The Scientist today reports how a German study claiming that levels of acrylamide in the body might not be so strongly affected by consumption of acrylamide-containing fried foods as earlier research implied has come under heavy criticism from the team’s peers. Quite ironically, the magazine describes the disagreements as “bitter”.
Category: Chemistry
As long-time readers will know, Sciencebase has its roots in the first chemistry webzine, Elemental Discoveries, started by David Bradley Science Writer back in December 1995. The site continues to provide chemistry news from around the world.
Check out the Sciencebase Twitter and Facebook pages for even more.
Elemental Discoveries on the Radio
Sheffield University’s WebElements guru Mark Winter alerted us to a recent BBC Radio 4 [link dead] series touching on Periodic Tales told by members of the cast of long-lived rural radio soap The Archers…
- Krypton: Hedli Nicklaus on the Superman element, krypton
- Helium: Brian Perkins dramatises the effects of Helium
- Silver: Trevor Harrison finds some unusual properties of Silver
- Cobalt: Nicklaus takes on the goblin element of cobalt
- Selenium: Carole Boyd unearths selenium
- Oxygen: Perkins bravely dramatises the effects of oxygen
- Arsenic: Charlotte Green takes on the deadly history of arsenic
- Mercury: Boyd reflects on mercury, the poisonous liquid metal
- Iodine: Green on the discovery of iodine’s essential place in brain development
- Nickel: Harrison reveals that the space station Mir is largely made of nickel.
It seems a little more worthy than recent efforts to connect and elements and celebrities, which I mentioned recently, despite the fact that they got radio soap stars to do the task, but presumably has the same conceptual origins of getting chemistry a better name, which can only be a good thing.
Synthesis of Propecia
Regular SciObs readers will know that one of my favourite web hobbies is spotting the odd and the weird among the keywords that bring visitors to the sciencebase site. This week, I have been mostly seeing “synthesis of propecia” and wondered whether the visitor demographic had changed from hirsute to those with cranial follicular challenge…hence the interest in Propecia (finasteride)
Anyway, for those who’d like to see the molecular structure of Propecia here it is. The synthesis of Propecia is available elsewhere on the web.
Buckyball co-discoverer dead at 62
It is with sadness that we report the death of nanotech pioneer, Richard Smalley at 62. Smalley, along with Harry Kroto and colleagues discovered the all-carbon fullerene molecule in the early 1990s at a time when I was just beginning my career as a science writer. Their fascinating research into the soccerball shaped molecules, which were nicknamed buckyballs by the popular science press, provided many of us with some of the greatest punning opportunities ever in science. More seriously, they and their tubular offspring are after many years of detailed and fundamental research beginning to reach new goals in the field of nanotechnology.
Smalley undertook pathbreaking research, showed an incredible commitment to teaching, and was dedicated to the idea of betterment of our world.
He died in Houston on 28th October after a long battle with cancer.
A pearl necklace for the lady?
Although recognized for its beauty for centuries, mother of pearl (aka nacre), has only recently been recognized as having technological applications. Scientists around the world have spent decades and millions of dollars studying nacre because it is such a tough and strong material. Abalone shells are the real estate of choice for the oysters, mussels and other mollusks that live inside them, explain Kalpana Katti and Dinesh Katti of North Dakota U.
“Nature has made this as the best armor material,” explains Kalpana, tapping on the outside of a red abalone shell. “The outside layer is very hard. The inside layer is very tough. That means the outside layer will take impact. The inside layer will absorb energy if the outside layer breaks. That’s exactly how armor works.” The strong, tough structure can be captivating for those who like to solve mysteries. “Strong means it can take a lot of load before it breaks. Tough means it will give a little. This is very unique,� explains Kalpana. “Most engineered composites are one or the other.” Military and aerospace applications are envisaged.
No Periodic Tables at CERN
According to the Scientific American Blog, CERN’s Andre Martin has worked out that there is no need for any of us to suffer wobbly tables ever again, apparently the periodic motion of a four-legged table standing on an uneven surface can be corrected by simple trial and error without resorting to folded up chunks of lab-book paper or beermats. All you have to do is rotate the table until you hit an orientation in which the table no longer wobbles.
Brilliant!
Such fundamental science is surely why CERN exists, never mind particle physics and the Web.
However, one aspect of periodic tables that Martin doesn’t address in his thesis is how to arrange the seating so that noone ends up with a chair leg jammed up against their knee. Maybe he should seek funding for that important piece of research…
Google Search: chemistry
Try searching Google News for “chemistry” and you’ll be very lucky to find a report on the latest developments in molecular architecture. Chemistry, it seems is US college sports journalists’ favourite subject and they’ll swing us science writers a curve at every opportunity, chucking in a mention at every tee off:
“…Head coach Greg Shamburg will be looking for the right chemistry…”
“…Penn State builds better chemistry this season…”
“…Carolina building chemistry on and off the ice during fast start…”
the list goes on…
Search PubChem for Molecular Structures
Steve Heller just posted an update on on the PubChem system to the CHMINF-L discussion group.
PubChem now has additional bioassay and related information and the number of depositing/cooperating organizations now numbers 25, he told the group.
With 5,269,228 unique substances listed, now is a good time to track down that elusive molecular structure you’ve been searching for. ChemSpy.com offers quick and easy access to the PubChem search system
Tamiflu Molecular Structure
Roche is allegedly struggling to keep up with unprecedented demand for its antiviral Tamiflu in light of the massive media scaremongering that is going on globally thanks to the emergence of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Taiwan already intends to stockpile a generic version of the drug oseltamivir with or without Roche’s permission. Currently, oseltamivir is synthesised from shikimic acid, which is obtained from the star anise fruit. The total synthesis takes at least ten steps, but chemists are working on simpler approaches.
That aside, Nature just reported a case of a girl with a strain of H5N1 that is resistant to this drug. If prevalence is high, then the media will have even more scare-mongering to do.
Research into magnetic materials and frustrated magnets
Some time ago I wrote a feature article for EPSRC Newsline about frustrated magnets, the article is available on sciencebase.com and has attracted the attention of a fair few web surfers. Interestingly, the most recent of them hit the page in question while searching for “picture of a frustrated parent”. Odd, I thought. So, I did the search myself on the SE they’d used and found that very page at #3 in the search engine results page (SERP)!
Now, I know websurfing can be a frantic occupation, but surely the text that was displayed in the SERP didn’t point to any photographic evidence of parental frustration…
“The conventional picture of a magnet says each atom in a material … Harrison. In such a ‘frustrated’ lattice, the conventional forces … Harrison spotted the parent compound, potassium hydroxy …”
Whatever. I hope the surfer in question found their picture in the end. I could provide one of a frustrated webmaster easily…