CINXE.COM

<!doctype html><html lang="en-US" class="js-disabled wpn- wpn-thescepticalchymist wpn-wordpress wpn-ltr wpn-en-us wpn-child-theme wpn-multisite wpn-blog-24 wpn-y2024 wpn-m11 wpn-d25 wpn-h01 wpn-monday wpn-logged-out wpn-singular wpn-singular-post wpn-singular-post-2841 wpn-single-2841 wpn-msie wpn-primary-active wpn-secondary-inactive wpn-subsidiary-inactive"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=2.5,user-scalable=yes"> <title>A new look : The Sceptical Chymist</title> <link rel="profile" href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11" /> <meta name="access" content="Yes" /> <meta name="WT.cg_n" content="nature.com staff blogs" /> <meta name="WT.cg_s" content="The Sceptical Chymist" /> <script> document.getElementsByTagName('html')[0].className += ' js-enabled'; </script>    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://nexus.ensighten.com/npg/Bootstrap.js"></script> <link rel="search" href="https://www.nature.com/search/executeSearch" /> <link title="nature.com" rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://www.nature.com/opensearch/opensearch.xml" /> <link title="nature.com" rel="search" type="application/sru+xml" href="https://www.nature.com/opensearch/request" /><link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s.w.org' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="The Sceptical Chymist » Feed" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/feed" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="The Sceptical Chymist » Comments Feed" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/comments/feed" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="The Sceptical Chymist » A new look Comments Feed" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/a-new-look.html/feed" /> <script type="text/javascript"> window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/11\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/11\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=4.9.25"}}; !function(e,a,t){var n,r,o,i=a.createElement("canvas"),p=i.getContext&&i.getContext("2d");function s(e,t){var a=String.fromCharCode;p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,e),0,0);e=i.toDataURL();return p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,t),0,0),e===i.toDataURL()}function c(e){var t=a.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=t.type="text/javascript",a.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(t)}for(o=Array("flag","emoji"),t.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},r=0;r<o.length;r++)t.supports[o[r]]=function(e){if(!p||!p.fillText)return!1;switch(p.textBaseline="top",p.font="600 32px Arial",e){case"flag":return s([55356,56826,55356,56819],[55356,56826,8203,55356,56819])?!1:!s([55356,57332,56128,56423,56128,56418,56128,56421,56128,56430,56128,56423,56128,56447],[55356,57332,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56418,8203,56128,56421,8203,56128,56430,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56447]);case"emoji":return!s([55358,56760,9792,65039],[55358,56760,8203,9792,65039])}return!1}(o[r]),t.supports.everything=t.supports.everything&&t.supports[o[r]],"flag"!==o[r]&&(t.supports.everythingExceptFlag=t.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&t.supports[o[r]]);t.supports.everythingExceptFlag=t.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!t.supports.flag,t.DOMReady=!1,t.readyCallback=function(){t.DOMReady=!0},t.supports.everything||(n=function(){t.readyCallback()},a.addEventListener?(a.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",n,!1),e.addEventListener("load",n,!1)):(e.attachEvent("onload",n),a.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){"complete"===a.readyState&&t.readyCallback()})),(n=t.source||{}).concatemoji?c(n.concatemoji):n.wpemoji&&n.twemoji&&(c(n.twemoji),c(n.wpemoji)))}(window,document,window._wpemojiSettings); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" href="/staffblogs-source/view/builds/staffblogs-source/6gk8xqk.css" />   <style type="text/css"> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 .07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel="stylesheet" id="wpn-nature-section-css-css" href="https://blogs.nature.com/staffblogs-source/view/builds/staffblogs-source/section.css?ver=4.9.25" type="text/css" media="all" /> <link rel="stylesheet" id="wpn-staffblogs-css-css" href="https://blogs.nature.com/wp-content/themes/npg-staff-blogs/css/site.css?ver=20052" type="text/css" media="all" /> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://blogs.nature.com/staffblogs-source/view/builds/staffblogs-source/wo308z5.js?ver=1'></script> <link rel='https://api.w.org/' href='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/wp-json/' /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/a-new-look.html" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/?p=2841' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html&format=xml" /> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <style type="text/css">#header { background: #666 url(https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/files/theme/the-sceptical-chymist.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat; }</style></head>      <body class="blogs-nature-com"> <div id="constrain">  <div class="cleared" id="constrain-header"> <header> <div id="foreword" class="constrain cleared"> <nav> <h1 id="top" class="home"> <a href="https://www.nature.com/">nature.com</a> </h1> <p class="sitemap"> <a href="https://www.nature.com/siteindex">Sitemap</a> </p> <ul class="right"><li class="login"><a href="https://idp.nature.com/login/natureuser/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html%3Fcookie-test%3D0">Log In</a></li><li class="register"><a href="https://idp.nature.com/register/natureuser">Register</a></li></ul> </nav> </div> <div class="constrain cleared" id="top-ads"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-1732499078" class="div-gpt-ad ad adunit-leaderboard leaderboard" data-gpt-unitpath="/285/blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist" data-gpt-sizes="728x90" data-gpt-targeting="abr=!webtv;ptile=1" ><script type="text/javascript" src="https://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist;type=cc;pos=top;abr=!webtv;ptile=1;sz=728x90;ord=7188916616474221?"