6 min read
Sometimes you want to avoid doing work but still love chemistry. For that all-too-often occasion, we’ve curated this list of diverse chemistry blogs to help you indulge your love of chemistry. Maybe you’ll even learn something.
This list (in no particular order) covers blogs big and small, old and new. We’ve included notes on which are most active and easiest to read or navigate. Everything is hyperlinked to help you get there quickly and follow these bloggers on social media. Happy reading!
Since 2013 this blog run by Andy Brunning, a chemistry educator in Cambridge, has been explaining the complex chemistry of real-world problems to the public using intricate infographics and visual aids. With over 300k likes on Facebook and 70k followers on Twitter (@CompoundChem), audiences have endorsed the accuracy and beauty of his graphic style which makes him one of the elite Science Communicators in all of Chemistry.
One of the most modern chemistry blogs on this list that will appeal to students and young professionals on their way to joining the chemistry community. Blogger Mariam Zaki has a degree in Medicinal Chemistry and translates every new blog post into Arabic to help share her chemistry blogging to a more diverse audience.
Her topics include science communication, science policy in government, chemistry as it applies to every-day health decisions and news from the chemistry community. Mariam’s blog is easy to read and written in a conversational tone. She stopped writing in late 2021, but her articles are still extremely relevant!
https://www.crystalsandcatalysts.com/ (Twitter, Instagram)
This new nonprofit organization is putting together a seriously impressive website of tutorials, infographics, home chemistry experiments and interesting articles on special topics. They even have a podcast too! The best part is that there are no ads to deal with and no memberships or logins to worry about to get all of their best content. The project has huge community support and will keep growing into new areas of chemistry outreach and engagement.
This chemistry blog was rejuvenated in 2019 by its owner, a PhD Organic Chemist who goes by the pen name “C. Hall”. The format of the site makes it exceedingly easy to find posts most relevant to you and it’s written in a conversational and easily digestible way. Post topics include how to run simple chemistry experiments at home, the best chemistry textbooks, breakthroughs in chemistry research and tools for chemists. You can also follow Chemistry Hall on Twitter for new post announcements!
From the chief editor of @NatureChemistry, Stuart Cantrill’s blog “Chemical Connections” meanders through everything a chemist would find interesting on the internet. He’s exceptionally active on his Twitter account @StuartCantrill and many of his blog posts reflect the goings-on in the social media communities in chemistry. Make sure to see his list of chemist accounts on Twitter! He also delves into the chemistry of making gin and chemistry-focused perspectives on other every-day topics in a natural and straightforward voice.
This unique blog makes a point to show images of foods and products (photographed in their lab!) which contain the molecules being discussed. Run by the University of Bristol School of Chemistry, they delve into historical anecdotes of the molecules and how their chemical properties affect the taste, color, nutrition and hazards of the final product. They do an excellent job of citing journal articles and communicating the science behind the properties in a semi-technical voice. My favorite part is their molecules in the kitchen page! They are very active as of January 2020 so make sure to also follow on Twitter @PictureItChem!
https://chempics.wordpress.com/
In this blog dating back to 2013, chemist Dr. Kat Day (@chronicleflask on Twitter, Facebook) takes on popular trends and news headlines that are either using questionable science claims or sensationalizing good science. She does a great job going after relevant topics to the every-day reader including super-slippery toilet coatings, reusing water bottles and homeopathic consumer products.
Her amusing and skeptical tone makes it easy to read and will keep you clicking backwards through the archives to catch up! "Dr. Kat" stopped adding posts in 2022, but I would encourage you to dig through her archive for these gems!
We did it. We made a pocket tool just for chemists. Introducing The Pocket Chemist - Wallet Molecule Stencil, Ruler and Chemistry Reference! You'll fly through sketching reactions and have the most common physical constants, unit conversions and basic equations ready at all times! Get it for $12.50!
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A fun blog by an editor at the Royal Society of Chemistry that covers many random topics on the chemistry community. “Doctor Galactic” holds challenges and events on social media for prizes in collaboration with the major chemistry journals and magazines. It’s not as active as previously, but it’s at least worth following @RealTimeChem on Twitter so you can find any new challenges, games or announcements.
https://doctorgalacticandthelabcoatcowboy.com/
Although it's no longer posting new articles, this site has a treasure trove archive of DIY experiments all about the chemistry of food! Covering everything from yeast to baking soda and the sourdough craze, it's worth a look if you like...food.?
A blog dedicated to helping chemists find jobs also brimming with other helpful blog posts and news from the chemistry world. Not only can you find leads for job postings, but also statistics of the job market and even a special section for chemistry post-doc positions. The site is fairly easy to navigate given the huge number of posts and is extremely active as of January 2020. Make sure to follow along on Twitter @ChemJobber as well!
https://chemjobber.blogspot.com/
Chemblaics (pronounced “chem-bla-ics”) is the science that uses computers to solve problems in chemistry, biochemistry and related fields using open source software, open data, and open standards, making experimental results reproducible and validatable. This is a very niche but interesting blog to expose you to a field you may not have been aware of. If you enjoy chemistry, data science, programming and modeling, this may be the right field for you.
https://chem-bla-ics.blogspot.com/
An impressive collection of thousands of technical posts outlining organic chemistry reactions from recently published papers. This is a serious blog for serious organic chemists in research and industry. They also include organic chemistry job postings in the sidebar and a solid collection of other resources from around the internet. Highly active and up-to-date as of January 2020. They also have a small Twitter and massive Facebook page.
https://www.organic-chemistry.org/
Maybe the best chemistry blog hosted by a commercial business' website, ReAgent puts out weekly posts that are well-written, easy to read and easily convey some pretty technical concepts in a 5-10 minute read.
The Chemistry Blog is obviously more chemistry-focused and covers a quick deep dive into many common research chemicals and is an excellent reference when you're working with something new in your lab.
The Science Blog is still chemistry-leaning but covers a more broad range of topics, often the role of science or chemistry in every-day life. Each of these contain hundreds of posts dating back to 2016 and are definitely worth bookmarking!
If you’re pursuing a career in medicinal chemistry, this is the most focused blog for you. It’s a simple 1-page scrollable feed focusing on news in medicinal chemistry, especially FDA approvals and insight on the drug’s chemistry and how it’s effective for each application. Near-daily posts in 2020 will give you plenty of reading to keep up with current news in the field.
This is a massive high-quality blog and news outlet on everything chemistry. They get contributions from the most prominent chemists and chemistry writers in the world. Topics include cutting-edge chemistry news, historical anecdotes, biographies, interesting insight on chemistry in every-day life and even career advice. Definitely follow them on Twitter @ChemistryWorld – one of the largest chemistry accounts in existence. You can’t go wrong with the free content here, but make sure to also spend time on the other underrated blogs in this list!
https://www.chemistryworld.com/
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