Nitrogen in a fix

We live in a vast nitrogen ocean - the atmosphere that surrounds us is 78 per cent nitrogen gas - but we have no way to use it easily other than in making ammonia. In contrast, nitrogen-fixing organisms have been exploiting the gas for millions of years.

Paul Chirik of Cornell University, US, wants us to catch up. Countless prescription drugs, polymers and plastics, and common agricultural chemicals contain carbon bonded to nitrogen atoms but getting those two together is difficult. 'I think we as a society, in order to move forward, can't be lazy and just use oil. We're going to have to figure out ways to develop new chemistry to use what's around us better.' And, that means finding simple ways to fix nitrogen.