Mason Wakley
I joined the Chemistry World team as a science correspondent in January 2026, having previously worked with the team as an intern in the summer of 2025 and later as a freelancer.
After a stint in research post-university, I realised that working in the lab wasn’t quite for me and that I much preferred talking about science than doing it. My background is in chemistry, though I enjoy covering all areas of science.
In my spare time, I like to run, crochet and cook – though not all at once.
NewsThousands protest across Austria and Poland calling for governments to back science
Proposed budget cuts and lack of funding have led to demonstrations throughout both countries
OpinionWhy setting up a café is a good idea for chemistry students
Where support benefits both mentors and mentees
NewsAustralia forges closer research links to EU as it gets ready to join Horizon Europe by 2027
Becoming part of one of the world’s largest funding programmes will allow Australian researchers direct access to funding and to lead projects
PodcastClick chemistry marks 25 years & covalent bonding in the actinides
Click chemistry: it’s in the name. How has this unique discipline made its mark over the last quarter decade? And, we discuss new experimental evidence of how covalent bonding works in the actinides.
ResearchCould AI research assistants speed up scientific discovery?
Google’s Co-Scientist and Futurehouse’s Robin can help scientists generate hypotheses, design experiments and analyse data
OpinionCelebrating click chemistry’s 25th birthday
The field ‘is nowhere near mature – if not in its infancy, then perhaps enjoying a highly active childhood’, says one of click chemistry’s orignators
OpinionBen Zhong Tang: ‘If you have to do something, try to do it well’
The polymer chemist on finding love for a subject, working with others and staying optimistic
Business11 presumed dead in US paper mill implosion
Two deaths confirmed, nine missing and nine others injured after chemical tank ruptured
Research25 years ago click chemistry changed science. What happened next?
Barry Sharpless and his team first introduced the concept of ‘clicking’ molecules together 25 years ago
BusinessUK government promises £350 million support for the chemicals sector
Officials say funding will help industry build resilience, remain competitive and decarbonise
BusinessDetecting airborne pathogens by DNA sequencing
UK spin-out Agnos Biosciences turned a ‘wacky idea’ into a sensor with applications from agriculture to hospitals
ResearchElectrifying MOF synthesis drastically reduces time it takes to make them
External electric fields stimulate the formation of various metal–organic framework materials
NewsHandbook of practical advice will help chemistry departments reduce environmental impact, save money
Collection of real-life examples aims to balance environmental and financial concerns
BusinessWhere will we get sulfur and helium from when fossil fuel extraction declines?
Effects of Gulf supply restrictions following US war on Iran hints at potential future challenges
Research‘Flip-over’ nucleophilic substitution reaction challenges classic SN2 textbook mechanism
Team behind work say this is a reminder that even simple reactions are more complicated than they first seem
NewsSupervisors can make or break wellbeing of early-career researchers, survey finds
76% said that their supervisor had a moderate to severe impact on their mental health
FeatureThe molecular mystery of how we smell
Despite being one of our key senses, the molecular mechanisms of smell remain poorly understood. Mason Wakley sniffs out the competing theories of what may be happening in our noses
NewsPaint manufacturers still putting consumers at risk in Mexico with sale of toxic lead paints
Over half of paints sold in the country contain unsafe levels of lead pigments, with some reaching up to 29% lead
ResearchVersatile skeletal editing strategies upgrade nitrogen compounds into drug building blocks
Two techniques could help speed up the discovery of drugs containing nitrogen heterocycles
ResearchSilver bullet catalyst works magic transforming stable C–H bonds into amines
Method allows for late-stage, stereoselective aminations to drug-like molecules