Neil Withers
@neilwithers.bsky.social
Features Editor for Chemistry World, Twitter refugee. Tractor fan
I noticed exactly this walking from Kings Cross to Nature Towers last night: a queue of buses, taxis, cars and vans (cos roadworks) - but so quiet. Used to be deafening on York Way.
A quiet EV upside the FT highlights: less noise.
Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are already seeing calmer, quieter streets—and better sleep—as EV adoption rises.
EVs are notably quieter at low speeds, though tyre noise dominates above ~50 km/h.
Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are already seeing calmer, quieter streets—and better sleep—as EV adoption rises.
EVs are notably quieter at low speeds, though tyre noise dominates above ~50 km/h.
November 26, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I noticed exactly this walking from Kings Cross to Nature Towers last night: a queue of buses, taxis, cars and vans (cos roadworks) - but so quiet. Used to be deafening on York Way.
Don't have nightmares
Without the assistance of ants, what the researchers described as 'a pleasing mouthfeel' might have been a different story.
Traditional yoghurt recipe reveals ants’ fermentation power
Rebecca Trager meets a cross-disciplinary team investigating an ancient way to make yoghurt, which involved a trip to a tiny Bulgarian village
www.chemistryworld.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Don't have nightmares
I heartily agree. Worth it for the part-finished raised carvings alone – incomplete art, frozen in time.
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
Get to Made in Ancient Egypt at the Fitzwilliam Museum, if you can. Reveals the makers, techniques, mistakes, trials and gorgeous successes 📜
October 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I heartily agree. Worth it for the part-finished raised carvings alone – incomplete art, frozen in time.
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
But also: a four-odd thousand year old dress! In pretty good nick!
Rameses III's girdle!!
That's all folks!
Andrew N. Fitch: Solving molecular organic crystal structures from powders ##PowderXRayDiffraction##RealSpaceStructureSolution##OrganicMolecules... ##IUCrhttps://journals.iucr.org/paper?S2053229625009052
Solving molecular organic crystal structures from powders
Powder diffraction is a widespread technique found in academic, forensic, industrial research and quality-control laboratories the world over. The recent article by Kabova et al. [(2025), Acta Cryst. C81, 559–569] provides step-by-step guidance on how to proceed and the software the authors use, from sample preparation and the powder diffraction measurement itself, to the verification of the final structure.
journals.iucr.org
October 21, 2025 at 8:17 AM
That's all folks!
Reposted by Neil Withers
This is a very well-written piece on this year's MOF Nobel prize with a lot of personal accounts from the community
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:45 AM
This is a very well-written piece on this year's MOF Nobel prize with a lot of personal accounts from the community
Reposted by Neil Withers
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Last week Susumu Kitagawa, Omar Yaghi and Richard Robson were awarded the #Nobelprize in #chemistry for their work developing metal-organic frameworks. Here I tell the story of how MOFs came to be - incl. an interview with Kitagawa himself! www.chemistryworld.com/features/how... @chemistryworld.com
Here it is! The full #LongRead feature article on this year's #ChemNobel - @robinson-julia.bsky.social managed to speak to Kitagawa yesterday!
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
How the pioneers of metal-organic frameworks won the Nobel prize
From wooden models to thousands and thousands of structures, Julia Robinson tells the story of how Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Here it is! The full #LongRead feature article on this year's #ChemNobel - @robinson-julia.bsky.social managed to speak to Kitagawa yesterday!
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
www.chemistryworld.com/features/how...
Reposted by Neil Withers
A fun read while getting my #MOF fix
#chemsky #MOFs #NobelPrize #chemistry @chemistryworld.com
www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worke...
#chemsky #MOFs #NobelPrize #chemistry @chemistryworld.com
www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worke...
‘I worked on it little by little, with the help of a beer’: Making MOFs out of paper
Chemistry World talks to Ryo Horikoshi about engaging students with chemistry concepts using his stunning paper models
www.chemistryworld.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:59 AM
A fun read while getting my #MOF fix
#chemsky #MOFs #NobelPrize #chemistry @chemistryworld.com
www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worke...
#chemsky #MOFs #NobelPrize #chemistry @chemistryworld.com
www.chemistryworld.com/news/i-worke...
Ooh, looking back at the Nobel nominations database, which now goes up to 1974, John Goodenough was first nominated *in 1974* - before he'd even made a battery, and 44 years before he won it....
