Simon Davies's Blog

Posted by Simon Davies

One important factor in today's quest for a solution to climate change will be new ideas from the chemical industry and university departments. We can't just turn the clock back to times when we didn't produce so much carbon dioxide. Society has moved on and developed and we need to find new ways of doing things.

An example of what this might mean has just been presented to the American Chemical Society's 235th Annual Meeting. German chemist, Thomas Muller, has proposed a method by which the carbon dioxide, which is so plentifully available in the smokestacks of industries that burn fossil fuels, can be converted into a polymer known as polycarbonate.

Polycarbonate is a hard tough material used for applications such as CDs and DVDs, lenses for spectacles, drinks bottles and car headlight casings. To be able to use carbon dioxide to make these products and so avoid releasiong it into the atmosphere can only be a good thing.

Posted by Simon Davies

A very encouraging story from the RSC (here) throws up some important questions about the state of science education in the UK.

Haileybury is a public school, which in the UK means that students have to pay quite large sums of money to attend (a state school is free to all). This means that the school has a much larger budget available.

In the upper-sixth form there are 35 students taking chemistry A-Level, as well as two or three other subjects. Of those 35, 14 have chosen to study chemistry at university.

What is the secret of the Haileybury Chemistry Department?

Is it simply that the school has more modern labs and can afford to give each individual student, good quality, functional equipment? Many state schools have to make sixth form students share equipment between two or three. I am sure this reason does enter into it.

One quote from the head of Chemistry, Ray Dexter, however, I think gets to the heart of the matter:

"Chemistry, taught badly, is the worst subject in the world, but, if it is well-taught, pupils never want to stop studying it."

The manner of teaching makes all the difference. Chemistry is a fascinating and, indeed, exciting subject. Many teachers today are simply not doing the subject justice. But this is not always the fault of the teachers.

The science teacher in the UK has so many presures on his time and energy, especially with chidren lower down the schools who simply do not want to learn, that when they get to A-level classes, they simply do not have the enthusiasm left to put a spark into their teaching.

The answer? No idea! Maybe dedicated sixth-form colleges with good facilities and fresh teacher would help.

Posted by Simon Davies

This article tells of the tragic explosion at the Imperial Sugar Company at Port Wentworth near Savannah in Georgia. It was such a serious explosion that five days later hotspots were still burning and investigators were still unable to gain access to the structure.

The probable cause is the sugar dust that would have been present in the factory. How could sugar dust cause an explosion? It is due to the size of particles and hence the surface area available to be burned.

Organic matter such as sugar and flour is combustible to a certain extent. When exposed to oxygen and a source of heat it will burn. Kinetic theory states that the rate of reaction will increase as particle size decreases because there is more surface area available to react.

This means that when sugar dust or flour is dispersed in the air and a source of ignition is applied, the dust will burn very rapidly, causing an explosion.

The arguments in the USA over regulations applied to factories which have quantities of combustible dust need to take into account this simple chemistry!

Posted by Simon Davies

You have to read this article:

http://hubpages.com/_3t33z4bqmga3n/hub/WeirdMoleculeNames

It is a list of loads of names which have been given to chemicals, some purposely but some are simply systematic names which turn into something else.

For example there really is a chemical called Arsole, and Moronic Acid, and even Sexithiophine! There is Spamol - which will amuse emailers everywhere, and Dogcollarane for the clerics amongst us.

Some minerals with lovely names include Apatite, Welshite, and Cummingtonite.

The article includes the reasons behind the name and some amusing anecdotes too. Give it a read, its well worth it!

Posted by Simon Davies

One of a woman's great distresses is the orange-peel effect of cellulite in their skin. The latest "miracle cure" for this stubborn condition is a pair of tights which is impregnated with microcapsules of caffeine. They can be purchased online from Tightsplease.com for £33 ($64) for three pairs. The publicity says that as the temperture rises, the caffeine is released directly into the thigh where it increases the metabolism and burns up the fat which causes cellulite.

Reviews on the seller's website are very positive (of course) but the caffeine only remains in the tights for four washes, so what is the chemistry behind this idea?

It does seem to be generally sound. In an article elsewhere (here) I have described the effects of caffeine on the adenosine receptors in the brain. Another effect that caffeine has is that it inhibits the activity of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase which slows down fat breakdown (mentioned here)

Cellulite is essentially fat accumulated beneath the skin of the thighs and buttocks. It takes on the "orange-peel" appearance because of the way the skin is attached to the muscle. So if the enzyme which slows down fat breakdown is taken out of play by the caffeine, fat and hence cellulite will be burnt away quicker.

So my advice to women is: Try it! You never know you may lose those 2cm from your thighs and be a little bit less self-conscious on the beach this summer!

Posted by Simon Davies

Sugar-free chewing gum is supposed to be good for us, it is supposed to help our dental higiene and reduces decay. Two recent cases highlighted by the British Medical Journal demonstrate that it is better not to consume too much of the artificial sweetener this chewing gum contains.

In what sounds like an episode of the medical drama, "House", two patients with chronic diarrhoea, stomach pains and severe weight loss are adnitted to hospital, but no explanation can be found for the symptoms until they are interrogated about their dietary habits.

Eventually both admit to consuming large quantities of sugar-free chewing gum, and, in one case, sweets as well. This meant that their intake of Sorbitol, a popular artficial sweetener with mild laxative effects, was way over a sensible limit.

Products containing sorbitol usually have small print somewhere on the packaging warning of possible laxative effects, and small quantities don't usually cause any problems, but just go steady out there!

Posted by Simon Davies

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have successfully developed a technique called Two-Photon Polymerisation (2PP).

This technique uses fast lasers and a mixture of monomer and initiator. The lasers initiate polymerisation at precise locations which means that very fine polymer structures. The remaining unreacted monomer can be rinsed away, leaving a very accurately produced solid structure.

"Microneedles" produced in the way can be attached to patches which are pressed onto the skin to deliver medecines or take blood samples in a painless but controlled way.

Although some further work needs to be done, there are hopes that within ten years a pain-free all-in-one glucose sensor and insulin delivery system may be available.

See the RSC report here.

Posted by Simon Davies

I recently discovered this new initiative on the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. Aided by a £1 million grant from Swiss Argibusiness, Syngenta, they have established the Pan Africa Chemistry Network.

This network is designed to promote science in four partricular areas.

First is in schools. The support of teachers in schools through courses, materials and resources is vital in encouraging development of Chemistry among children.

Second in Higher Education, the Network aims to support institutions with digitised materials.

Third, networking and conferencing among scientists in Africa will encourage them to work together on scientific issues facing the continent, especially in agriculture.

Fourth, centres of excellence in the chemical sciences will be set up, beginning at Nairobi University in Kenya, to support further development.

This is a very positive step. For too long we have focussed on humanitarian aid for Africa, while the support of important infrastructure has been neglected. A network like this can only be a good thing.

For further information look at the Pan Africa section of the RSC website here.

Posted by Simon Davies

Should we be concerned about this data or not?

Two main reasons have been proposed for this fall in the approval of new drugs. First is the shift of emphasis by many pharmaceutical companies to look at the use of current drugs for the treatment of other conditions. Second, the companies themselves point to a raising of the standards for approvals by the FDA, although the agency denies this.

Is this trend going to continue? The companies themselves deny this. They are returning to their core activity of developing new compounds and have begun to go for the root cause of many diseases, a process which takes time and results in many failures, but will result in much more effective treatments in the long run.

Let's hope so!