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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

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 ๐Ÿ‘ 53 ๐Ÿ” 18 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 13 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
David Lynch saying โ€˜One day, the sadness will end. But I donโ€™t think todayโ€™s the day.โ€™

David Lynch saying โ€˜One day, the sadness will end. But I donโ€™t think todayโ€™s the day.โ€™

28.02.2026 08:33 ๐Ÿ‘ 6920 ๐Ÿ” 1897 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 10 ๐Ÿ“Œ 21

Kansas has, overnight, invalidated the driversโ€™ licenses of trans people, a pointless cruelty that upends their lives

If Brits think โ€œit wonโ€™t happen hereโ€ 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 ๐Ÿ‘ 3391 ๐Ÿ” 914 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 35 ๐Ÿ“Œ 40

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 ๐Ÿ‘ 7362 ๐Ÿ” 3412 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 25 ๐Ÿ“Œ 32
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Isolation of arylhalodiphosphenes: periodic trends in Rโ€“PPโ€“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 23 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 โžก๏ธ https://rsc.li/3XGGvzS

26.02.2026 09:18 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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...

Iโ€™m happy to share that the first paper of my PhD - "20 years of microfluidic technology for advancing plant sciencesโ€ 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 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Robotics and automation shouldn't be under theoretical chemistry but this might be a way that it has (oddly) been set up... ๐Ÿ˜”

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 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Front cover

Ryosukeโ€™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 sky๐Ÿ’ซ Congrats, Ryosuke!!
pubs.rsc.org/en-ph/conten...

11.02.2026 13:50 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 13 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“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: 0.01โ€“2% in lotions and serums
Sources: Natural product extraction, microbial fermentation
Michelleโ€™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: 0.01โ€“2% in lotions and serums Sources: Natural product extraction, microbial fermentation Michelleโ€™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 ๐Ÿ‘ 11 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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New #ICMABResearch published in #ChemicalScience!๐Ÿงช

๐Ÿ“ŒAddressing first cycle irreversible capacity in lithium-rich layered oxides by blending with delithiated active materials

icmab.es/addressing-f...

๐Ÿ“œRead the paper here: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

02.02.2026 06:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Now out in @chemicalscience.rsc.org ! First paper by Lรฉna Triestram in our group, โ€œIdentifying phase transitions in Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworksโ€ by advanced #compchem methods. #chemsky doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...

03.02.2026 08:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 22 ๐Ÿ” 7 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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

tidal.com/track/843588...

04.02.2026 08:55 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 possible๐Ÿ”ฌ๐Ÿงช๐Ÿ”ญ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ

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

02.02.2026 19:33 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 970 ๐Ÿ” 299 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7 ๐Ÿ“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 ๐Ÿ‘ 55 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 6 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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Expert Comment: Cuts to fundamental research will hurt the UKโ€™s Chris Lintott, Professorย of Astrophysics at Oxfordโ€™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... ๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช #academicsky #Oxford cc @ox.ac.uk

30.01.2026 15:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 80 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Three-state molecular switch based on terarylene photo- or redox-induced reversible isomerisation Multi-addressable molecular photoswitches whose isomerisation can be triggered not only by light, but also by other stimuli are appealing for the development of novel smart materials as well as for br...

Just shortly after the 3rd (๐Ÿ˜ฑ) anniversary of my PhD defense, a work of my thesis got accepted in @chemicalscience.rsc.org ๐Ÿš€

If you're interested in dual-responsive #photoswitches, check the link out, it's ๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ”“!

#ChemSky #ChemPubs

10.06.2025 15:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 28 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A photograph of attendees for the 2025 Chemical Science Symposium, including the winner of the 2025 lectureship, Professor Chris Chang.

A photograph of attendees for the 2025 Chemical Science Symposium, including the winner of the 2025 lectureship, Professor Chris Chang.

Separately, it was fantastic how well the talk from the winner of the 2025 Lectureship was integrated into our Chemical Science Symposium. Can you spot the winner (Professor Chris Chang) in the symposium photo?

30.01.2026 15:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Chemical Science Lectureship For 2026, the lectureship is open to candidates in digital chemistry and the chemical applications of AI, ML, and automation.

Apologies for the truncated link for finding out details on the nomination. It should be rsc.li/chemsci-lect...

30.01.2026 15:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A scientific infographic titled โ€œSteric Analysisโ€ showing a 3D molecular model of a chiral catalyst interacting with a substrate. Colorโ€‘coded isosurfaces (green to red) represent steric repulsion values from 0 to 0.4 kcal/mol/bohrยณ, computed with IGMPlot. Molecular fragments such as a mesityl group and (S)-configured center are labeled. Numerical steric values in kcal/mol appear along bonds. A yellow circle on the left reads โ€œPick of the Week,โ€ and the words โ€œSELFโ€ and โ€œchiral catalystโ€ are highlighted. Small cartoon molecules with repulsion arrows appear in the top right.

A scientific infographic titled โ€œSteric Analysisโ€ showing a 3D molecular model of a chiral catalyst interacting with a substrate. Colorโ€‘coded isosurfaces (green to red) represent steric repulsion values from 0 to 0.4 kcal/mol/bohrยณ, computed with IGMPlot. Molecular fragments such as a mesityl group and (S)-configured center are labeled. Numerical steric values in kcal/mol appear along bonds. A yellow circle on the left reads โ€œPick of the Week,โ€ and the words โ€œSELFโ€ and โ€œchiral catalystโ€ are highlighted. Small cartoon molecules with repulsion arrows appear in the top right.

Want to visualise steric repulsion in 3D? Our Chemical Science Pick of the Week for this week is "A Visualizable and Widely Applicable Steric Repulsion Descriptor for Guiding Experimental Chemistry" by ร‰ric Hรฉnon et al.

Read it here, free: doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...

#ChemSky #CompChemSky ๐Ÿงช

28.01.2026 10:00 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0