Articles on Chemistry

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Henri Kagan of France and Kenso Soai from Japan won the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on chiral molecules. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

A molecule’s ‘handedness’ can determine whether it’s an effective drug – 4 examples of pharmaceuticals where chirality matters

The 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry gave a hand to handed molecules – and the processes chemists use to create them.
Some molecules have ‘mirror images,’ and while one form can be helpful, the other can be harmful. BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

Many drugs have mirror chemical structures, one helpful and the other harmful – a Nobel‑winning discovery allows chemists to make either on demand

From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space.
To sustainably survive on the Moon, the rock that stretches as far as the eye can see across its surface might well be able to provide us with the air we need to breathe. Eugene A. Cernan/NASA

Is extracting oxygen from lunar soil the future of space exploration?

As lunar missions are back in vogue with engineering more sustainable human presence on the Moon in mind, there’s no getting away from the fact that you can’t breathe on a satellite that has no atmosphere.

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