> </script> <noscript><a href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist;type=cc;pos=top;abr=!webtv;ptile=1;sz=728x90;ord=7188916616474221?"><img src="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist;type=cc;pos=top;abr=!webtv;ptile=2;sz=728x90;ord=7188916616474221?" alt="Advertisment" /></a></noscript></div></div> <div id="header" class="constrain"> <hgroup> <h1><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/">The Sceptical Chymist</a></h1> <h2>a blog from Nature Chemistry</h2> </hgroup><form method="get" action="http:" id="header-search" class="search-form"> <fieldset> <label for="header-keyword">Search</label> <input type="search" id="header-keyword" name="sp-q" value="" class="txt" maxlength="200"/> <button type="submit" id="header-search-submit">Go</button> <a href="http:">Advanced search</a> </fieldset> </form> </div> <div id="breadcrumbs" class="constrain"> <nav> <ul id="sub-navigation" class="clear"><li class="first parent parent-1 next-parent"><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/index.html">Nature Chemistry</a></li><li class="parent parent-2 next-current"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/">Blog</a></li><li class="current"><span>Post</span></li></ul> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div id="constrain-content" class="cleared">  <div id="content" class="col article-template hfeed wpn-content">  <article> <div id="wpn-post-2841" class="hentry wpn-post wpn-publish wpn-post-1 wpn-odd wpn-author-neil-withers wpn-has-excerpt wpn-category-neil-withers"> <header> <nav><div id="wpn-top-links" class="top-links cleared"><ul class="wpn-prev-next-article"> <li class="prev wpn-ellipsis"><div><span class="wpn-nav-label">Previous post</span><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/2011_fall_mrs_stiff_storage.html" rel="prev">2011 Fall MRS: Stiff storage</a></div></li> <li class="next wpn-ellipsis"><div><span class="wpn-nav-label">Next post</span><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/01/reactions-shutao-wang.html" rel="next">Reactions – Shutao Wang</a></div></li> </ul></div></nav><p class="article-type"><span class="journal-title">Nature Chemistry</span><span class="divider"> | </span>The Sceptical Chymist</p><h1 class='wpn-post-title entry-title article-heading'><a href='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/a-new-look.html'>A new look</a></h1><p class="wpn-byline"><time datetime="2011-12-19T15:55:14+00:00" pubdate><span class="published"><abbr class="value" title="2011-12-19">19 Dec 2011 </abbr>|<abbr class="value" title="15:55:14+0000"> 15:55 GMT</abbr></span></time><span class="divider"> | </span>Posted by <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Neil-Withers" title="Neil Withers">Neil Withers</a></span><span class="divider"> | </span><span class="category"><span class="before">Category: </span><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/neil-withers" rel="tag">Neil Withers</a></span> </p> </header> <section> <div class="wpn-entry-content content"> <p>Welcome to the new-look Sceptical Chymist! Of course, if you’re just reading this in your RSS reader, then things will look pretty familiar (unless you’re logging on to Google Reader for the first time in a few months — but then you probably can’t see through the tears of frustration you’re weeping).</p> <p>All the other nature.com blogs are having a re-vamp, meaning this will be cross-posted here and there, so we’ve been asked to do a post to introduce the blog to any new readers. Regular readers may even learn something too — or you can skip the next two paragraphs to see what’s new!</p> <p>We’ve been blogging at the Sceptical Chymist since March 2006 — <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/03/whats_in_a_name.html">the first post</a> even handily explained the name (it’s from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sceptical_Chymist">the book written by Robert Boyle in 1661</a>, which is a useful point to consider as when chemistry started emerging from alchemy;). It started out with contributions from editors from <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/">Nature</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchembio/">Nature Chemical Biology</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/nnano/">Nature Nanotechnology</a></em>, but has since evolved to mainly us, <a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/authors/about_eds/index.html">the editors of <em>Nature Chemistry</em></a> — which was just a twinkle in a publisher’s eye back in 2006! Since then, it’s been a great way to communicate with readers less formally than in an editorial or other journal article, plus a wonderful means of generating discussion and receiving feedback.</p> <p>You can expect to read interviews with chemists around the world in <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/features/reactions/">our Reactions series</a>, <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/features/conference_reports/">reports from conferences</a> we attend, ‘edited highlights’ of <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/features/editorials/">editorials</a> and <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/features/in_your_element/">In Your Element</a>, our <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/features/blogroll/">monthly Blogroll column</a>, as well as the occasional post inspired by almost anything. We also have a brave cadre of guest columnists: our two current guests are both graduate students negotiating the academic maze.