The Boston Red Sox suffered a second consecutive frustrating loss to the Baltimore Orioles, falling 4-2 to the Os on Saturday night at Camden Yards.

Steven Wrights struggles on the mound continued, but Boston didnt help itself with the bats either. The Red Sox only recorded six hits in the contest, two of which came from center fielderJackie Bradley Jr.

The Sox were without star second baseman Dustin Pedroia for Saturday nights game. The veteran infielder was forced to leave Fridays game in the eighth inning after he was spiked by a Manny Machado slide.

Pedroias knee injury adds to the list of ailments the team has faced this season. As fans will remember, the Sox were ripped apart by a violent flu bug to start the season, which caused several players to miss games including Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez and Robbie Ross Jr.

And just as those players returned to full health, the injury bug bit the Red Sox yet again. Jackie Bradley Jr. was struck with a right knee injury and missed several games before returning to the lineup Friday. Bradleys return was met with another departure, though, as Brock Holt was put on the 10-day disabled list because of vertigo.

While injuries and ailments are part of the game, the Red Sox have faced an inordinate amount on the young season. As a result, the team hasnt been able to send out its most preferred lineup, which barely has been featured through the first 18 games.

The consistent mixing and matching thus far presumably has had an affect on the teams chemistry and inability to build momentum. Its tough to get into a groove when youre consistently losing players for spurts of time.

Luckily for Boston, Pedroias injury isnt believed to be too serious and a DL stint probably wont be necessary. The Red Sox surely are hoping they can get everyone back sooner rather than later and start to get the ball rolling.

Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Orioles.

Bradley provided the only offensive spark for Boston on Saturday night. The center fielder crushed a two-run bomb all the way to Eutaw Street in Baltimore and gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead. He also was the only Red Sox player to record multiple hits.

Wrights poor fourth inning thwarted his chance of recording a quality start. The knuckleballer tossed three scoreless innings to start the game before imploding in the fourth. Hed give up four runs in the frame, including back-to-back jacks from Trey Mancini and Jonathan Schoop. The one tough inning has become a theme for Red Sox starters this season.

Heath Hembree kept Boston in the ballgame and gave it a real chance to win. After Wrights short outing, the right-hander hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings in which he only allowed two Orioles to reach base. In 11 1/3 innings of work this season, Hembree has only allowed two runs and struck out 13.

Though Bradley went yard, Bostons lack of power continues to be an issue. JBJs longball only was Bostons seventh of the season, which is dead last in Major League Baseball. To put that in perspective, five players already have seven home runs or more this season, and Wright himself has given up seven round-trippers in four starts.

After playing in the first 17 games for the Red Sox, Andrew Benintendi got the night off Saturday. Mitch Moreland is now the lone Sox player who has yet to have a day off.

Thumbnail photo via Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports Images

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Red Sox Notes: Injuries Preventing Boston From Building Chemistry, Momentum - NESN.com

Jan 19, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Denver Nuggets shooting guard Jamal Murray (27) reacts after a shot against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie Campaign Recap: Malik Beasley by Mathew Huff

Mar 8, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Juancho Hernangomez (41) and guard Jameer Nelson (1) defend against Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets team chemistry was a topic from this season that did not get a lot of recognition. Despite this fact, Nuggets fans knew this was a hot button issue.

Want your voice heard? Join the Nugg Love team!

There were signs from the year that pointed to them possibly completely falling apart and there were also signs that pointed to them being a band of brothers.

Some of the incidents that showed a potential rift in the team were when Coach Malone called out the team for having a lack of leadership after a tough loss to the Sacramento Kings. This resulted in Danilo Gallinari disagreeing with him in another interview. Instant red flag right there.

Then, there was also numerous rumors about Wilson Chandler being discontent with his role on the team. Granted, they were only rumors, but it still concerned all of Nuggets Nation. However, there were still good moments that showed signs of improving team chemistry.

There were numerous instances where the players played jokes on one of the players coming out of the locker room for warm ups, many of those instances instigated by the Joker himself, Nikola Jokic. I know this is a small thing, but when a team is seen having fun in this way within reason, it shows that these guys are developing an unbreakable bond. It also is a sign of a team with healthy chemistry and gets along well with everyone on the team.

Going forward, with such a young crop of talent, this chemistry could grow into something more special. It will be an underrated catalyst in helping them reach the post season in the near future. When one thinks of team chemistry in the NBA, one team they instantly think of is the San Antonio Spurs. Teammate chemistry is an underrated and overlooked aspect, but the Spurs are one of the most successful teams because of it. It is just one of many reasons, but it is still an integral part of their success.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see if the Nuggets are able to mold a similar chemistry within their team.

