Stu Cantrill
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stuartcantrill.com
Stu Cantrill
@stuartcantrill.com
7.3K followers 2.1K following 970 posts
Husband, Dad, PhD, pedant, former Chief Ed of @natchem.nature.com, now Editorial Director at @NaturePortfolio.nature.com. Wine, chemistry, publishing, words & snark. Views ranty, but all mine. #ContaminatedBlood victim (affected). He/Him
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stuartcantrill.com
I had the privilege of sitting next to Prof. Yonath at lunch during a two-day symposium (in Namur I think). She told the best stories… such a loss #chemsky
weizmann.ac.il Weizmann Institute of Science @weizmann.ac.il · 16d
We, the Weizmann Institute of Science community, deeply mourn the passing of Prof. Ada Yonath - Nobel Laureate and a Model of Scientific Perseverance. May her memory be a blessing.
bit.ly/ada-yonath-eng
August 31, 2026 at 8:10 PM
stuartcantrill.com
You bastard, @iandunt.bsky.social - making me spend more money on books…
A picture of the book, ‘The Making of the English Working Class’ by E. P. Thompson. The cover is black and white and shows masses of people in the foreground with factories in the background.
August 31, 2026 at 12:07 PM
stuartcantrill.com
So, to remember the names of the Great Lakes, it’s no longer HOMES, but SHAME. How appropriate 😂
August 27, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
petridishes.bsky.social
the year is 2027. gas costs $83 and lettuce is at war with us. however every location on every map now says AMERICA
August 27, 2026 at 6:54 PM
stuartcantrill.com
0 for 2
A railing that has a sign that says ‘no bikes’ - but there are bikes. And a sign that says ‘no signs’ but…
August 8, 2026 at 9:17 PM
stuartcantrill.com
It’s a #ganevat kind of evening #jurawine #poulsard
A glass of red wine sitting on a table outside; next to it is the bottle in front of which sits the cork and the red wax that was covering the top of the bottle. The wine is a poulsard from Domaine Ganevat ‘Les Chalasses Vieille Vigne’ The back label of a wine bottle noting that it is a Cotes du Jura Poulsard from 2022 from Domaine Ganevat
July 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM
stuartcantrill.com
Impressive.
A sign saying ‘Signed by the author’ next to a copy of the New Testament & Psalms with a red cover.
July 25, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
davidallengreen.bsky.social
Ha ha!

Discuss.

Legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw2/7/0...
July 8, 2026 at 12:22 PM
stuartcantrill.com
I do love this representation of #WorldCup matches, but it’s giving me nightmarish flashbacks of redrawing dendrimers in ChemDraw… 😱 #Chemsky
A circular World Cup bracket with round of 32 games around the outside working their way in towards the final. Countries represented by their flags.
July 1, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
cern.bsky.social
François Englert (1932 – 2026)

It is with great sadness that we announce that Belgian theoretical physicist, François Englert, has passed away at the age of 93.

Read more: home.cern/francois-eng...
François Englert during a visit to CERN in 2014 (Image: CERN)
June 19, 2026 at 5:47 PM
stuartcantrill.com
That's at least 2 journals I've now seen on social media celebrating their impact factor of 0.something...

A good day to drag up this post: stuartcantrill.com/2016/01/23/i...
Imperfect impact
The problems with impact factors are well known – I could give you a long list of things to read that explain why, but just start with this blog post from Stephen Curry and go from there. I have a …
stuartcantrill.com
June 17, 2026 at 10:31 AM
stuartcantrill.com
'In a binary world' from @natphys.nature.com

This is fascinating!!

'These issues are not merely academic curiosities; rockets have fallen from the skies as a result of inattentive digital representations of numbers'

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#chemsky 🧪
In a binary world - Nature Physics
The International System of Units is defined in terms of seven physical constants. Ensuring that computers can understand their values exactly as we do is not as trivial as it might seem, say Cristhia...
www.nature.com
June 17, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
jamesrball.com
From one of the many PR emails I'm getting about the government social media ban. Obviously this is from someone selling this technology.

