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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 56m

And I'm happy to see now that I already had Robson's work on board in that discussion!

Reposted by Philip Ball

Elizabeth Gibney @lizziegibney.bsky.social · 2h

Over at @naturepodcast.bsky.social we also made a super short vid on this year's physics Nobel Prize. Quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale in two minutes... go! With me, and Ben Thompson & camera work by the fab @emzywb.bsky.social 🧪⚛️

www.youtube.com/shorts/krita...

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1h

TBH I've always regarded this stuff as an offshoot of supramolecular chemistry, as per these pages from the review I wrote with Jean-Marie Lehn in 2000.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1h

God, I probably did handle that paper but for once I can't quite remember. He wasn't at the Paris meeting - an oversight by us, for sure. But that "crystal engineering" stuff of the 90s using coordination chemistry was very much in the same spirit. Jim Wuest may have been in Paris - I'll check.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2h

How 1980s of you to even ask, Neil.

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Reposted by Philip Ball

Katharine Sanderson @kms163.bsky.social · 3h

the 2025 #Nobel prize in Chemistry for MOFs! Delighted to have dug into the potential of these amazing materials earlier this year www.nature.com/articles/d41...

World’s most porous sponges: intricate carbon-trapping powders hit the market

Metal-organic frameworks were the next big thing in chemistry when they were invented more than three decades ago. Now, these intriguing materials are becoming commercial tools for capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from the air.

www.nature.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2h

I alluded to John's infamous comment in this 1966 N&V about the work of Jim Wuest, Mike Zaworotsky & co. on crystal design that used many of the MOF principles before they were called that. (For some reason the Nature site doesn't let me get at the pdf)
www.nature.com/articles/381...

Scandal of crystal design... - Nature

Nature - Scandal of crystal design...

www.nature.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2h

😂
But what's Stu going to nominate for Nobels now?

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2h

I'd like to imagine Ian might have more up his sleeve, but I suspect he'd have a hard time persauading his editors to allow it.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

Prehistoric humans would be justifiably pissed off that in the future folks would say "Neolithic, Palaeolithic, what the hell's a few thousand years?" Anyway, that's by way of saying that @lemoustier.bsky.social has pointed out that my sloppy mind put "Neo-" here where it should have been "Palaeo-"

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

It's all in here Nigel 😉
www.penguin.co.uk/books/393043...

Bright Earth

Colour in art - as in life - is both inspiring and uplifting, but where does it come from? How have artists found new hues, and how have these influenced their work? Beginning with the ancients - when...

www.penguin.co.uk

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

Oops yes, sleepy this morning - thank you Rebecca!

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

It was only a question of time. One of those Nobels that was always inevitable, and hugely deserved.

Nature @nature.com · 3h

BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks”

Stay tuned for more.
#NobelPrize

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

Because there's so much awful stuff to write about, I decided to write my latest column for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social about something interesting and removed from all that: the discovery of a blue pigment in a Neolithic artefact.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...

How did cave artists get a brand new pigment?

The discovery of traces of a blue pigment on a stone shaped into a shallow dish at a Palaeolithic site in Germany is quite a find

www.thenewworld.co.uk

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

And what is the point of writing to Musk if, after he failed to respond, they are to simply shrug and say "Ah well, I suppose that's that"? There is neither logic nor transparency - two key features of good science - to any of this.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

If it's "not in their interest", does this mean there's too much of a risk? If they think that, they should at least say so. They are hiding behind cryptic formulas, none of which explain why they are apparently ignoring their own Code of Conduct for Fellows.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

The RS's comment here - "it is not in the RS's interests to pursue disciplinary action" does not match Adrian Smith's comment that it is not the RS's duty to "police the personal politics" of its Fellows. It seems there's something they are not saying.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

The always brilliant Anjana Ahuja calls out the Royal Society for failing to stand up to Elon Musk.
www.ft.com/content/d4eb...

The Royal Society should be protecting science, not Musk

The esteemed club risks becoming a bystander as reason and rationality come under attack

www.ft.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 14h

Just discovered Anika Nilles. What a drummer. That is all.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 15h

This is good. Yes, there is scholarship on this, and it shows that staying silent never ends well.

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 1d

I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

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jeremymberg.github.io

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Reposted by Philip Ball

Miguel Ramalho-Santos @mrsantos.bsky.social · 17h

John Gurdon was a true giant:
- founder of cell reprogramming;
- founder of molecular embryology;
- unabashed advocate for basic research;
- advisor to numerous successful trainees/PIs;
- gentle human that touched so many.
In dark times with science under attack, let his vision be a guiding light.

Katherine Brown @katherine-brown.bsky.social · 19h

Very saddened to hear of John Gurdon’s passing. I’ve been lucky enough to interact with him at multiple points through my career - from undergrad lectures, through his position as former Chair of @biologists.bsky.social’s Board of Directors, and as an author at @dev-journal.bsky.social.

Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Gurdon dies aged 92

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the Gurdon Institute.

www.cam.ac.uk

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 15h

Here's something more up to date on that!
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/hand...

Handing handedness to amino acids

A new theory proposes how chiral amplification could happen

www.chemistryworld.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 21h

2012 Nobel laureate John Gurdon has died. His work was central to both the development of animal cloning and the possibility of reprogramming cells to a different state. A giant of cell and developmental biology.
www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College

Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

www.magd.cam.ac.uk

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Reposted by Philip Ball

Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 1d

“This model disadvantages faculty who prioritize societal impact, mentorship, and a host of other values-based activities and outcomes.”

@retractionwatch.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

Nah. Very much not definitive, and in any event it's not even a well-defined target. All the same, what John has done with superconducting QC circuits is enormously impressive.

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