October 8, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Ooh, looking back at the Nobel nominations database, which now goes up to 1974, John Goodenough was first nominated *in 1974* - before he'd even made a battery, and 44 years before he won it....
Reposted by Neil Withers
Just a little humble brag. Here's me getting my PhD with my supervisors - Bernard Hoskins and newly minted #NobelPrize Laureate Richard Robson. So thrilled for Richard, and thinking also of Bernard tonight (who passed away many years ago but was a crucial collaborator of Richard's). #Chemsky #ozchem
October 8, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Just a little humble brag. Here's me getting my PhD with my supervisors - Bernard Hoskins and newly minted #NobelPrize Laureate Richard Robson. So thrilled for Richard, and thinking also of Bernard tonight (who passed away many years ago but was a crucial collaborator of Richard's). #Chemsky #ozchem
Can't wait to see the write-up of the MOF/[porous] coordination polymer/whatever nomenclature debate on the BBC!!!
October 8, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Can't wait to see the write-up of the MOF/[porous] coordination polymer/whatever nomenclature debate on the BBC!!!
I always say that although the Nobel gets criticised it is definitely good for one thing: getting some proper chemistry* in front of people's eyeballs, once a year.
So it's great to see this real in-depth reporting from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oh.
*and biology
So it's great to see this real in-depth reporting from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oh.
*and biology
October 8, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I always say that although the Nobel gets criticised it is definitely good for one thing: getting some proper chemistry* in front of people's eyeballs, once a year.
So it's great to see this real in-depth reporting from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oh.
*and biology
So it's great to see this real in-depth reporting from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oh.
*and biology
I didn't realise Robson was from Yorkshire! Just 12 miles (as the crow files) from where Geoffrey Wilkinson was born...
October 8, 2025 at 10:44 AM
I didn't realise Robson was from Yorkshire! Just 12 miles (as the crow files) from where Geoffrey Wilkinson was born...
Reposted by Neil Withers
Another person who would surely have been in contention is Gérard Férey, who sadly passed away in 2017. His MIL-53 and MIL-101 structures continue to wonder and show new applications.
October 8, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Another person who would surely have been in contention is Gérard Férey, who sadly passed away in 2017. His MIL-53 and MIL-101 structures continue to wonder and show new applications.
Always good to remember that the T in BET adsorption is Edward Teller, 'father of the H bomb'
October 8, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Always good to remember that the T in BET adsorption is Edward Teller, 'father of the H bomb'
In all seriousness, I've long been impressed by how MOFs bring together so many different bits of chemistry - a well deserved prize!
Ah, but is it [organic, solid state, coordination, physical] chemistry?
October 8, 2025 at 10:28 AM
In all seriousness, I've long been impressed by how MOFs bring together so many different bits of chemistry - a well deserved prize!
Ah, but is it [organic, solid state, coordination, physical] chemistry?
October 8, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Ah, but is it [organic, solid state, coordination, physical] chemistry?
So what meeting has Kitagawa got to go to?? Hopefully champagne is involved!
October 8, 2025 at 10:17 AM
So what meeting has Kitagawa got to go to?? Hopefully champagne is involved!
What's in the box?? #ChemNobel #ChemSky
October 8, 2025 at 9:39 AM
What's in the box?? #ChemNobel #ChemSky
Reposted by Neil Withers
Morning all. An exciting day in the chemistry calendar. The #NobelPrize in chemistry will be announced in a little over an hour. We're keeping track of all the developments as they happen at Chemistry World #chemnobel www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-202...
The 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry as it happens – live
Join us as we provide analysis and commentary in the run up to the announcement of the biggest prize in chemistry
www.chemistryworld.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Morning all. An exciting day in the chemistry calendar. The #NobelPrize in chemistry will be announced in a little over an hour. We're keeping track of all the developments as they happen at Chemistry World #chemnobel www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-202...
The laureates' 'prize-earning' papers in Phys Rev Lett, Phys Rev B from 1985 + 1987 have 276, 342 and 518 citations [Scopus] - low for Nobel-winning work, maybe?
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October 7, 2025 at 10:16 AM
The laureates' 'prize-earning' papers in Phys Rev Lett, Phys Rev B from 1985 + 1987 have 276, 342 and 518 citations [Scopus] - low for Nobel-winning work, maybe?
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