</p> <p>That’s the old blog; what’s new? Well, apart from lots of behind-the-scenes improvements that will make blogging much easier for us, you can see that it’s more seamlessly incorporated in the <em>Nature Chemistry</em> website. The side navigation is a bit less cluttered too. Hopefully the main improvement will be in the commenting: now, once your first comment has been approved, your subsequent ones will go live immediately. This should make discussions a bit more dynamic, and remove the wait while we fish every single comment (including our own!) out of the spam filter.</p> <p>So have a look round, make yourself at home, test out the comments and let us know what you think!</p> <p>The <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/">Nature Chemistry</a></em> team.</p> </div> </section> <div class="wpn-entry-meta"> <aside> <div class="article-tools cleared"> <h2 class="hidden">Article tools</h2> <ul id="wpn-share-post-2841" class="wpn-entry-user-actions"> <li class="wpn-entry-comment-link"><a class="comments-link" href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/a-new-look.html#respond" title="Comment on A new look">add a comment</a></li> <li class="sendtofriend"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/tell-a-friend?id=2841">Email</a></li> <li class="print"><a id="print-link" class="track" href="javascript:window.print();">Print</a></li> <li class="wpn-share-bookmark"> <h3 class="toggle-bookmarking-links">Share/bookmark</h3> <div id="bookmarking-links" class="bookmarking-popup"> <ul class="bookmarking" id="wpn-share-post-2841"> <li class="facebook"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html">Facebook</a></li> <li class="twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/?status=A+new+look+https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html">Twitter</a></li> <li class="delicious"><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html&title=A+new+look">Delicious</a></li> <li class="digg"><a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html&title=A+new+look">Digg</a></li> <li class="googleplus"><a href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html">Google+</a></li> <li class="linkedin"><a href="http://linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html&title=A+new+look">LinkedIn</a></li> <li class="reddit"><a href="http://reddit.com/s/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html">Reddit</a></li> <li class="stumbleupon"><a href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html&title=A+new+look">StumbleUpon</a></li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </aside> </div><nav><div id="wpn-bottom-links" class="top-links cleared"><ul class="wpn-prev-next-article"> <li class="prev wpn-ellipsis"><div><span class="wpn-nav-label">Previous post</span><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12/2011_fall_mrs_stiff_storage.html" rel="prev">2011 Fall MRS: Stiff storage</a></div></li> <li class="next wpn-ellipsis"><div><span class="wpn-nav-label">Next post</span><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/01/reactions-shutao-wang.html" rel="next">Reactions – Shutao Wang</a></div></li> </ul></div></nav> </div> </article>  <section> <div class="section expanded cleared" id="comments"> <h1 class="section-heading toggle">Comments</h1> <div class="content"> <p>There are currently no comments.</p> <ol class="after-comments"><div id="wp-temp-form-div"> <p class="must-log-in">You need to <a href="https://idp.nature.com/login/natureuser/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.nature.com%2Fthescepticalchymist%2F2011%2F12%2Fa-new-look.html%3Fcookie-test%3D0">log in</a> or <a href="https://idp.nature.com/register/natureuser">register</a> to comment.</p> </div></ol> </div> </div></section>  </div> <div class="col" id="extranav"> <div id="wpn-primary" class="wpn-id-primary sidebar aside"> <div class="current-issue-box" id="wpn-journal-nav"> <div class="wrap"><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v10/n1/"><img alt="" class="journal-cover" src="https://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v10/n1/images/homecover.gif"/><h1>Current issue</h1></a><span class="date">Jan 2018, v10, n1; pp 1-110</span><ul class="toc"><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/index.html">Journal home</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/site/index.html">About</a></li><li rel="contents"><a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v10/n1/">Current issue</a></li><li><a href="https://secure.nature.com/subscribe/nchem">Subscribe</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/librec/svc/request/makeProdRequest?id=nchem">Recommend to library</a></li></ul></div><ul class="footer col3 clear"><li class="ealert"><a href="https://www.nature.com/nams/svc/myaccount/save/alert?list_id=190">E-alert</a></li><li class="rss"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/feed/">RSS</a></li><li class="twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/NatureChemistry">Twitter</a></li></ul></div><div id="submit-box"> <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/">nature.com blogs home</a> </div> <div id="wpn-npg-recent-comments-widget-2" class="wpn-widget wpn-comment-text wpn-npg-recent-comments-widget wpn- wpn-cache-miss"><h2 class="box-heading">Recent comments on this blog</h2><ul> <li><div><q>Markus Ribbe did his PhD in the laboratory of Ortwin Meyer in Bayreuth on the oxygen-tolerant superoxide-dependent nitrogenase of Streptomyces…</q> ... <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/08/chemistry-in-retrospect-true-grit-and-the-path-to-a-faculty-position.html#comment-5895" class="more-link">Read more</a></div><span class="comment-author vcard">-- <cite class="fn">James Murray</cite></span><h2 class="wpn-post-title"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/08/chemistry-in-retrospect-true-grit-and-the-path-to-a-faculty-position.html">Chemistry in retrospect: True Grit and the path to a faculty position</a></h2></li> <li><div><q>Hey Xin Su, I have to say I liked your interview expressing how you came to love Nature Chemistry.