Category: Poisons
Atropine can: Dilate pupils Speed the heart Inhibit sweat and salivation Serve as an "antidote" to "nerve gas" Sounds like powerful medicine, and it is, indeed. On the other hand, it is named for Atropos, the Greek goddess responsible for...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:23 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Last year, we were fretting about melamine contamination in foods from China. Again, this week, it's happening - melamine was put into milk by some scummy businessmen. The idea here is that melamine is high in nitrogen and cheap. An...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:00 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Sarin is an organophosphate that irreversibly inhibits cholinesterase. it's a neurotoxin, and a potent one. It'd be absolutely terrifying as a weapon, if it weren't so unstable. Even if a rogue state had gobs of Sarin last year, it's all...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:46 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Trying to think of a molecule tonight, my friend suggested "pick an ugly one no one wants anymore...a clearance rack molecule." I immediately went to chlorinated solvents. They're in the backwater now, right? Carbon tetrachloride sure has a bad rep....
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 11:11 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Acetaldehyde is an intermediate metabolite of alcohol:...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:57 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Gasoline and diesel engines operate using very different philosophies. In a gas engine, a spark ignites a compressed fuel-air mixture; in a diesel, air is compressed and gets very hot, and fuel is injected, resulting in ignition. In the case...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:35 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
In the news the last couple days: chloropicrin:...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 11:02 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
The series of Breaking Bad chemicals continues (spoilers inside). Previously: phosphine, mercury fulminate. Today: hydrogen fluoride....
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Lots of chatter in the news today about finding ricin in a Vegas hotel room....
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 7:57 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Poisons
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by certain funguses that acts on the liver:...
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Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:17 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks