Chemists at UCLA are showing that some of organic chemistry’s most famous “rules” aren’t as unbreakable as once thought. By creating bizarre, cage-shaped molecules with warped double bonds—structures long considered impossible—the team is opening the door to entirely new kinds of chemistry.
Life’s chemistry may begin in the cold darkness of space
New experiments reveal that protein precursors can form naturally in deep space under extreme cold and radiation. Scientists found that simple amino acids bond into peptides on interstellar dust, long before stars and planets exist. This challenges the idea that complex life chemistry only happens on planets. It also boosts the odds that life-friendly ingredients are widespread across the universe.
UMW Undergraduate Science Fellowship Extends Applications for First Cohort
The Piscopo Rodgers Science Fellows Program at the University of Mary Washington has opened applications to incoming undergraduate students who want to pursue research and careers in medicine, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental science, mathematics or physics. The program, which offers funding of up to $6,600 per year for four years of undergraduate […]
A deadly chemical frozen in ice may have sparked life on Earth
Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic chemical, may have helped spark the chemistry that led to life. When frozen, it forms crystals with highly reactive surfaces that can drive unusual chemical reactions, even in extreme cold. These reactions could produce more reactive molecules that pave the way for life’s basic ingredients. The findings suggest frozen worlds may be more chemically active than once thought.
Scientists “resurrect” ancient cannabis enzymes with medical promise
Scientists have uncovered how cannabis evolved the ability to make its most famous compounds—THC, CBD, and CBC—by recreating ancient enzymes that existed millions of years ago. These early enzymes were multitaskers, capable of producing several cannabinoids at once, before evolution fine-tuned them into today’s highly specialized forms. By “resurrecting” these long-lost enzymes in the lab, researchers showed how cannabis chemistry became more precise over time—and discovered something unexpected: the ancient versions are often more robust and easier to work with.
This PVAMU alum has taught over 3,000 girls about cosmetic science and has now opened a STEM classroom
Kristen Wells-Collins ’15 ‘18 is inspiring young girls to become chemists. Wells-Collins was raised in an under-resourced community in Beaumont, TX, and said she had limited exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), according to her commentary on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” However, Wells-Collins went on to pursue a degree in chemistry at Prairie View A&M University, according to her […]
Real Chemistry Establishes RC Resolve, an Advisory Practice for Healthcare’s Most Critical Business, Regulatory and Value Inflection Points
NEW YORK, January 09, 2026--Real Chemistry launches RC Resolve, a healthcare advisory practice helping leaders navigate value inflection points.
Building the future of separation science
Jennifer Kingston was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Technical Excellence Prize, which honours the vital role of technical staff in the chemical sciences community
NJBIA, Business Groups Urge Veto of Railroad Operations Bill
NJBIA, the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce and the Chemistry Council of New Jersey have asked Gov. Phil Murphy to veto or not sign into law a bill
UI wins $1.5 million to accelerate materials science research
The University of Iowa has won nearly $1.5 million to expand its materials science center and to explore new ways to leverage materials for quantum technologies. The award from the U.S. Department of Defense will unite researchers in chemistry, engineering, and physics to investigate which materials can be combined to build light- or electronic-based quantum systems. Ravitej Uppu, John Prineas, and Thomas Folland are co-principal investigators on the award.
A simple chemistry trick could end forever plastic
Seeing plastic trash while hiking inspired a Rutgers chemist to rethink why synthetic plastics last forever while natural polymers don’t. By mimicking tiny structural features used in DNA and proteins, researchers designed plastics that remain durable but can be triggered to fall apart naturally. The breakdown speed can be precisely tuned, from days to years, or switched on with light or simple chemical signals. The discovery could reshape everything from food packaging to medicine delivery.
Chemistry Competitiveness: Fueling Innovation and Streamlining Processes to Ensure Safety and Security
The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Democratising science, one step at a time
Artifical intelligence is just the latest method to open up chemistry to more people
Save science funding so critical to Ohio’s future: John M. Herbert and Bern Kohler
For decades, federal science funding has enjoyed bipartisan support. We urge readers to contact their elected representatives and encourage them to pay it forward and resist the devastating proposed federal budget cuts, write guest columnists John M. Herbert, a Professor of Chemistry, and Bern Kohler, Ohio Eminent Scholar, both at Ohio State University.
