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Chemistry beyond the bench
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1075
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1091
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1094
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1099
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1106
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1116
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1121
A collection of Commentary articles that look at broader issues in chemistry beyond the science itself are published in the September issue of Nature Chemistry to mark the International Year of Chemistry.
The representation of women in chemistry — and how this has changed in the 100 years since Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry — is examined by Michelle Francl in one article. After dismissing the usual theories put forward to explain the gender imbalance in science, she goes on to examine more subtle cues such as architecture and colour. She suggests that the places in which science is done, and also communicated, are often biased to fit men more than women. For example, laboratory space and scientific equipment use colours that are typically associated with men — strong primaries and earthy tones — which may send out the message that “science stuff is for boys to play with.”
To celebrate the anniversary of Curie’s Chemistry Nobel Prize and the role that women play in chemistry today, the cover of the September issue of Nature Chemistry features a mosaic of Marie Curie comprising photographs contributed by more than 200 female scientists.
A Commentary, also published in this collection, suggests that looking to the future, attempting to gain a greater understanding of the fundamental physical chemical behaviour of molecules in their interactions with cells could be the key to greatly enhancing the success rate of drug discovery. Historically, much effort has been placed on identifying new drug molecules, often without knowing the precise details of how they work because the cells and organisms they are used to treat are exceptionally complex systems. Mark Murcko and co-workers argue that greater efforts to answer the how and why questions of drug activity — rather than the what — could greatly improve the efficiency of the process and help to revive the pharmaceutical industry from its current slump.
Other issues addressed in the collection include the problem of effectively communicating chemistry, in terms of formal education, but also with the wider public — why, for example, would the word ‘chemistry’ featuring on the cover of a non-technical book result in low sales?
Author contacts:
Michelle Francl (Bryn Mawr College, PA, USA)
Tel: +1 484 380 1408; E-mail: [email protected]
Mark Murcko (Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 444 6518; E-mail: [email protected]
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