Chemistry

Platinum Ain't Cheap But 'Cheapium' Could Be

Platinum is used in catalytic converters to transform toxic fumes from a car's engine into more benign gases, to produce high octane gasoline, plastics and synthetic rubbers, and to fight the spread of cancerous tumors. But it's not cheap, which ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 3 2014 - 4:27pm

How To Know If Your Chocolate Is Really Premium Chocolate

If you buy extra virgin olive oil, caveat emptor. Olive oil has been an avenue for corruption for hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years. Some extra virgin olive oil in studies was found to not only not be extra virgin, it wasn't even olive oil ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 15 2014 - 11:50am

Home Science Tools Chemistry Kits

While writing my series on the Science Play and Research Kit, I hoped to survey chemistry sets that are already on the market. I was able to get a reviewer’s sample of the Chem C3000 and you can take a look at my review of the Thames and Kosmos set here. ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Jan 16 2014 - 7:38am

Salad Spinner Centrifuge

Follow me on Twitter: @SteveSchuler20. Back in the day, some chemistry sets came with a mechanical centrifuge. They were operated similar to those old-timey pump style tin spinning toy tops. This is the style centrifuge that came with my chemistry set: Not ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Mar 12 2015 - 7:48am

Grog- Inspiring Fights In Nordic Countries Since 1500 BC

Scholars writing in the Danish Journal of Archaeology say that "grog" dates back a lot farther than previously believed; to perhaps 1500 B.C. and in an area stretching from northwest Denmark to the Swedish island of Gotland. Like most things, so ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 17 2014 - 2:34pm

LittleBits Sample Rotator

In a previous article I built a magnetic stirrer using littleBits and Erector set parts for the home laboratory. At the end of the article I added a design for a sample rotator (a device used to continuously mix lab samples). I have (somewhat) improved the ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Jan 24 2014 - 10:03am

Close Enough For NIEHS Work

The subject of endocrine disruption is not particularly new, with extensive scientific and regulatory attention to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) over the last 20 years or so. A common definition, from the World Health Organization/International Pr ...

Article - Steve Hentges - Feb 28 2014 - 12:36am

Oleic Acid Science Boost May Make Hemp An Olive Oil Alternative

Hemp plants with scientifically enhanced increase in oleic acid could lead to an attractive cooking oil that is similar to olive oil in terms of fatty acid content- but has a much longer shelf life as well as greater heat tolerance and hopefully a lot less ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 10 2014 - 10:46am

If You Are Scared Of BPA, JAMA Will Make You Happy

Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has recently been linked to negative health claims, like a decline in reproductive function in adults and stunted neurodevelopment in children, and so people consumed with the 'natural' fallacy have been up in ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 28 2014 - 12:35am

New Bioplastic Even Encourages Plant Growth In The Environment

A number of people are concerned about BPA in plastics but that is far less warranted than concern about plastics themselves.  In 1967's "The Graduate", the following conversation took place between an older man and the young protagonist: M ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 4 2014 - 5:04pm