But stop to think about just how utterly dystopian this is: *constant* video surveillance of all online activity, for everyone.
To keep our children truly safe, technology platforms need to be installing fused biometrics - combining voice and facial signals – to be 100 per cent certain that the person using the platform is the account holder. This also continuously verifies the person throughout the session preventing any tech savvy child from being able to work around restrictions.
June 15, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
drbciani.bsky.social
...and during these challenging moments the community comes together in support of each other. Thank you to everyone that is signing our Open Letter in support of Chemistry at Sheffield, Nottingham Chemistry and Physics.
savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app
nottinghamchemistry.github.io/Open_Letter/
June 14, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
philipcball.bsky.social
BTW Vanta black is not actually the blackest black ever.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Black diamonds - Nature Materials
Nature Materials - Black diamonds
www.nature.com
June 12, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
drbciani.bsky.social
I am lost for words at what is happening at Sheffield and other Universities. If you think you adding your contribution can help, please sign.
homomoleculus.bsky.social Jim Thomas @homomoleculus.bsky.social · Jun 12
I don't usually post about my day job, but the University of Sheffield is planing a restructure and compulsory staff redundancies within Chemistry. 20% of staff are under threat. You can sign an open letter opposing this decision here #SaveSheffieldChemistry

savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app
An Open Letter
savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app
June 12, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
duffofbrentford.bsky.social
If you only want to read 2 paragraphs of World Cup media today, here they are:

Via tompeck.bsky.social
June 12, 2026 at 7:52 AM
stuartcantrill.com
Except the @royalsociety.org because they are 100% behind everything M*sk does. Well, I assume that’s the case until they say otherwise.
ottoenglish.bsky.social Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · Jun 10
The government needs to leave X.

EVERYONE needs to leave X.
June 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM
stuartcantrill.com
📣 Calling all chemists/catalysis peeps!

📖 Ever considered working in scientific publishing as an editor?

✅ If yes, @natcatal.nature.com is hiring!

📍Shanghai, Beijing, Milan or Pune

📅 Deadline: July 12

🙏 Reposts appreciated

🧪 #Chemsky

springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatu...
Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Catalysis
Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Catalysis Locations: Shanghai, Beijing, Milan and Pune – hybrid working model Application Deadline: July 12, 2026 (Candidates will be considered as they apply...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
June 10, 2026 at 11:33 AM
stuartcantrill.com
"...there are also broad prohibitions against any use of federal funds for collaboration with a whole list of countries, starting with China. Any use at all – paper publication charges, travel, reagents, doesn’t matter."

Yikes! The continued dismantling of US science...

#Chemsky 🧪
dereklowe.bsky.social Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · Jun 2
If not now, when? This is an emergency.
Action! Action Now.
www.science.org
June 2, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Stu Cantrill
bagphos.bsky.social
Even Neil Garg’s cyclic allenes are like … Ummm no thank you
shmemistry.bsky.social Dr. Hotlink @shmemistry.bsky.social · Jun 1
Don't use AI in your paper unless you want to make everyone in the field believe you're a damned fool

#chemsky #chemchat
Ai slop in a paper
June 1, 2026 at 10:45 PM
stuartcantrill.com
One for #Chemsky! Congrats @profdaveleigh.bsky.social 👑 (couldn't find a sash, so a crown will have to do 😉)
rsc.org Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org · Jun 2
Professor David Leigh wins @rsc.org presidential election. Professor Leigh, @royalsociety.org Research Professor and Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at @manchester.ac.uk, will be president-elect from 2026-28, when his presidential term begins.
Read more ➡️ www.rsc.org/news/profess...
Midshot of Professor Dave Leigh, wearing glasses, a white University of Manchester labcoat and blue shirt, smiling into camera, with arms folded.
June 2, 2026 at 4:58 PM
stuartcantrill.com
I mean, this cover doesn't fill me with confidence...
The cover of a book called Maths Skills for A Level Biology (@nd Edition) that has a green double helix that is overlayed with lots of numbers. Problem is, the helix is left-handed.
May 28, 2026 at 10:44 PM
stuartcantrill.com
The ad includes 'chemical physics', so I'm gonna go ahead and flag to #Chemsky just in case...
May 21, 2026 at 11:31 AM
stuartcantrill.com
"But most of those in authority would not accept there had been any such disaster, let alone inquire why it had happened" #ContaminatedBlood #NotAnAccident
Infected blood inquiry chair says scandal 'not like other disasters' during memorial service
A memorial service was held in St Paul's Cathedral to remember those affected by the infected blood scandal.
news.sky.com
May 19, 2026 at 9:31 PM