Chemistry's tastiest bonds for an explosive anaesthetic that was as useful as it was dangerous

Ben Valsler introduces a class of hallucinogenic phenethylamines, explored by the 'godfather of psychedelics' Alexander Shulgin and sadly implicated in a tragedy at a 2017 music festival

The first drug approved in the US to treat Aids required a completely new approach to clinical trials – Frances Addison explores the history of azidothymidine

How the compound that ushered in a photographic revolution has taken to the skies to try to control the weather

Katrina Krämer investigates how one of the smallest small-molecule drugs around saved Jeanna Giese's life

Kat Arney investigates a potent chemical that might explain the brain-bending powers of bacteria

Mike Freemantle introduces amber – the valuable organic gemstone that invests unwary insects in a durable tomb

Brian Clegg examines the duality that makes beryllium oxide so valuable to the electronics industry

Jamie Durrani diverts his attention to the rise of Ritalin, a drug first identified as a way of improving tennis performance

Frances Addison takes a look at the discovery that brought horseshoe crabs to the heart of the pharmaceutical industry