Chemistry World

4 days ago | chemistryworld.com | Phillip Broadwith

Blueprint has one approved drug and enhances Sanofi’s immunology portfolio Source: © HJBC/Shutterstock As part of a strategy to strengthen its immunology segment through acquisitions, Sanofi has agreed to buy US-based Blueprint Medicines in a deal worth $9.1 billion (£6.7 billion) in cash, with an additional $400 million on offer in performance milestone payments.

1 week ago | chemistryworld.com | Anna Demming

An artificial protein moves between predetermined conformations when exposed to calcium ions. These dynamic structural changes mimic those seen in naturally occurring proteins, which often gain their functionality by switching between subtly different arrangements. Designing useful proteins that do not occur naturally is an art that researchers have been picking away at since the 1980s, greatly accelerated in recent years with the help of machine learning algorithms.

1 week ago | chemistryworld.com | Ada McVean

Shop shelves stacked high with nearly every colour and flavour of disposable e-cigarettes have become a common sight in the UK’s town centres. But from 1 June 2025, single-use vapes will be illegal to sell across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK is not the first country to ban disposable vapes. Last year, the Australian government banned the import of all disposable vapes into the country, while this year Belgium became the first EU country to ban the sale of disposable vapes.

1 week ago | chemistryworld.com | Rebecca Trager

The Trump administration has escalated its attacks on US research universities by announcing that it will begin revoking visas for Chinese students. If fully implemented, the new policy would have a significant impact on the research community, with more than 277,000 Chinese students enrolled at US universities in the 2023–2024 academic year, according annual data compiled by the Institute of International Education.

1 week ago | chemistryworld.com | Tim Wogan

A new polymer membrane for separating hydrocarbons in crude oil might one day save huge amounts of energy by removing the need for fractional distillation. The polymer is similar to reverse osmosis membranes used for desalination of seawater, making it potentially scalable to the large volumes that would be needed in industry. Fractional distillation of crude oil consumes nearly 1% of global energy and accounts for 6% of the world’s carbon emissions.