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Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
February 28, 2007
Category: Food
I'm almost cheating, since this one is so closely related to cynarin. Chlorogenic acid is yet another compound found in artichokes, as well as coffee. In addition to modulating your ability to taste sweetness (though not in the levels or...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 27, 2007
Category: Food
I am always completely confused when I meet someone who doesn't like artichokes. Not in the cheese-based dip, though that's not bad, either. I take my artichokes steamed, with a big bowl of drawn salted butter. The savory-sweet taste, the smooth texture, that puzzling satisfaction of only getting a little food out of your substantial efforts (sunflower seeds, anyone?), and the fact that it's probably the only food you eat by biting down and pulling the free end from your mouth all add to the experience.
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:28 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 26, 2007
Category: Food
Great entry from Khymos last week. Isohumulone is a compound found in beer imparting some of the (good) bitterness. Unfortunately, the magic of photochemistry can wreak havoc on it....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:04 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 24, 2007
Category: Drugs
See also this followup. Take another look at the Havidol post's comments. It looks like the chemistry's not only a little bit off - some other parts of the site look a little familiar. And by the way, it's HCl,...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 12:40 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 23, 2007
Category: Stinky
Ammonium carbonate is analogous to the other bicarbonate and carbonate salts you see - baking soda. In the presence of acid; or just sufficient heat, it will offgas ammonia and carbon dioxide, hopefully leaving pleasing bubbles in whatever you're making....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:08 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 22, 2007
Category: Biology
It's remarkable how different RNA and DNA are, considering they're just one atom different. RNA is much more prone to fall apart; you can put DNA in basic solution without any problem, but RNA will begin to hydrolyze. Life takes...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:31 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 21, 2007
Category: Hygeine
Denatonium, sold as Bitrex, is among the most bitter compounds in the world. Why in the world would industry seek out such a thing? To put in things we don't want you to eat, silly....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:12 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 20, 2007
Category: Drugs
See also the followups (one, two) to this post. From the taking jokes too seriously department... Havidol is a fake drug campaign by Justine Cooper that's on display in NY at the Daneyal Mahmood gallery (warning, slow loading, natively embedded...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 16, 2007
Category: Food
Cinnamaldehyde is a straightforward-looking molecule: It's the principal odorant in cinnamon. If you're in the Seattle area, your cinnemaldehyde use is being monitored. Drug precursor? Guess again......
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:12 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 15, 2007
Category: Perfumey
Synthesizing big cyclic molecules is hard ("macrocycles") - closing a long chain of carbons into a ring often results in just making polymers and oligomers ("intermolecular" reactions). One early way of closing rings on themselves ("intramolecular" reactions) was to perform the reaction at high dilution. An example is illustrative:
Take an empty swimming pool and fill it 10% of the way up with snakes. Observe how the snakes are much more likely to bump into each other than curl up on themselves. This is analogous to an intermolecular reaction.
Obtain a second swimming pool and fill it 90% of the way with water. Now dump the same number of snakes in. If necessary, you can reuse the snakes from part 1. Observe how the snakes are much less likely to bump into one another, and many will end up touching part of themselves with another part of their body. This is analogous to an intramolecular reaction. As go snakes, so go long chains of carbon.
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:00 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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