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September 2008
Centennial Celebration Of Chlorination
Posted by Steve Ritter on September 30, 2008 in Uncategorized
On Sept. 26, 1908, Jersey City, N.J., began operating the first permanent drinking water chlorination plant in the U.S. (shown). That historical tidbit is being celebrated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) as another example of the benefit of chemistry in improving people’s lives.
Within a decade after the Jersey City facility went live, more than a thousand U.S. cities adopted chlorination technology; by the 1940s, 85% of U.S. water-treatment systems were disinfecting water with chlorine. Today, 90% of U.S. public water systems rely on chlorine in one form or another for purification, and as a result the U.S. enjoys one of the safest drinking-water supplies in the world.
Student Accused Of Making Meth Agrees To Plea Deal
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Posted by Jyllian Kemsley on September 30, 2008 in Ripped From the Pages, Uncategorized
As Bethany Halford noted in her Newsbytes post below, suspended University of California, Merced, chemistry graduate student Jason D. West pled no contest last week to charges of embezzlement and felony conspiracy to make methamphetamine. He will be sentenced to nearly six years in state prison or a state rehabilitation facility for substance abusers.
We reported earlier this month that West allegedly stole approximately $10,000 worth of equipment and chemicals from the university to make meth (Student Suspected of Making Meth). West has already done one stint in the California Rehabilitation Center, following a conviction in 2001 for making methamphetamine.
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Chemistry Newsbytes
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Posted by Bethany Halford on September 30, 2008 in Chemistry is Everywhere
Think you know who’s going to nab this year’s Nobels? Try your luck and possibly win an iPod. medGadget
Former UC-Merced graduate student gets plea deal and nearly six years in prison in meth-making case. San Jose Mercury News
Using acid to suss out metals’ crystalline structure. Popular Science
Authorities in Wisconsin evacuate a three-mile area after discovering bottles of picric acid in a basement lab. Chicago Tribune
Chemistry Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto weighs in on the Royal Society’s former education director. Guardian
Carl Djerassi discusses his latest play, “Taboos,” on Science Friday. NPR
Nature’s political coverage goes to the dogs. The Times
Déjà Vu Moments
Sep
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Posted by Maureen Rouhi on September 29, 2008 in Ripped From the Pages, The Editor's Blog
It happens often: I’m listening to National Public Radio or reading the Washington Post, and déjà vu overcomes me. Of course, the story is familiar; I’ve seen it in C&EN.
At C&EN, we are relentless in finding stories that readers should know about or might be interested in, and I daresay we have a good nose for what’s interesting and important. I base this claim partly on our stories’ echoes in the greater media landscape.
Consider, for example, the segment called Animal Pharm in the July 18, 2007, edition of NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams.” We know it was inspired by “Big Pharma Chases Dogs and Cats” (C&EN, June 25, 2007, page 31) because an NBC news producer contacted the reporter, Associate Editor Rachel Petkewich.
More recently, Associate Editor Bethany Halford’s “Pyrotechnics for the Planet” (C&EN, June 30, page 14) spawned “Chemists brew ‘greener’ fireworks” in “CNET News” and “Greener rockets take off” in the Washington Times. We know because both stories referenced Halford and C&EN.
More often than not, we don’t know whether a story that sounds familiar is traceable to C&EN, but the temptation to assume so is sometimes irresistible.
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Extra Info For Instant Coffee
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Posted by Kenneth Moore on September 25, 2008 in Chemistry and Food
What’s That Stuff?s are pretty fun to write—you get to look at an everyday item in your pantry, on the road, or in your hair in a completely different light. I just finished my first What’s That Stuff? article, about the history and production of instant coffee. It is freely available here. It does not, however, include any information about the health benefits of coffee.
Although the common idea is that coffee causes dehydration, says Roger Cook, director of the Coffee Science Information Centre, some studies suggest that coffee is an important source of fluid in the diet and that coffee’s caffeine is no more of a diuretic than water is—it increases the frequency of urination, but not the volume of fluid that is expelled over a period of time.
Thousands of studies have also been published proposing that coffee provides alertness, delays degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and slows down cognitive decline in the elderly. Many studies use fresh-brewed coffee, but don’t rule out instant coffee in offering such health benefits, Cook says. “The physiological effects of coffee are primarily due to the caffeine content and not to the manufacturing or brewing method,” he adds.
In a study looking at sleep-related accidents, researchers compared 30-minute naps, caffeinated coffee, and decaffeinated coffee to see how caffeine affects alertness during nighttime driving (Ann. Internal Med. 2006, 144, 785). The coffee these researchers provided their subjects with was—you guessed it—instant! Nestlé instant coffee packets were used for both the caffeinated (4.25% caffeine) and decaffeinated (0.03% caffeine) coffees. The result? A 30-minute nap at 1 AM or a cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine has pretty much the same alertness-boosting effect for nighttime driving, but decaffeinated coffee will leave you swerving in the road.
I wondered, however, if the beneficial effects of caffeine cross over to sodas, teas, and other caffeinated wonders. One study looking at Chinese adults suggests this is true for tea (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008, 88, 224), but, personally, I think that sodas are almost like cigarettes, which can also contain caffeine. Malic acid, one of the thousands of compounds used in cigarettes, can help boost immunity and metabolism. But in combination with the multitude of other ingredients, the total health benefit is probably outweighed by the negatives. That goes for what you put in your coffee, too—these studies don’t include added cream or sugar!
