C&EN’s 10 Most Popular Articles From 2015

1. Lego To Replace Oil-Based Plastics



Environment: Danish toy maker will invest $150 million, hire more than 100 people to develop sustainable plastics for its signature product

2. Helium Beer, From Prank To Tank

We decided to make our own helium beer. For real.

3. Suspected Meth Lab Explodes At National Institute Of Standards & Technology

Congress: Safety of researchers is questioned in the wake of bizarre incident

4. Postdoctoral Researcher Killed In Fire At Tsinghua University

Lab Safety: Accident happened during an experiment that may have involved hydrogen

5. When Chemicals Became Weapons of War

The release of poison gas 100 years ago changed the face of World War I and gave humanity a new weapon of mass destruction

6. C&EN’s Talented 12: The Class Of 2015

Welcome to C&EN’s first annual Talented 12 feature, in which we highlight path-paving young researchers and entrepreneurs who are using chemistry to solve global problems

7. A New Spin On The Old Gram Stain

Microbiology: Using spectroscopy, researchers upended the belief that bacteria completely absorb the dye used to identify different bacterial types

8. DuPont Will Dissolve Central Research

Reorganization: DuPont is reshuffling its R&D organization in advance of its merger with Dow

9. Global Top 50 Chemical Companies

Falling oil prices led to lower chemical sales but higher profits at the top chemical makers

10. Nuclear Forensics Shows Nazis Were Nowhere Near Making Atomic Bomb

Analysis of historic uranium samples from Germany’s wartime experiments solves World War II mystery