…</q> ... <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/04/reactions-xin-su.html#comment-5891" class="more-link">Read more</a></div><span class="comment-author vcard">-- <cite class="fn">Amy Fearnside</cite></span><h2 class="wpn-post-title"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/04/reactions-xin-su.html">Reactions: Xin Su</a></h2></li> <li><div><q>This interview is very interesting and gives some idea about the life of chemist.</q> ... <a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/04/reactions-xin-su.html#comment-5889" class="more-link">Read more</a></div><span class="comment-author vcard">-- <cite class="fn">Intissar hani</cite></span><h2 class="wpn-post-title"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/04/reactions-xin-su.html">Reactions: Xin Su</a></h2></li> </ul></div><div id="wpn-npg-archives-widget-2" class="wpn-widget wpn-npg-archives-widget wpn- wpn-archive-selector clear"><h2 class="box-heading">Blog Archive</h2> <div class="wpn-widget-content"><select name="archive-dropdown" onchange="location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value"> <option value="">Select month</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/12'> December 2017  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/08'> August 2017  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/06'> June 2017  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/05'> May 2017  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/04'> April 2017  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/03'> March 2017  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/02'> February 2017  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2017/01'> January 2017  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/12'> December 2016  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/11'> November 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/10'> October 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/09'> September 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/08'> August 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/07'> July 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/06'> June 2016  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/03'> March 2016  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/02'> February 2016  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2016/01'> January 2016  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/12'> December 2015  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/11'> November 2015  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/08'> August 2015  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/07'> July 2015  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/06'> June 2015  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/05'> May 2015  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/04'> April 2015  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/03'> March 2015  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/02'> February 2015  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2015/01'> January 2015  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/12'> December 2014  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/11'> November 2014  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/10'> October 2014  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/09'> September 2014  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/08'> August 2014  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/07'> July 2014  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/06'> June 2014  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/05'> May 2014  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/04'> April 2014  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/03'> March 2014  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/02'> February 2014  (1)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2014/01'> January 2014  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/12'> December 2013  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/11'> November 2013  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/10'> October 2013  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/09'> September 2013  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/08'> August 2013  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/07'> July 2013  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/06'> June 2013  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/05'> May 2013  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/04'> April 2013  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/03'> March 2013  (4)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/02'> February 2013  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2013/01'> January 2013  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/12'> December 2012  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/11'> November 2012  