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Ellis Crawford

@elliscrawford

Scientific Editor, RSC. Views my own. Background in computational chemistry and education. Sci-fi, blackgaze, queer horror books, MMOs - including an insistent love of Phantasy Star Online

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Latest posts by Ellis Crawford @elliscrawford

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10.03.2026 11:55 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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⏳3 days to go! Nominations for the 2026 Chemical Science Lectureship in digital chemistry close on 13 March. See rsc.li/chemsci-lectureship26 for details about eligibility and how to nominate. #CompChem #MLChem #AIChem #MachineLearning

10.03.2026 14:24 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Chemical softness as a predictor for reactivity at metal surfaces The problem of identifying and characterising the active sites for heterogeneous catalysis can be addressed by employing descriptors of reactivity, such as the local softness. A new method of calculat...

Just published today, we are delighted to share our paper entitled β€œChemical Softness as a Predictor for Reactivity at Metal Surfaces” #ChemSky #CompChemSky

10.03.2026 13:45 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

We are inviting self-nominations for the 2026 @rsc-photochem.bsky.social group Early Career Researcher Lectureship, which recognises outstanding research contributions and excellence in communication by early career scientists in the area of photophysics and photochemistry. (1/N)

#chemsky

06.01.2026 13:50 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Yesterday the NHS banned all under 18 prescriptions of HRT for trans young people.

This ban was justified by 10 new studies that largely stated NO EVIDENCE for under 18s HRT exists.

The study underpinning this played one particular trick.

Let's briefly look at how the NHS rigged the game 1/5

10.03.2026 09:04 πŸ‘ 753 πŸ” 370 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 39

The Yiddish Lit professor I TA'ed for in grad school used to say that most people vastly underestimate the degree to which violent millenarianism was going to affect the rest of our lives. That was in 2007 & everybody thought he was nuts. One of the smartest people I've ever met.

03.03.2026 08:45 πŸ‘ 53 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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This exceptionally bulky ligand features trityl groups and a benzylated backbone that together create steric shielding that allows the isolation of rare low-coordinate metal complexes.
www.chemistryworld.com/news/benzyla...

27.02.2026 15:38 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
David Lynch saying β€˜One day, the sadness will end. But I don’t think today’s the day.’

David Lynch saying β€˜One day, the sadness will end. But I don’t think today’s the day.’

28.02.2026 08:33 πŸ‘ 6924 πŸ” 1899 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 21

Kansas has, overnight, invalidated the drivers’ licenses of trans people, a pointless cruelty that upends their lives

If Brits think β€œit won’t happen here” think again! Groups in the U.K. who want the same thing are routinely invited to consult with Labour and normalised in our press!

26.02.2026 08:59 πŸ‘ 3389 πŸ” 914 πŸ’¬ 35 πŸ“Œ 39

This is what I need cis folks to understand.

It's been a decade.

Imagine living TEN FUCKING YEARS watching as a blatant, artificial campaign to erase your personhood, your identity and your safety chugs along, increasing in power every single day, and most people don't care or dismiss it

26.02.2026 05:28 πŸ‘ 7377 πŸ” 3418 πŸ’¬ 24 πŸ“Œ 32
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Isolation of arylhalodiphosphenes: periodic trends in R–PP–X bonding (X = Cl, Br, I) For over a century, aryldiazonium halides have served as widely used building blocks within synthetic chemistry. They are vital intermediates in converting simple anilines to high-value products, incl...

Check out recent work from the Mehta group looking at structure of Ar-P=P-X molecules, the compositional all P analogue of aryldiazonium halides. Published in @chemicalscience.rsc.org Thanks @ukri.org @erc.europa.eu for funding!
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

25.02.2026 17:14 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
This is a promotional image for #RSCPoster 2026. It features the text: "Last chance to register. #RSCPoster 2026 is next week (3-4 March). Don't forget to register to be eligible to win a prize! Register by 11:59pm (UK time) on 2 March 2026." The Royal Society of Chemistry and American Elements logos are present. The background is a digital network design.

This is a promotional image for #RSCPoster 2026. It features the text: "Last chance to register. #RSCPoster 2026 is next week (3-4 March). Don't forget to register to be eligible to win a prize! Register by 11:59pm (UK time) on 2 March 2026." The Royal Society of Chemistry and American Elements logos are present. The background is a digital network design.

#RSCPoster 2026 is next week (3-4 March). Don't forget to register to be eligible to win a prize! Go to our webpage and register today ➑️ https://rsc.li/3XGGvzS

26.02.2026 09:18 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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20 years of microfluidic technology for advancing plant sciences Understanding how plants respond to dynamic and spatially variable stimuli is a key goal in plant sciences. Traditional imaging methods often involve a trade-off between environmental control and spat...

I’m happy to share that the first paper of my PhD - "20 years of microfluidic technology for advancing plant sciences” has been published in Lab on a Chip.

Many thanks to Dr Claire Stanley and Dr Eleonora Moratto for their support throughout this work.

doi.org/10.1039/D5LC...

20.02.2026 16:48 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, looking over our selections that does seem like it might be the case - apologies!

I can see automation is under analytical and theoretical for some reason, but not elsewhere. An update is likely needed so I will feed all of this back. Thank you!

19.02.2026 12:16 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A not very friendly robot from the television show Blake's 7.

A not very friendly robot from the television show Blake's 7.

Keyword: "Chemistry (as done by a robot from Blake's 7)"

Looking over our selection choices, we definitely have some things that need moved around so will put together a request to our technology team.

19.02.2026 12:14 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yip, sounds like we do! Less meccano robots, more up to date with LLMs, neural networks and digital chemistry I feel!

