Entrant: Samir Anker

Copyright: 2024 Samira Anker; AstraZeneca

Funding: EPSRC Grant ref: EP/P006965/1); CMAC; AstraZeneca

Many medicines are produced as crystals; the shape and size are critical to make sure the medicine is safe and effective. These pictures, taken on a placement at AstraZeneca, show a new drug spontaneously changing from plate (left) to needle shaped crystals (right) in a few seconds and only visible with a microscope. This behaviour is difficult to predict but very important to understand, this is intensively researched in universities and industry.