‘Endless possibilities’: the chemists changing molecules atom by atom

A new method called skeletal editing' offers a hugely simplified way to alter matter, paving the way for world-changing innovations in personalised medicine and sustainable plastics

Ask Mark Levin what excites him about his work, and the associate professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago could double as a poet. We're one of the only fields of science that at its core is about making things that have never existed anywhere else in the universe, and would never have existed if we didn't intervene," he enthuses. We get to manipulate matter at the atomic level to shape it to whatever purpose we can think of."

Some of those things that would never have existed are of immense value to humanity. From synthetic dyes to celluloid, materials to medicines, synthetic chemistry has made our world a richer place, and helped us live longer to enjoy it.