19.02.2026 12:04 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Robotics and automation shouldn't be under theoretical chemistry but this might be a way that it has (oddly) been set up... πŸ˜”

Which are the ones that are missing? I am more than happy to feed all this back to our systems team!

19.02.2026 12:02 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Probably The Creator.

I had such high hopes for it and it was rotten. Narrowly beats out Rise of Skywalker.

19.02.2026 11:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
An R-S-C promotional graphic for a P-C-C-P Meet the Editor session titled How to publish with impact. Monday 30 March 2026, 3.30PM CET, Bunsen-Tagung. Join Development Editor Bee Hockin (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK)

An R-S-C promotional graphic for a P-C-C-P Meet the Editor session titled How to publish with impact. Monday 30 March 2026, 3.30PM CET, Bunsen-Tagung. Join Development Editor Bee Hockin (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK)

Delighted to announce that I'll be attending Bunsen-Tagung 2026 in Dresden from 30 March - 1 April, and I've teamed up with the Young Physical Chemists to present a Meet The Editor workshop on how to publish with impact!

More info: veranstaltungen.gdch.de/microsite/in...

#ChemSky #MeetTheEditor

13.02.2026 15:43 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ryosuke’s paper was featured on the cover of the latest issue of @chemicalscience.rsc.org! With the support of his loving family, he is spreading the wings of a once-bent kite and sending it soaring into the skyπŸ’« Congrats, Ryosuke!!
pubs.rsc.org/en-ph/conten...

11.02.2026 13:50 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Check out our subject-specific collections of our most popular Chemical Science content published in 2025! These collections highlight some of the exceptional research published in Chemical Science and they are free to read.

Read our blog post: blogs.rsc.org/sc/

#ChemSky #ChemSciMostPopular

09.02.2026 16:00 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 3
Description of hyaluronic acid
Class: Polysaccharide
Treats: Dry skin, aging skin, low natural hyaluronic acid production, wounds
Mechanisms: Humectant, moisturizer, injectable filler, biosynthesis stimulant
Retail formulation: 0.01–2% in lotions and serums
Sources: Natural product extraction, microbial fermentation
Michelle’s take: Naturally, in the body, hyaluronic acid is in the extracellular matrix, where it holds onto large amounts of water for lubrication and shock absorption. In skin care, hyaluronic acid is used as a moisturizer; it holds on to water and slows it from evaporating from the skin. It also seems to have a signaling function to cause long-term changes in skin.

Description of hyaluronic acid Class: Polysaccharide Treats: Dry skin, aging skin, low natural hyaluronic acid production, wounds Mechanisms: Humectant, moisturizer, injectable filler, biosynthesis stimulant Retail formulation: 0.01–2% in lotions and serums Sources: Natural product extraction, microbial fermentation Michelle’s take: Naturally, in the body, hyaluronic acid is in the extracellular matrix, where it holds onto large amounts of water for lubrication and shock absorption. In skin care, hyaluronic acid is used as a moisturizer; it holds on to water and slows it from evaporating from the skin. It also seems to have a signaling function to cause long-term changes in skin.

As hyaluronic acid is in the news this week (thanks ski jumping) here's a quick reminder about what it is from a recent @cenmag.bsky.social story.
You can also read more about the polysaccharide in a feature story from 2021 by @craigofwaffles.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/business/con...

06.02.2026 09:18 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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New #ICMABResearch published in #ChemicalScience!πŸ§ͺ

πŸ“ŒAddressing first cycle irreversible capacity in lithium-rich layered oxides by blending with delithiated active materials

icmab.es/addressing-f...

πŸ“œRead the paper here: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

02.02.2026 06:40 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Now out in @chemicalscience.rsc.org ! First paper by LΓ©na Triestram in our group, β€œIdentifying phase transitions in Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks” by advanced #compchem methods. #chemsky doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...

03.02.2026 08:37 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Riding My Bicycle (From Feddersensgate 5A to MΓΈllerveien 31)

tidal.com/track/843588...

04.02.2026 08:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Travel funding information Travel cost reimbursement available!

Travel funding is available for our Trans+ in STEM symposium in London on 27th Feb!
Huge thanks to @prideinstem.bsky.social and @proud-science.bsky.social for making this possibleπŸ”¬πŸ§ͺπŸ”­πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ

#lgbt #trans #lgbtSTEM
open.substack.com/pub/transste...

02.02.2026 19:33 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Do you know any researchers that have made significant contributions to digital #chemistry, #AI, #machinelearning and #automation and has published in Chemical Science within the last five years?

Find out how to nominate the for the 2026 Chemical Science Lectureship here: rsc.li/chemsci-lect...

30.01.2026 16:52 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Rowling extended an invite to Epstein for the "Cursed Child" broadway debut. Musk emailedEpstein begging to be allowed on the island. Epstein chatted with evo psych guys about the suitability of trans women for prostitution.

Society is organized around the sexual exploitation of the vulnerable.

02.02.2026 07:37 πŸ‘ 969 πŸ” 299 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 3
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Funding piece Modern astronomy is full of marvels. In recent years we have rejoiced in the success of the James Webb Space Telescope, and been puzzled by the surprisingly vibrant early Universe it is showing us. We...

Or not. This has been removed for review by the University. (Who asked me to write it in the first place). You can find it here while they sort themselves out: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

30.01.2026 15:46 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 3
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Expert Comment: Cuts to fundamental research will hurt the UK’s Chris Lintott, ProfessorΒ of Astrophysics at Oxford’s Department of Physics, responds to the news that University funding for astronomy and physics research will be cut by almost a third.

Wrote something about what we're facing in funding for fundamental science - and why it matters: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-01... πŸ”­ πŸ§ͺ #academicsky #Oxford cc @ox.ac.uk

30.01.2026 15:35 πŸ‘ 80 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 2