The chemical breakdown & Chemistry in its element

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

Kit Chapman investigates the drug that has been one of the top five prescription medications in the UK every year for the last two decades

Inspired by a mention of arrowroot in Jane Austen's Emma, Mike Freemantle investigates how subtle differences in composition mean starch can be resistant dietary fibre or easily-digested nourishment.

How an early synthetic dye chemical came to play a role in a mysterious disease outbreak in 1980s Spain

Coating your naked body with powdered magnesium silicate may sound strange, but it's an important part of many bathtime rituals

Mike Freemantle discovers sea buckthorns, also called 'beauty berries' because of their high concentration of tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E.