Editors Pick: Sense, Nonsense and Science Columns
Seed World Europe features the columns of Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, for readers who appreciate science with clarity, curiosity, and wit. Known for demystifying chemistry and challenging misinformation, Joe brings an engaging, no-nonsense voice to topics spanning food, biotechnology, health claims, and the science behind everyday phenomena. Each column helps readers separate evidence from hype while exploring how science shapes our world—and the seed sector.
Digital twins for self-driving chemistry laboratories
Nature Computational Science - Digital twins of self-driving chemistry laboratories may help reduce reliance on costly real-world experimentation and enable the testing of hypothetical automated...
'Stranger Things' Couples, Ranked by How Much Chemistry They Actually Have
The grand finale arrives on Netflix December 31, so here's one last look back at the characters' most inconsistently important aspect: their love lives.
New issue: Don't count the calories | BBC Science Focus Magazine
January’s long nights, howling winds and unending drizzle that constitute a British winter all seem to scream: stay indoors, get under a blanket and stay very still. But every year, I reach January and the same conclusion as millions of others: it’s time for change. Christmas is what does it. There’s only so much indulgence the body can take. It starts on the 24th when, if you’re lucky, work’s finished and the fridge is full. Over the next seven days, I’ll feast like a Tudor monarch, picking at carcasses, stabbing at cheese and washing it all down with a bit of port (well, someone’s got to finish it). But by New Year’s Day I’ve had enough. Meaningful, lasting change isn’t easy. The science says so. Sure, a fitness influencer will scream at you until they’re Christmas-ham-pink in the face that losing weight is JUST SIMPLE MATHS: burn more calories than you consume, and you’ll lose weight. But your genes, biology and chemistry don’t work like a calculator. There’s more to it. So we’re here to help you construct bite-sized changes that will add up to significant improvements in your health and wellbeing this year.
Scientists found a dangerous feedback loop accelerating Arctic warming
The Arctic is changing rapidly, and scientists have uncovered a powerful mix of natural and human-driven processes fueling that change. Cracks in sea ice release heat and pollutants that form clouds and speed up melting, while emissions from nearby oil fields alter the chemistry of the air. These interactions trigger feedback loops that let in more sunlight, generate smog, and push warming even further. Together, they paint a troubling picture of how fragile the Arctic system has become.
What are asteroids really made of? New analysis brings space mining closer to reality
Scientists are digging into the hidden makeup of carbon-rich asteroids to see whether they could one day fuel space exploration—or even be mined for valuable resources. By analyzing rare meteorites that naturally fall to Earth, researchers have uncovered clues about the chemistry, history, and potential usefulness of these ancient space rocks. While large-scale asteroid mining is still far off, the study highlights specific asteroid types that may be promising targets, especially for water extraction.
AlphaFold Changed Science. After 5 Years, It’s Still Evolving
WIRED spoke with DeepMind’s Pushmeet Kohli about the recent past—and promising future—of the Nobel Prize-winning research project that changed biology and chemistry forever.
AlphaFold Changed Science. After 5 Years, It’s Still Evolving
WIRED spoke with DeepMind’s Pushmeet Kohli about the recent past—and promising future—of the Nobel Prize-winning research project that changed biology and chemistry forever.
Cracker jokes and custard chemistry: ways to smuggle science into Christmas
Researchers share the easy ways to uncover moments of festive discovery, proving you don’t need a lab coat to experiment this Christmas
49ers Players on Team's Mindset: 'Just Handle Business Each Week'
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, TE George Kittle, RB Christian McCaffrey, T Trent Williams, and LB Dee Winters highlighted team chemistry, preparation, and the importance of staying focused as the 49ers look ahead to the playoffs.
