`Wildlife researchers have found new evidence that Arctic polar bears, already gravely threatened by the melting of their habitat because of global warming, are being poisoned by chemical compounds commonly used in Europe and North America to reduce the flammability of household furnishings like sofas, clothing and carpets.
A team of scientists from Canada, Alaska, Denmark and Norway is sounding the alarm about the flame retardants, known as polybrominated diphenyls, or PBDEs, saying that significant deposits have recently been found in the fatty tissues of polar bears, especially in eastern Greenland and Norway’s Svalbard islands.’
`Each month a new molecule will be added to the list on this page. The links will take you to a page at one of the Web sites at a University Chemistry Department or commercial site in the UK, the US, or anywhere in the world, where useful (and hopefully entertaining!), information can be found about a particularly interesting molecule.’
`There was a scientific method to Daniel Zeiszler’s madness when he tried to extract methamphetamine from his own urine, after smoking the illegal street drug last September in his South San Francisco hotel room.
But Zeiszler’s experiment went dangerously awry when he spilled some solvent on himself, then lit a cigarette while he contemplated his next move, starting a fire that burned his right hand and arm.’
`Water supplies in Harbin , home to more than 3 million people, were cut off last night and will not resume “until further notice”. Schools have been closed whilst many residents are trying to leave the cities because city authorities have warned that pollution is threatening the water supply, which comes from the Songhua River.
An assessment by the Heilongjiang Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau found the river had been contaminated by chemicals released by a massive explosion at the Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company plant in the city of Jilin on November 13. [..]
The November 13 explosion in the Jilin chemical plant released highly toxic substances, killing at least five people and forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 nearby residents. It also contaminated the partially frozen Songhua River with benzene and phenyl, which can lead to hepatitis, urinary tract diseases and possibly cancer.’
It looks a lot like the Anarchist’s Cookbook, just with a different title.
Don’t try this at home, kids. 🙂
‘Researchers have created the world’s smallest fountain pen with a tip so tiny it can draw lines a hundred times thinner than a red blood cell.
Called the “nanonfountain probe,” it can paint lines as thin as 40 nanometers and has its own reservoir to hold various types of inks, including pigments for painting patterns and organic materials for designing sensors. [..]
The new pen can be attached to the atomic-force microscope, which allows scientists to see nanoscale environments as well as draw on them. Possible uses for such a tiny pen, or an array of several of them, include crafting miniscule protein arrays and complex semiconductors.’
`The state of California is suing nine top food manufacturers, including Burger King, Heinz and McDonald’s, over their reluctance to issue warnings that some of their snacks could contain the potentially cancer-causing chemical acrylamide.
Acrylamide was found to be linked to cancer in 2002. Then, the Swedish Food Administration reported high levels of it in carbohydrate-rich foods, such as french fries and potato chips, cooked at high temperatures. Studies indicated the chemical caused cancer in rats.’
`The movies on Chemistry Comes Alive! CD-ROMs have been carefully produced, edited, and compressed into high quality QuickTime movies. Movies are only available on the Chemistry Comes Alive! CD-ROMs, but several samples are provided here.’
`A man marries a woman because he loves her. So instead of blaming him if married love begins to cool, she should question herself. Is she truly trying to keep her husband and herself eager, happy married lovers? One most effictive way to safeguard her dainty feminine allure is by practicing complete feminine hygiene as provided by vaginal douches with a scientifically correct preparation like “Lysol.”‘
4000 gallons of styrene in a burning truck. Goes boom. 🙂
(8.7meg Google video)
see it here »
Some guy making some cool things, including rail guns and gas turbines. There’s also some chemistry stuff aswell. There’s some videos and lots of pictures.
If you wanna play with hydrofluoric acid like they’ve done, a few tips:
1. Don’t.
2. Do it in a fume hood.
3. Cover your arms and wear a face shield.
4. Just don’t. 🙂
` The disc is to be taped or glued to the bottom of your car’s gas tank. Promoters say it significantly increases gas mileage and improves air quality. They don’t say how it works, beyond claiming it sends “holographic frequencies into the gas tank and changes the molecular structure of the gasoline.”
“It doesn’t work,” says Dr. Terry Parker, a physics professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Parker and graduate student John Dane of the chemistry department tested the device for 9News.
“It’s clear that it’s just a sticker and nothing else,” Dane said.’
`Mesylation of One’s Face.
Mesylation of human skin may be accomplished by the application of methanesulphonyl chloride, in a dichloromethane-aerosol. [..]
Upon Cleaning Glassware: Chromic Acid or “Smash-it-and-bin-it”?
Chromic acid is often the last resort for stubborn contamination on glassware. However, the option of smashing the apparatus, and disposing of it as waste glass, is often overlooked. The merits of both techniques are discussed in this communication.’
`He believes the carp is able to carry on normal cardiac pumping without oxygen by ridding itself of lactic acid – the stuff that produces a burning sensation in human muscles after exercise – by converting it to ethanol, an alcohol, which is much less harmful.
A regular heartbeat may ensure that ethanol is circulated to the gills, where it is excreted to the surrounding water. “Otherwise you’d have an intoxicated fish,” he said. ‘
`Organic arsenic compounds have been detected in rice harvested at farms in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, where the Imperial Japanese Army dumped chemical weapons, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.
Diphenylarsine, found in the rice, is contained in sneezing gas, which was apparently abandoned by the Imperial army during World War II.’
`When police raided a house in Teignmouth they found a home-made bomb making factory where Jeremy Britton had constructed six explosive devices.
[..] Britton, who was jailed, was to tell police that they were “little boys’ toys” and that it was like having “a chemistry set”. Britton said he liked war, guns and explosives and he liked the sound of the “boom” when he set off the bombs. He said it was something to do when he was bored and he used to explode the bombs on rubbish dumps.’
`[..] clean, green biodegradable plastic bags made from animal excrement or food waste could replace traditional plastic at Australian supermarket checkouts [..]
Scientists with the Sydney-based Environmental Biotechnology Co-Operative Research Centre happened on a technique for turning organic waste into a green alternative to plastic bags quite by accident, the company’s executive director, David Garman said.’