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/10'> October 2012  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/09'> September 2012  (7)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/08'> August 2012  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/07'> July 2012  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/06'> June 2012  (11)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/05'> May 2012  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/04'> April 2012  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/03'> March 2012  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/02'> February 2012  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2012/01'> January 2012  (10)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/12'> December 2011  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/11'> November 2011  (10)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/10'> October 2011  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/09'> September 2011  (14)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/08'> August 2011  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/07'> July 2011  (11)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/06'> June 2011  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/05'> May 2011  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/04'> April 2011  (9)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/03'> March 2011  (14)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/02'> February 2011  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2011/01'> January 2011  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/12'> December 2010  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/11'> November 2010  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/10'> October 2010  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/09'> September 2010  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/08'> August 2010  (7)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/07'> July 2010  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/06'> June 2010  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/05'> May 2010  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/04'> April 2010  (7)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/03'> March 2010  (11)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/02'> February 2010  (3)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2010/01'> January 2010  (2)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/12'> December 2009  (7)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/11'> November 2009  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/10'> October 2009  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/09'> September 2009  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/08'> August 2009  (24)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/07'> July 2009  (18)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/06'> June 2009  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/05'> May 2009  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/04'> April 2009  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/03'> March 2009  (19)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/02'> February 2009  (15)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2009/01'> January 2009  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/12'> December 2008  (16)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/11'> November 2008  (14)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/10'> October 2008  (17)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/09'> September 2008  (21)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/08'> August 2008  (31)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/07'> July 2008  (19)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/06'> June 2008  (20)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/05'> May 2008  (20)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/04'> April 2008  (24)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/03'> March 2008  (19)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/02'> February 2008  (24)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2008/01'> January 2008  (17)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/12'> December 2007  (14)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/11'> November 2007  (13)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/10'> October 2007  (19)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/09'> September 2007  (20)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/08'> August 2007  (42)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/07'> July 2007  (17)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/06'> June 2007  (18)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/05'> May 2007  (19)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/04'> April 2007  (17)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/03'> March 2007  (33)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/02'> February 2007  (17)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/01'> January 2007  (7)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/12'> December 2006  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/11'> November 2006  (5)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/10'> October 2006  (6)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/09'> September 2006  (24)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/08'> August 2006  (23)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/07'> July 2006  (10)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/06'> June 2006  (8)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/05'> May 2006  