The disunity of science is a feature, not a bug
Mathematical models wield miraculous power, but mistaking them for reality has trapped science in a destructive quest for a “Theory of Everything.” Physicist and philosopher Ragner Fjelland argues that this leads to bloated, Frankenstein theories kept alive by clumsy, ad-hoc amendments, which reduce rather than boost science’s power. Fjelland calls for a radical shift in our attitude: we must reorientate towards creating entirely new theories, celebrating rather than lamenting disunity and diversity in science. Science, from the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day, has more or less developed in a “reductionist” way. The fundamental assumption is that all sciences may be ordered in a hierarchy that can be represented as an upside-down pyramid. At the top we find the human sciences, and at the bottom physics. Strong (or “ontological”) reductionism maintains that all theories at one level can be completely reduced to the lower level, all the way down to theories of atoms and elementary particles, or whatever is “at the bottom.” In the end, all diversity in the world can be unified in one fundamental theory. Hence it is called a final theory, or a Theory of Everything.One of the central figures in developing the idea of a Theory of Everything is the Dutch theoretical physicist Gerard 't Hooft, who received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1999 for his work. He emphasizes the non-empirical status of the theory:There exists no closely resembling alternative theory. This means that any slight change brought about in the rules would make the theory unlikely or inelegant. The theory will be a "package deal": take it, or leave it. This should hold both for the local laws and for the boundary conditions.This endeavor is not new. On the contrary, it goes all the way back to the birth of Western philosophy 2,500 years ago. The Babylonians made regular astronomical observations during a period of 600 years, from 747 BCE until 150 ACE. They developed mathematical techniques to predict astronomical phenomena, but they made no attempts at explaining them. However, the Greeks developed models, both material and theoretical, to explain the observed phenomena.The best example is Plato’s late dialogue Timaeus. Here he introduces a divine craftsman, the Demiurge, who has constructed the universe according to an original plan. Plato seems to have thought that the original plan is what is actually real, while the material world is merely an imperfect realization of it. He therefore does not, in the Timaeus, reconstruct the material universe, but the original plan, which can then be used to explain the material universe.Plato’s aim in producing a theoretical model is to reconstruct the original plan. That is what he carries out in Timaeus—and some modern physicists have embarked on the same project. For example, Einstein’s basic attitude is reflected in the title of Abraham Pais’ biography: “Subtle is the Lord...,” echoing Einstein’s comment, “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not.” In an interview Einstein compared our situation to a child who enters a huge library. The child knows that someone has written the books, but he does not know the languages in which they are written. He suspects that there is a mysterious order, but he does not know what it is.___“We have all been working in what Husserl called the Galilean style; that is, we have all been making abstract mathematical models of the universe to which at least the physicists give a higher degree of reality than they accord the ordinary world of sensation.”Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize in Physics (1979)___This Platonist view is contrary to a widespread impression of science, symbolized by the picture of the “father” of modern science, Galileo Galilei, with his telescope. According to this impression, Galileo liberated himself from the dominating metaphysics of his day—basically Aristotelian philosophy—and constructed a telescope that he directed towards the sky, showing that Jupiter has four moons. He also performed experiments with bronze balls rolling down inclined planes and found the law of freely falling bodies.However, in other cases Galileo emphasized the unreliability of our senses. It is easy to see why. He defended Copernicus’ heliocentric hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, we are not at rest at the center of the universe, but moving at a tremendous speed through space. Why don’t we observe this motion? Galileo praises Copernicus because “with reason as his guide he resolutely continued to affirm what sensible experience seemed to contradict.” In other places he directly refers to Plato. SUGGESTED VIEWING The quest for a final theory With Michio Kaku Galileo’s Platonism goes back to his early writings. In The Assayer, published as early as 1623, Galileo compared the universe to a grand book that is written in the language of mathematics, and “its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.” Therefore, things that cannot be described by mathematics—for example, colors, smells and odors—are not real. They are merely subjective.This division into subjective and objective, advocated by Galileo and his younger contemporary René Descartes, is normally associated with a mechanistic world view, which is regarded as the opposite of Platonism. When we reduce something to, for example, molecules and atoms, we move “downwards.” In contrast, the Platonist moves “upwards,” to abstract entities. However, it only shows that when we address fundamental questions, we should be careful in applying everyday spatial metaphors like “up” and “down.”___Nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world.___The endeavor of finding a Theory of Everything has been heavily criticized. In 2006, the theoretical physicist Lee Smolin published “The Crisis in Fundamental Physics.” He argued that one of the most fundamental principles of science is that we should only regard theories as scientific if we have the possibility to show that they are false by experiments. Although he did not refer to Karl Popper, other critics have referred to Popper and argued that a theory is not scientific if it cannot be falsified (see for example Ellis & Silk 2014).These were not the first physicists to be anti-reductionists. In 1972, the journal Science published an article by the physicist Philip Anderson with the title “More Is Different.” This is the kind of article a scientist would normally write only after he has won a Nobel Prize. However, Anderson won the Nobel Prize for physics five years later, in 1977. The article is amazing, not primarily because it argues in favor of anti-reductionism in general, but because it argues for anti-reductionism within physics itself. Anderson’s conclusion was:At each stage entirely new laws, concepts, and generalizations are necessary, requiring inspiration and creativity to just as great a degree as in the previous one. Psychology is not applied biology, nor is biology applied chemistry.We may say that Plato started the “unity of science movement,” based on Euclidean geometry as the model of all knowledge. A distinguishing mark of geometry is that all possible constructions can be reduced to a few fundamental principles. We have to acknowledge that this approach has limitations. In general, we can easily model technological systems. In addition, we may construct simplified and idealized models that capture important aspects of systems, from various perspectives and for various purposes. But nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world. In a complex system, each level has its distinct, emergent, properties that are characteristic of this level. Therefore, a complex system should be investigated at different levels and from different perspectives. Instead of exclusively pursuing a scientific ideal based on the unity of science, we should acknowledge the diversity—or even the disunity—of science.
