Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2h

Yeah. I might have seen this nomination packet a few times before now... 😜

1

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 3h

Time to break out this pic of me being strangled by a future #Nobel Laureate in 2017… #Chemsky #chemnobel…

10 110

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 3h

So glad they included Robson #chemnobel

5 2 33

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 3h

It's MOFs #ChemNobel #Chemsky

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

#NobelPrize week starts tomorrow & the #chemnobel is Wednesday… used to be so much Nobel chat on Tw*tter, but that is not replicated here, alas. Anyway, for the record, I think MOFs will win at some point (maybe this year maybe not). Balasubramanian & Klenerman a good bet for next-gen sequencing too

1 2 40

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 3h

Thanks Laura

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 6h

It’s #chemnobel day. For me, and for quite a few other people who spent time in the Stoddart group, it will hit somewhat differently this year.

Seems the right time to share a couple of passages from the eulogy I gave at Fraser’s funeral earlier this year.

A screenshot of text that reads:

Fraser lived his life at a hundred miles an hour. But it wasn't always the best thing for him or for those closest to him. In an interview following the award of the Nobel Prize in 2016 he recalled his time growing up on a farm and said that that had instilled in him the work ethic of a honeybee. Nobody would doubt that he had that. He also talked about having the strength of a horse and the hide of an elephant; what he didn't mention is that he could also be as stubborn as a mule. He did things his way and was rarely persuaded to do otherwise.

This bloody-mindedness undoubtedly contributed to his incredibly successful career. While those who didn't really know him will measure his contributions through the prizes he won, his real professional legacy is not those prizes, it is the people who passed through his lab and shared in his scientific journey. Yes, he changed science, but he changed lives too - including mine and many of those here today. I learned a lot from Fraser: some chemistry, how to make slides for presentations, how to always include a noun after the word 'this', and a few random Scottish words that I'm still not convinced he didn't just make up.

3 6 59

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Alexandrova Lab @alexandrovalab.bsky.social · 10h

We conducted a #ChemNobel prediction poll in the group on the #NobelPrize in Chemistry Eve!

(PS: we might be a little biased 😉) #chemsky #compchem #compchemsky

Bar chart titled “Chemistry Nobel Prize 2025 Prediction Poll.”
The chart lists predicted discoveries and scientists, sorted by increasing number of votes.

Biomolecular Condensates — Brangwynne, Hyman, Rosen (1 vote)

Chemical Biology — Chi-Huey Wong, Stuart Schreiber, Peter Schultz (1 vote)

Reticular Chemistry — Omar Yaghi, Makoto Fujita, Richard Robson (2 votes)

Controlled Radical Polymerization — Ezio Rizzardo, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Mitsuo Sawamoto (2 votes)

C–N Coupling — Stephen Buchwald, John Hartwig (2 votes)

DNA Synthesis — Marvin Carruthers (2 votes)

Electron Transfer — Harry Gray, Jacqueline Barton (2 votes)

Next-gen DNA Sequencing — David Klenerman, Shankar Balasubramanian, Jonas Mayer (3 votes)

Single-Atom Catalysts — Tao Zhang et al. (4 votes)

Ab initio Molecular Dynamics — Roberto Car, Michele Parrinello (6 votes)

Ab initio MD received the highest number of votes in the poll.

1 2 15

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 15h

Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.

A post by Rebecca Johnson:
“I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.”

A tumblr respond from mightymur:
“The final, brilliant word on passive voice.
"She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive
"Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”

550 1.4K

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 20h

The @natureportfolio.nature.com Collection celebrating the 2025 #NobelPrize in #Physics is now live!

Nobel Prize in Physics 2025

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 was awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical ...

www.nature.com

7 13

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

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

25 52

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Keith Hornberger @krhornberger.bsky.social · 1d

It’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry Eve, and you know what that means - it’s time for the annual survey!

Who will win this year’s chemistry Nobel? Wrong answers only.

a cartoon hand is pressing a red button that says wrong answer

ALT: a cartoon hand is pressing a red button that says wrong answer

media.tenor.com

15 7 18

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Nature Physics @natphys.nature.com · 1d

Want to read a Comment by the three Nobel Laureates on quantum circuits?

Here it is: ($)

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Quantum Josephson junction circuits and the dawn of artificial atoms - Nature Physics

In 1985, experiments revealed the quantum behaviour of a macroscopic degree of freedom: the phase difference across a Josephson junction. The authors recount the history of this milestone for the development of superconducting quantum circuits.

www.nature.com

1 17 36

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 1d

Please do 😀

1 1

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Elisa Fadda @elisafadda.bsky.social · 1d

Roberto Car and Michele Parrinello are on my #ChemNobel ballot for 2025 and for every year until they'll get it 😎

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

#NobelPrize week starts tomorrow & the #chemnobel is Wednesday… used to be so much Nobel chat on Tw*tter, but that is not replicated here, alas. Anyway, for the record, I think MOFs will win at some point (maybe this year maybe not). Balasubramanian & Klenerman a good bet for next-gen sequencing too

2 10

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 1d

Our Collection celebrating the 2025 Physiology or Medicine #NobelPrize is now live!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries ...

www.nature.com

3 6

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Margaret Harris @drmlharris.bsky.social · 1d

Ahead of tomorrow’s #NobelPrize announcement, I went on a deep dive in search of the most obscure physics Nobel Prizes in history. That means it's time for a thread on...🧵

PHYSICS NOBEL PRIZES YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF – PART 1

(1/n)

A photo of the Matterhorn rising above an Alpine landscape. The colours are a little washed out, but do not appear artificially tinted

2 34 92

Reposted by Stu Cantrill

Nature @nature.com · 2d

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three scientists for discovering a class of immune cells that help to prevent the body from attacking its own tissues

go.nature.com/3VNrH1s

Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who revealed secrets of immune system ‘regulation’

Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi discovered cells that protect the body from autoimmune diseases.

go.nature.com

2 40 120

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

There’s always tomorrow

1 1

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

I’d rather be here, thanks, complaining about whatever it is I want to complain about.

2

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

That’s fair!

1

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

Could it be a combined prize at all?

1

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

I’ve heard this Crudden person is doing cool stuff with carbenes… 😉

1 8

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

That would be amazing. I just don’t see it happening, alas.

1 1

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

One example: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Clickstream Data Yields High-Resolution Maps of Science

Background Intricate maps of science have been created from citation data to visualize the structure of scientific activity. However, most scientific publications are now accessed online. Scholarly we...

journals.plos.org

1 2

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 2d

I really don’t like that term - plot out a network analysis of citations in the scientific literature and chemistry ain’t in the middle… don’t get me wrong, I love chemistry of course, but I don’t agree with that assessment of how it sits within science… (but I’m not trying to start a fight!)

2 4