Amygdalin & Laetrile: Chemistry in its element
Patrick Hughes delves into the molecule at the centre of a decades-old cancer treatment conspiracy theory
Aug 22, 2019•8 min
Chemistry in its element
A weekly tour of the periodic table, from Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Episodes
Dopamine: Chemistry in its element
Georgia Mills tackles the feel-good neurotransmitter and hormone behind thrill seeking, addiction and mobile gaming
Aug 16, 2019•5 min
Hydrogen sulfide: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle finds the connection between Land of Hope and Glory and the noxious, corrosive, flammable gas that stinks of rotten eggs
Aug 09, 2019•7 min
Baclofen: Chemistry in its element
One doctor's battle with alcoholism and self-experimentation with baclofen led to a rush of people desperate to try the drug to curb their addictions. But are we simply replacing one problem with another, asks Enna Guadalupe
Aug 02, 2019•5 min
Polypropylene: Chemistry in its element
Microplastics, including polypropylene, are present in our oceans, on our beaches and even in bottled water. Ian Robertson from PerkinElmer investigates the scale and some solutions
Jul 26, 2019•9 min
Zinc polycarboxylate: Chemistry in its element
Lay back in the chair and say 'Ahh', as Mike Freemantle introduces zinc polycarboxylate dental cement
Jul 19, 2019•7 min
Zircon: Chemistry in its element
The versatile gemstones that give scientists insights into the chemistry of the early Earth, introduced by Brian Clegg
Jul 12, 2019•7 min
Cyclopropane: Chemistry in its element
Chemistry’s tastiest bonds for an explosive anaesthetic that was as useful as it was dangerous
Jul 05, 2019•8 min
2C psychedelics: Chemistry in its element
Ben Valsler introduces a class of hallucinogenic phenethylamines, explored by the 'godfather of psychedelics' Alexander Shulgin and sadly implicated in a tragedy at a 2017 music festival
Jun 28, 2019•6 min
Azidothymidine: Chemistry in its element
The first drug approved in the US to treat Aids required a completely new approach to clinical trials – Frances Addison explores the history of azidothymidine
Jun 21, 2019•5 min
Silver iodide: Chemistry in its element
How the compound that ushered in a photographic revolution has taken to the skies to try to control the weather
Jun 14, 2019•7 min
Amantadine: Chemistry in its element
Katrina Krämer investigates how one of the smallest small-molecule drugs around saved Jeanna Giese's life
Jun 07, 2019•7 min
Indole: Chemistry in its element
Kat Arney investigates a potent chemical that might explain the brain-bending powers of bacteria
May 31, 2019•6 min
Amber: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle introduces amber – the valuable organic gemstone that invests unwary insects in a durable tomb
May 24, 2019•7 min
Beryllium oxide: Chemistry in its element
Brian Clegg examines the duality that makes beryllium oxide so valuable to the electronics industry
May 17, 2019•7 min
Methylphenidate (Ritalin): Chemistry in its element
Jamie Durrani diverts his attention to the rise of Ritalin, a drug first identified as a way of improving tennis performance
May 10, 2019•6 min
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate: Chemistry in its element
Frances Addison takes a look at the discovery that brought horseshoe crabs to the heart of the pharmaceutical industry
May 03, 2019•6 min
Levothyroxine: Chemistry in its element
Kit Chapman investigates the drug that has been one of the top five prescription medications in the UK every year for the last two decades
Apr 26, 2019•5 min
Starch: Chemistry in its element
Inspired by a mention of arrowroot in Jane Austen's Emma , Mike Freemantle investigates how subtle differences in composition mean starch can be resistant dietary fibre or easily-digested nourishment.
Apr 19, 2019•6 min
Aniline: Chemistry in its element
How an early synthetic dye chemical came to play a role in a mysterious disease outbreak in 1980s Spain
Apr 12, 2019•8 min
Talc, or magnesium silicate: Chemistry in its element
Coating your naked body with powdered magnesium silicate may sound strange, but it's an important part of many bathtime rituals
Apr 05, 2019•7 min
Tocopherols: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle discovers sea buckthorns, also called 'beauty berries' because of their high concentration of tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E.
Mar 29, 2019•6 min
Trichloroanisole – Wine cork taint: Chemistry in its element
If you've ever been unlucky enough to experience 'corked' wine, then 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or TCA was likely the chemical culprit
Mar 22, 2019•6 min
Vinblastine and vincristine – Vinca alkaloids: Chemistry in its element
Kat Arney unearths the story of a truly international effort to develop new drugs for cancer, and the female researcher whose key role went overlooked
Mar 15, 2019•8 min
Polyethylene glycol or PEG: Chemistry in its element
Kit Chapman on the simple polymer that preserves and protects ancient artifacts, and saved a historical Swedish shipwreck from complete collapse
Mar 08, 2019•5 min
Ferrous sulfate, or iron(II) sulfate: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle on the iron compound that has been turning oak gall extract into indelible ink for centuries, but is now eating though our ancient manuscripts and musical scores
Mar 01, 2019•7 min
Nitrogenase: Chemistry in its element
The mysterious enzyme that can beat the world’s biggest chemical process when it comes to breaking the dinitrogen triple bond
Feb 22, 2019•8 min
Lazurite: Chemistry in its element
A brilliant rich blue rock, prized in antiquity as a gemstone and a prominent pigment, lazurite is the basis of lapis lazuli, the original ultramarine paint and – as Brian Clegg finds – it even adorns Tutankhamun's death mask.
Feb 15, 2019•7 min
Melarsoprol: Chemistry in its element
Cases of sleeping sickness – human African trypanosomiasis – are in decline, dropping 86% in Africa between 2000 and 2014. Gege Li explores the role that this toxic, arsenic-based medication has to play.
Feb 08, 2019•6 min
Omega-3 fatty acids: Chemistry in its element
Many consume cod liver oil due to 'a vague sense we should be taking them for something' – but what to the omega-3 fatty acids actually do?
Feb 01, 2019•6 min
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