Tag: Chemistry
Everyone knows that the reason why New York City bagels are the best is the water. But beyond that, most people’s understanding is limited. Fortunately, the folks from science video series Reactions made this video to explain it to us laypeople. It turns it the water is only part of it. The mineral content of […]
Imagine the following scenario: A chemistry grad student sneaks into the 3D printer lab late at night. He’s downloaded a file he got off the internet, a molecule that’s never been synthesized. It’s a modified version of an existing drug, an analogue, a single tweak on a corner of a benzene ring. The machine whirs […]
Four college students have just leapt onto your newsfeed with their development of a color-changing new nail polish that claims to detect date rape drugs when you stick your finger into your drink. It seems every month a new product appears that will save us from being roofied — from test strips in coasters, cups and straws, to […]
A new and strange breed of bacteria has been recently discovered by PhD student Annette Rowe. Scientists are already aware of bacteria that can eat “pure energy” — microorganisms like Shewanella and Geobacter that harvest electrons from rocks, metals and, sometimes, battery electrodes manipulated by scientists — but now Rowe has discovered eight new varieties of these bacteria that […]
According to research published in the Cloning & Evolution issue of the Annals of Improbable Research, Viagra makes more mushrooms! Specifically, chemical ingestion of the synthetic boner enhancer compound Sildenafil shows “a significant growth increase as expressed by the numerical density” in “phallus-like” Boletaceae mushrooms. The “fractal” growth means that while this induces the growth of denser mushrooms and greater numbers, they’re actually […]
The alcohol blog Bevlaw found a release by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that outed “Palcohol.” Their approved product is “powdered alcohol.” Update: The bureau made the approval “in error.” No powdered alcohol for you. BUT WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT? It’s a family of simple carbohydrates called cyclodextrins. Cyclodextrins are molecular doughnuts (or cronuts if you’re willing […]
