Rebecca Trager
Senior US correspondent, Chemistry World
I became the US Correspondent for Chemistry World in September 2014, based out of Washington, DC, after writing for the magazine on a freelance basis since 2007. With a background in policy, and a passion for journalism, I have found my niche covering the world of science policy since 1997. The interest was sparked after spending summers during college as a press intern for the National Institutes of Health. Before joining Chemistry World, I was the US Editor for Research Europe, covering the White House, as well as government departments and US agencies, and am also the former managing editor of The Blue Sheet, an Elsevier biomedical research and health policy publication. I studied philosophy and political theory at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
NewsEU gets new research commissioner-designate
If approved, economist Iliana Ivanova will work to implement Horizon Europe and start negotiations on EU’s research and innovation Framework
- Business
Environmental groups claim US herbicide reapprovals were illegal
Lawsuit says Environmental Protection Agency ignored serious risks with 2,4-D-containing Enlist products
- News
Chinese researcher in Japan arrested for leaking secrets to company in China
Senior scientist at one of Japan’s largest public research organisations allegedly disclosed data on fluorine compound to a Chinese chemical manufacturer
- News
Research productivity is not a hostage to good safety in the lab
No decline discovered in the output of University of California chemistry labs following tighter safety rules after deadly accident in 2009
- News
Lithium-ion battery pioneer John Goodenough dies at 100
Tributes paid to the inventor of the lithium–ion battery, who has passed away a month before his 101st birthday
- News
Share of women in US government Stem jobs has been static since 2005
Women are underrepresented in US federal Stem jobs and leave these posts at a higher rate than men, but more female supervisors might help
- News
Drones take flight to go where scientists dare not
From making chemical plants safer to sampling volcanoes and even exploring other planets uncrewed aerial systems could revolutionise science
- News
US to pay $600m to rejoin Unesco
US officials hope that restoring the country’s Unesco membership will counterbalance China’s influence
- Research
Digestion of artificial sweetener sucralose appears to create metabolite that damages DNA
A compound formed when Splenda is consumed – and is even found in off-the-shelf sucralose – is suspected to be genotoxic
- News
First draft of a global treaty to curb plastic pollution expected by November
The first draft should lead to a legally binding international agreement, possibly by the end of 2024
- News
Study casts doubt on cultivated meat’s low carbon promise
Preprint suggests that food grown from animal cells could have a global warming potential many times greater than beef
- Business
Chemical firms kept data on PFAS health hazards secret
Documents suggest that DuPont and 3M had evidence of PFAS toxicity but suppressed the findings
- News
China displaces US as top publisher of high-quality natural science studies
Contribution of researchers in China to Nature Index journals is ‘rapidly gaining ground’, and in 2021 they led in physical sciences and chemistry
- Business
US supreme court confirms Amgen’s cholesterol antibody patents invalid
Decision could mean patent descriptions need to be even more detailed, and hence expensive
- Careers
Meet the first deaf, Black woman to earn a Stem doctorate
Amie Fornah Sankoh has persevered from failing primary school in Sierra Leone to gaining a biochemistry PhD in the US
- Opinion
Margaret Faul: ‘Stand for what you think is right’
The pharmaceutical executive on why chemistry clicked for her, and life as a female organic chemist in the drug industry
- Research
Microbial degradation offers way to tackle chlorinated PFAS in wastewater
Findings shed light on the environmental fate of chlorinated PFAS compounds and how to design biodegradable, less toxic alternatives
- News
EU research commissioner resigns to head up new Bulgarian government
Mariya Gabriel’s duties will be temporarily overseen by two senior Commission staff
- Opinion
Lessons from Lieber
The prosecution of Charles Lieber has had a chilling effect on US researchers, leaving them uncertain about collaboration with overseas programmes
- News
New carbon dioxide pollution standards proposed for US power plants
US environment agency estimates its new regulation would avoid over 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 2042