7 Rising Stars who took Wall Street by storm after starting their careers in sports, science, and engineering
From sports to chemistry to fieldwork abroad, Wall Street's Rising Stars harnessed experiences far afield to scale top banks and asset managers.
7 Rising Stars who took Wall Street by storm after starting their careers in sports, science, and engineering
From sports to chemistry to fieldwork abroad, Wall Street's Rising Stars harnessed experiences far afield to scale top banks and asset managers.
7 Rising Stars who took Wall Street by storm after starting their careers in sports, science, and engineering
From sports to chemistry to fieldwork abroad, Wall Street's Rising Stars harnessed experiences far afield to scale top banks and asset managers.
US-based scientist Valery Fokin wins Vyzov Prize, beating fierce Chinese rivals
USC chemistry professor is awarded one of Russia’s top science honours, topping competition from 40 countries.
Accelerating AI-Powered Chemistry and Materials Science Simulations with NVIDIA ALCHEMI Toolkit-Ops
Machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) are transforming the landscape of computational chemistry and materials science. MLIPs enable atomistic simulations that combine the fidelity of…
How AI Sees Science Differently Than We Do
About this episode: What if the great discoveries of science came in the “wrong” order? The Laws of Thermodynamics were discovered well after the creation of algebra, classical physics, and chemistry, but are perhaps much more important to our basic understanding of the universe. Chris Edwards argues that AI will
AI Is Getting Better at Science. OpenAI Is Testing How Far It Can Go
OpenAI’s new FrontierScience benchmark shows AI advancing in physics, chemistry, and biology—and exposes the challenge of testing these systems.
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe, according to science
Understanding a bit of chemistry can transform your baking skills.
UNC Brewing Science Program Goes Down the Drain
The University of Northern Colorado has canceled its Brewing Laboratory Science program as part of 50 total staff layoffs implemented due to a projected $14 million budget shortfall, causing dismay among enrolled students. Sean Johnson, the program manager for eight years, who helped forge local commercial partnerships, has been laid off with his remaining classes moving online. Students praised the program's practical science and networking opportunities. Affected students expressed frustration over the lack of transparency, the university's prioritization of larger programs, and the sudden loss of learning opportunities and mentorship. UNC's Chemistry department stated the decision was part of university-wide budget cuts and is focused on supporting affected students.
Outstanding Seniors in the College of Science: Dylan Weaver
The College of Science is proud to recognize 10 outstanding seniors who went above and beyond during their time as Wildcats. Dylan Weaver is this semester's recipient from Chemistry & Biochemistry.
UT Southwestern biochemist to receive O’Donnell Award from TAMEST
Yunsun Nam, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, will receive the 2026 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Biological Sciences from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science & Technology (TAMEST) for her research into how RNAs and proteins interact at the molecular level. Her work has shed light on gene regulation, cancer biology, and RNA-based therapeutics.
URI chemistry professor receives National Science Foundation grant for nanotechnology study
KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 4, 2025 – Jason Dwyer’s longstanding nanotechnology work at the University of Rhode Island has reached another critical stage with him receiving a substantial six-figure grant from the National Science Foundation. Dwyer, a professor of chemistry and associate dean for research and graduate studies in URI’s College of Arts and Sciences, […]
Why green chemistry makes science safer for everyone
Considering risks to both those inside the lab and people in the community can help minimize hazards—and make chemistry more sustainable
Be an inclusive science teacher with these research-informed tips
Making chemistry lessons and practicals more accessible for learners with additional support needs will benefit everyone in your class