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/04'> April 2006  (12)</option><option value='https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2006/03'> March 2006  (32)</option></select> </div> </div><div id="wpn-npg-author-list-widget-2" class="wpn-widget wpn-npg-author-list-widget wpn- wpn-archive-selector clear"> <div class="wpn-widget-content"><select name="author-archive-dropdown" onchange="location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value"> <option value="">Select author</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Alison-Stoddart">Alison Stoddart  (28)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/apichon">Anne Pichon  (64)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/anne-pichon">Anne Pichon  (81)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/bronwen-dekker">Bronwen Dekker  (1)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/cgoodman">Catherine Goodman  (111)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Claire-Hansell">Claire Hansell  (1)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/emarris">Emma Marris  (23)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Gavin-Armstrong">Gavin Armstrong  (19)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/jfinkelstein">Joshua Finkelstein  (93)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/ksanderson">Katharine Sanderson  (53)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Neil-Withers">Neil Withers  (225)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/smantoura">Samia Mantoura  (1)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/stonzani">Stefano Tonzani  (3)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Stephen-Davey">Stephen Davey  (20)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/scantrill">Stuart Cantrill  (243)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Stuart-Cantrill">Stuart Cantrill  (116)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/Terry-Sheppard">Terry Sheppard  (2)</option><option value="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/author/vcleave">Victoria Cleave  (2)</option></select> </div> </div><div id="wpn-hybrid-categories-3" class="wpn-widget wpn-categories wpn-"><h2 class="box-heading">Categories</h2><ul class="xoxo categories"><li class="cat-item cat-item-25"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/anne-pichon" >Anne Pichon</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-2"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/blogs-we-like" >Blogroll</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-108281"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/chemistry-in-retrospect" >Chemistry in retrospect</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-12"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/conference-reports" >Conference reports</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-6"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/editorials" >Editorials</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-23"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/gavin-armstrong" >Gavin Armstrong</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-8"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/in-your-element" >In your element</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-19"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/journal-journeys" >Journal journeys</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-5"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/materials-girl" >Materials Girl</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-20"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/nchem-research-highlights" >NChem research highlights</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-22"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/neil-withers" >Neil Withers</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-11"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/other-authors" >Other authors</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-17"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/other-columns" >Other columns</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-9"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/reactions" >Reactions</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-24"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/stephen-davey" >Stephen Davey</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-21"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/stuart-cantrill" >Stuart Cantrill</a></li><li class="cat-item cat-item-1"><a href="https://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/category/uncategorized" >Uncategorized</a></li></ul></div><div id="wpn-npg-blogroll-widget-3" class="wpn-widget wpn-npg-blogroll-widget wpn-"><h2 class="box-heading">Blogs we like</h2><ul><li><p class="wpn-catline"><span>Blogroll</span></p><h2><a href="https://cenblog.org/" target="_blank">C&ENtral Science</a></h2></li> <li><p class="wpn-catline"><span>Blogroll</span></p><h2><a href="https://www.chemistry-blog.com/" target="_blank">Chemistry Blog</a></h2></li> <li><p class="wpn-catline"><span>Blogroll</span></p><h2><a href="https://chemjobber.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Chemjobber</a></h2></li> <li><p class="wpn-catline"><span>Blogroll</span></p><h2><a href="https://pipeline.corante.com/" target="_blank">In The Pipeline</a></h2></li> <li><p class="wpn-catline"><span>Blogroll</span></p><h2><a href="https://ashutoshchemist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Curious Wavefunction</a></h2></li> </ul></div><div id="wpn-npg-natureblogs-links-widget-4" class="wpn-widget wpn-npg-natureblogs-links-widget wpn-"><h2 class="box-heading">All nature.com blogs</h2>