Chemistry

Biomining uses engineered microbes to harvest critical minerals

A phenomenon called microlightning may explain ghostly blue marsh lights

Winners of the annual Ig Nobel awards include the science of tipsy bats and the physics of cacio e pepe

A deep-sea worm that lives in hydrothermal vents is the first known animal to create orpiment, a toxic, arsenic-containing mineral that was used by artists for centuries

The first analysis of mushroom bitterness reveals ultrapotent compounds

The velvet worm’s extraordinary goo could inspire recyclable bioplastics

Electric vehicles leave behind mountains of dead lithium-ion batteries. A new “injection” brings them back to life

Pyrotechnic chemistry drives the Vatican’s recipes for the black and white smoke used to announce papal election outcomes

Author Dava Sobel discusses how she discovered the many forgotten female scientists who were mentored by Marie Curie in early 20th-century Paris

Dimethyl sulfide is in the news after NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope may have detected relatively high levels of it in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18 b

Hypochlorous acid has a lot of buzz in the beauty industry, but this nontoxic disinfectant has many possible uses.

Hypochlorous acid is safe enough to spray in your eyes yet more effective than bleach. Why isn’t it everywhere?