Chemistry Newsbytes
Sep
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Posted by Bethany Halford and Lisa Jarvis on September 23, 2008 in Chemistry is Everywhere
Spit parties: Martinis, music, and genetic testing. Guardian
Neglecting your house plants? They’re probably making their own painkillers. LA Times
Fat helps mice keep trim. ScienceNOW
Happy belated birthday, Michael Faraday. Wired
Hey kids, only a few days left to get your National Chemistry Week poster entry ready. Rohm and Haas
Slashdotters weigh in on whether docs need to take O-Chem. Slashdot
Scientists discover a “chemical equator” protecting Antarctica. New Scientist
The inside scoop on one company’s “ethanol-making bug lab.” CNet
Sex And Reproduction
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Posted by Rudy Baum on September 22, 2008 in The Editor's Blog
Carl Djerassi is obsessed with reproduction.
It’s not surprising, really. One of the major figures of 20th-century chemistry, Djerassi practically started his career with the synthesis of norethindrone, which formed the basis of the first oral contraceptive. He is often referred to as “the father of the pill.”
The pill decoupled sex from reproduction and ushered in a social revolution, the effects of which are still being played out. Djerassi has been fascinated by the social effects of the birth control pill throughout his professional life.
For at least the past decade, Djerassi has also been fascinated by another reproductive technology, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which accomplishes the flip side of what the pill accomplished: ICSI decouples reproduction from sex.
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‘Breaking Bad’ Lands An Emmy
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Posted by Carmen Drahl on September 22, 2008 in Chemistry is Everywhere, Ripped From the Pages
Back in March, C&EN Associate Editor Jyllian Kemsley reviewed “Breaking Bad,” the quirky new TV drama about terminally ill high school chemistry teacher Walter White, who turns to cooking methamphetamine to ensure his family’s financial future. In one of the biggest surprises at last night’s Emmy Awards, actor Bryan Cranston, who plays White, nabbed the Emmy for best actor in a drama series. Cranston himself was so shocked, according to the LA Times, that network censors had to bleep out his initial reaction. Cranston’s sporting a shaved head these days–he told the LA Times that his character, who has inoperable lung cancer, is in the middle of a course of chemo.
C&EN’s review of the show raised some hackles (see here), but it got readers talking about what it is C&EN should be covering (see here and here). That’s a discussion that I think is worth continuing in blog form. I haven’t been following the show beyond watching the first episode or two, but I think it’s great to see an actor win for portraying what is obviously a very complex character, something beyond the stereotypical depictions of scientists on TV. That’s something I think is worth C&EN’s time to cover.
What do you think?
Photo credit: Reuters/Mike Blake
How Do You Like Your Molecule-Themed Art?
Sep
19
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Posted by Carmen Drahl on September 19, 2008 in Chemistry is Everywhere
We’ve been tackling important topics this week, but it’s Friday, so I’ll post about something rather more lighthearted.
The headline Organic Chemistry Has Never Been Cooler recently lured me to a fashion magazine’s blog.
Once I read about the new jewelry line mctega and saw the designers’ abstract, colorful renderings of polycyclic hydrocarbons, I was hooked. I wanted to know more about the necklace I’ve shown here and the story behind it, so I emailed Sarah and Kristina, the minds behind the line. I didn’t expect to hear back (they’re probably not used to hearing from science bloggers), but Kristina got back to me right away. Incidentally, the name mctega is a conglomeration of her last name and Sarah’s.
Here are some choice excerpts from our conversation, which took place via email.
The ‘C’ Word
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Posted by Rachel Pepling on September 17, 2008 in Uncategorized
Michael Reiss, the education director for the Royal Society, stepped down from his post yesterday after several Royal Society fellows called for his resignation following comments he made last week on addressing creationism in the classroom. After reading his comments, it seemed to me that he was consistent with the Royal Society’s position: “The Royal Society’s position is that creationism has no scientific basis and should not be part of the science curriculum. However, if a young person raises creationism in a science class, teachers should be in a position to explain why evolution is a sound scientific theory and why creationism is not, in any way, scientific.” (If you’re curious, ACS’s position on teaching evolution can be found here.)
Many moons ago, I went to high school in the Bible Belt where the discussion on evolution in my advanced biology class was relegated to an exercise as “some believe this, some believe that, now write a statement on what you, personally, believe” in an effort to not offend. (This was likely a move to pacify parents rather than students, and I am grateful that at least I did not learn about evolution from “South Park” teacher Mr. Garrison.) I would have preferred a discussion, one that addressed how creationism is not based on scientific fact and evolution is, and I think that Reiss’s comments and the Royal Society’s position are entirely appropriate.
You might also find of interest a letter Richard Dawkins, a Royal Society fellow, sent to New Scientist prior to Reiss’s resignation.
What do you think about the situation? Did Reiss receive unfair flak? Are people too reactionary as soon as the word “creationism” comes up? Does the fact that Reiss is an ordained minister affect your view at all (as Dawkins discusses in his letter)?
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