Mark Peplow
Mark Peplow is a science journalist with more than a decade of experience as a reporter and editor.
Before turning freelance in January 2013, he spent four years as the chief news editor at Nature magazine, where he ran the global news team. He was the editor of Chemistry World magazine from 2006 to 2008, which followed two years as a reporter at Nature.
Mark’s writing spans the physical sciences, but focuses in particular on chemistry and materials, science policy and the areas where they collide – including energy and the environment. Aside from his monthly Critical Point column for Chemistry World, he writes for many other science magazines including Nature, Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News and Spectrum.
Mark has a degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford, a PhD in organometallic chemistry from Imperial College London, and an MSc in science communication from Imperial. He lives on the outskirts of Cambridge with his wife and two children.
OpinionThe hot topics in chemistry after six years of Critical Point
In his final column, Mark Peplow gives his verdict on careers, collaboration and public engagement
OpinionEvidence in the fake news era
Independent scientific advice is about to collide with partisan politics
OpinionThere is no one answer to improving diversity
Grassroots initiatives and larger projects are both vital weapons in the battle for equality
OpinionThe China CFC dilemma
New production breaking the Montreal Protocol demands a concerted response
OpinionShaking up the knowledge economy
UK Research and Innovation is poised to reshape the research funding landscape
OpinionEscaping the postdoc trap
Low pay and gloomy career prospects are thwarting the next generation of researchers
OpinionWhat now for the world's chemical weapons watchdog?
Attacks in Salisbury, Kuala Lumpur and Syria show that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons needs to evolve
OpinionHow perovskites can live long and prosper
The future of solar cells depends on better stability testing
FeatureRenewable energy in China
Huge investments and cutting-edge research are helping China to pioneer innovations in clean energy technologies, reports Mark Peplow
OpinionWhen evidence isn’t enough
The UK debate over folic acid highlights science’s role in public health ethics
OpinionA question of reproducibility
Survey of metal–organic frameworks raises concerns about the reliability of adsorption data
OpinionAcademic versus predator
Researchers must halt the rise of predatory journals by cutting off their supply of papers
OpinionSafety lessons from Hurricane Harvey
The chemical fires triggered by extreme flooding in Houston demonstrate the need to improve risk management
OpinionSolving the technetium medical isotope shortage
The UK has a solution to the potential shortage of technetium-99m – but that’s no reason to be complacent about leaving Euratom
OpinionThe dark side of dichloromethane
Policymakers and industry must take steps to curb emissions of popular solvent
OpinionWhat could peer review look like in 2030?
AI, credit for reviewers and more pre-prints: Mark Peplow considers the options