Things I Won't Work With by Derek Lowe

I often marvel at those that can write well. Particularly those that pair this skill with the communication of a complex subject matter.

One such writer is the blogger and medicinal chemist Derek Lowe. Writer of the “In the Pipeline” series on Science.org. Lowe is a prolific writer, with regular posts in the series being published since 2002 - with a focus on commentry covering drug discovery and pharma industry.

The “Things I won’t work with” series of posts are the ones that I wanted to highlight today.

The premise is simple - with Lowe covering chemical compounds that he refuses to work with in the lab. The reasons given ranging from abhorrent smells to compounds that readily explode.

These posts are fantastic across the board, and really worth a read. The writing is crisp, Lowe obviously knows what he is on about, and he’s funny. Really funny!

There is just something so cool about this brand of science communication which doesn’t really intend to do anything other than entertain, while being accessible to the common reader ¹ .

I regularly find myself going to back over the series with a cheesy grin on my face. A real pleasure.