September 8, 2026

Two molecules can share the exact same chemical formula and the exact same atom-to-atom connections, yet behave completely differently in the body. The only difference between them is a mirror-image arrangement in 3D space. This is optical isomerism, and it’s one of the more surprising ideas in organic chemistry once you see it in action. […]

Peptide drugs are having a moment. GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide have turned peptide manufacturing into one of the busiest corners of the pharmaceutical industry. Behind almost all of that production sits one core method: solid phase peptide synthesis, or SPPS. The technique was developed by Robert Bruce Merrifield in the 1960s, work that