Abhik Ghosh
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abhikghosh.bsky.social
Abhik Ghosh
@abhikghosh.bsky.social
Bioinorganic and materials chemist at UiT, Tromsø, Norway. Interested in porphyrins, corroles, transition metals, synchrotrons & DFT. Also birds, seafood, travel, diversity, scicomm & Sanskrit. Indian, 🏳️‍🌈
Pinned
Friends! I’ll edit a special issue spotlighting queer researchers in porphyrin science – broadly defined – to be published in about a year. Queer PIs, students and postdocs and allies are all welcome! I am not free to reveal much more now until I have a rough headcount. Who’s in? Please repost! 🏳️‍🌈
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Physics has a reputation for being dominated by men, especially a century ago, as quantum physics was just being invented – but there have been so many women who helped shaped the field since its inception
The forgotten women of quantum physics
Physics has a reputation for being dominated by men, especially a century ago, as quantum physics was just being invented – but there have been so many women who helped shaped the field since its inception
www.newscientist.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Results from a large 20-year study show that halving a person’s intake of arsenic in drinking water reduces their risk of dying from any chronic disease, including cancer or heart disease, by 54% cen.acs.org/environment/...

#chemsky 🧪
Lower arsenic in drinking water drops chronic disease deaths by half
Landmark study in Bangladesh confirms that reducing arsenic exposure lowers chronic disease deaths
cen.acs.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Emerald-green paint was popular with 19th- and 20th-century painters. But the pigment is known to degrade. Chemists have discovered that the pigment breaks down via two distinct pathways: cen.acs.org/analytical-c... #chemsky 🧪
How to prevent emerald-green oil paint from breaking down
Chemists decipher dual degradation pathways for a once popular pigment
cen.acs.org
November 23, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
New treatments for malaria offer hope: Existing drugs combined in new ways, as well as new molecules, deliver in late-stage trials. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... #chemsky 🧪
New treatments for malaria offer hope
Existing drugs combined in new ways, as well as new molecules, deliver in late-stage trials
cen.acs.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
It's that time again: C&EN's molecule of the year poll is now open! Vote for your favorite molecule of 2025: cen.acs.org/synthesis/Mo...

#chemsky 🧪
November 24, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Embracing my silly side makes me a better scientist. I wish I’d done it sooner www.science.org/content/arti...
Embracing my silly side makes me a better scientist. I wish I’d done it sooner
Humor has helped this professor connect with students and colleagues—and remain resilient during hard times
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Has birds’ mysterious ‘compass’ organ been found at last? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Has birds’ mysterious ‘compass’ organ been found at last?
Multiple lines of evidence suggest that pigeons sense magnetic fields by detecting electric currents in their inner ears.
www.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:46 PM
As an international scholar, my academic dreams belong to my family, too | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
As an international scholar, my academic dreams belong to my family, too
When this scientist’s father fell ill far away, he had to reconsider how best to honor his family’s sacrifice
www.science.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
This parasitic ant tricks workers into killing their own queen | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
This parasitic ant tricks workers into killing their own queen
Scientists capture a unique—and gruesome—example of matricide in the animal kingdom
www.science.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:28 PM
James Watson: Titan of science with tragic flaws | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
James Watson: Titan of science with tragic flaws
Science historian Nathaniel Comfort reflects on the “most famous scientist of the 20th century, and the most infamous of the 21st”
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
1 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️

Quetzalcoatlite:
- Named after Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec and Toltec god of the sea, due to its sea-blue colour
- Forms in the oxidised zone of tellurium-bearing hydrothermal deposits #minerals
- This below is a co-type specimen (one of the specimens used to define the species)
January 1, 2025 at 9:43 AM
My good friend Cina kicks collective ass www.chemistryworld.com/news/collect...
Collective bonding continues to divide opinion
New research supports counterintuitive explanation, but debate is far from settled
www.chemistryworld.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A great obit:
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Leaves Behind a Troubling Legacy time.com/5524001/jame...
time.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Mamdani: "Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up."
November 5, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Transitioning to ‘emeritus professor’ wasn’t always easy. Here’s how I adjusted | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Transitioning to ‘emeritus professor’ wasn’t always easy. Here’s how I adjusted
“I have learned to keep pushing forward, at a more relaxed pace,” this retired scientist writes
www.science.org
November 4, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Sex, drugs and the conscious brain: Francis Crick beyond the double helix
A thoroughly researched account of the history and relationships that shaped the scientist who co-discovered the structure of DNA.
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
Professor Emeritus Axel D. Becke @dalhousieu.bsky.social has passed away at age 72.
October 26, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Synthesis of triple stranded porphyrin nanobelts www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Abhik Ghosh
New paper out! Collab between my student Elin and colleagues at NASA JPL, to be included in a special PUI issue of ACS Omega. We are looking into possible prebiotic chemistry on ocean worlds like Enceladus and optimized MALDI for model ocean ocean world solns. #chemsky

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Sample Preparation for MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry of Model Prebiotic Reactions in Simulated Ocean World Environments
The prebiotic potential of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, while not well constrained, is vital in the search for potential life elsewhere. To better understand this potential, laboratory studies provide experimental insight into the chemical environment(s) of ocean worlds and any constraints to hold prebiotically relevant systems. However, simulated ocean world solutions present a technical challenge for analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry (MS), as the high saline content required for simulating ocean world environments results in ion suppression and reduced sensitivity. Here, we compare three sample preparation techniques, C4 ZipTips, C18 ZipTips, and on-plate washing, for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization – time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS of saline solutions similar to environments expected in ocean worlds. We determined that using C18 ZipTips was optimal when paired with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) matrix, whereas on-plate desalting was optimal when paired with α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) matrix. The methodology described here presents simple, low-volume sample preparation strategies for MALDI-TOF MS of model prebiotic reactions in saline solutions.
pubs.acs.org
October 21, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Science research gets more engagement on Bluesky than X, study finds
October 22, 2025 at 7:19 PM