All articles by Derek Lowe
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OpinionA chemist in the flower garden
The beautifully complex molecules plants produce are as inspiring as the blooms themselves
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OpinionBeing wrong is almost inevitable
On the tightrope of expressing your opinion, you always risk looking a fool
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OpinionMedicinal chemistry’s biological blind spots
Despite advances in modern medicine, there are some big gaps in our knowledge
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OpinionThe US abortion drugs regulation challenge has stalled, but it will return
Having failed in the US Supreme Court, anti-abortion activists are trying other ways to prevent access to mifepristone
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OpinionWill science ever reach an end?
While the rate of discoveries in any field may slow over time, the frontier creeps ever further
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OpinionLab automation gives me more time at the top of the mountain
Getting back to the bench reminds Derek Lowe how much has changed in 40 years
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OpinionWater isn’t normal
Despite its familiarity, water is a chemical oddity. But that’s what makes it fascinating
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OpinionFrom one sinking ship to another?
Biogen abandoning Alzheimer’s antibody aducanumab is unusual, but hardly surprising, says Derek Lowe
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OpinionHarnessing fear and greed for innovation
Many powerful emotions motivate us in the search for new knowledge
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OpinionSaving the sounds of Superstition
Preserving the look, feel and sound of degrading plastic artefacts presents particular problems
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OpinionCompounding problems
Regulating the line between a vital service and grey-market profiteering is a mess
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OpinionSlow march of the retrosynthesis robots
Software synthesis suggestions are hampered by biased and incomplete datasets
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OpinionSurviving in the war of all against all
Cancers and bacteria develop resistance to drugs in remarkably similar ways
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OpinionNavigating the literature torrent
It’s humanly impossible to filter and read everything worthwhile – let’s embrace assistance
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OpinionBringing drug manufacturing back home
Pharmaceutical supply chains are international, complex and opaque. Is there a better way?
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OpinionRegulators must follow their heads, not their hearts
The 2019 US approval of antibiotic Recarbrio seems not to have met the normally expected standards
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OpinionWill a court overturn abortion drug’s approval?
Tangle between regulation and politics makes uncomfortable viewing from industry
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OpinionMeeting the tigers of the lab
Practical teaching strikes a balance between removing hazards and learning to respect them
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OpinionTurning negative results into positives
Publishing unsuccessful experiments is more important than ever as we try to train machines in chemistry