They certainly have the potential to do so and it will aid the Nuggets in becoming a threat in the Western Conference.

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The Nuggets' team chemistry will be an interesting thing to watch. - Nugg Love

How many of these tropical fish can you name? If you're an avid snorkeleror scuba diver, probably all of them (1). Seeing them in their natural habitat - a coral reef - is anamazing experience.But, the fish that you might see insalt water aquariums (usuallynot these) may have gotten there in a way that is also amazing, but not in a good way.

This is because of a barbaric method of catching tropical fish, which not only kills many of the fish before they get to your tank, but also does significant damages to coral reefsabout the last thing the world needs. The method is called cyanide fishing, and it is comparable to slash and burn agriculture that threatensrain forests.

Cyanide Fishing - An ecological travesty Photo: Vice

Above is an example of how it is done. In order to make it easier tocollect tropical fish, diversswim down to shallowreefs with a bottle of cyanide solution, and spray around thereefthe home to an enormous variety oftropical fish. The cyanide stuns the fish, making it easy to collect them. Then they are brought to the surface, where they are revived in sea water. Some of them recover, some don't. But the real damage is done to the reef. The fish at least have a fighting chance, but the reefs do not. Cyanide fishing is one of the causes of coral bleaching, which is occurringat an alarming rate in many tropical waters. It is estimated that 500 metric tons (2,3,4) of cyanide is used annually in the Philippines alone.

A cyanide-bleached reef in the Philippines Photo: The Nature Picture Library.

So, how do you stop this abomination? It is illegal, but much of Southeast Asia - the area where most cyanide fishing takes place -is impoverished. The combination ofa $200 million global market for pet tropical fish (5), and poverty make poaching of these fish inevitable, and enforcement of this illegal practice a real challenge. But now, some clever analytical chemistry, which was reportedat the 2017 American Chemistry Society meeting in San Francisco may provide a tool to identify fish that were caught in thismanner, and identify areas where it was used.

The research, which makes use of the disciplines of analytical chemistry, toxicity, andmetabolism, was presented at the meeting by Professor Clifford Murphy of Roger Williams University. Murphy and colleagues described a very sensitive method of detection, which makes use of dye-sensitised solar cells,can measure low concentrations ofthiocyanatein water.

An enzyme in the fish called rhodaneseis known to detoxifycyanide by converting itthe less toxicthiocyanate anion, so the detection ofthiocyanate, either in the fish (3) or the water near the reef is evidence that cyanide was used.Murphy's group invented an easy and sensitive method to detect thiocyanate at concentrations there are up tothree-times lower than current methods. The method employs electrochemistry, and involves simply dipping the detector into the waterand observing a change in color and/or electrical current a positive sign for thiocyanate.

"If you're going to forensically determine that a fish has been caught by cyanide fishing, it would be really helpful to have a portable device so you can test for it on site when fishing boats return to the docks."

Professor Clifford Murphy

Here's how it works.

Porphyrins arestructurallyunusual, but essentialclass of biomolecules, whichare miracles of nature that areresponsible for multiple life processes in animals and plants. They consist of four pyrrolerings that are connected in a way that all four nitrogen atoms are pointing at thecavity in the middle of the molecule (Figure below). Metal ions fit into the cavity, and are held in place by the nitrogen atoms, a type of binding called coordination. The complexes ofmetals andporphyrins, which are called a metalloporphrin, are ubiquitous and biologically essential. They act as transporters, delivering the metal to the site that it is needed to perform a specific function.For example, ironthe metal in hemoglobinhas a strong affinity for oxygen, so it is not surprising that hemoglobin is the transporter of oxygen inthe blood of vertebrates. When the metal is magnesium, the function is different conversion oflight into energy (photosynthesis).

Murphy and his colleagues described a very sensitive method of detection,using materials similar todye-sensitized solar cells, can measure low concentrations of thiocyanate in water.. When thiocyanate is present, it binds to and reacts with the iron in the metalloporphrin. The sensor turns from purple to grayand generates a tiny electrical current. Measurement of the amount of current can quantitatively determine the amount of thiocyanate that is present in the water. Very cool.

Schematic drawing of the thiocyanate detector. Courtesy of Dr. Clifford Murphy

The sensor can be used in either of two ways. First, it candetect thiocyanate in the ocean, which can identify areas where cyanide fishing have been used. Murphy's group tested this by collecting water samples from Narragansett Bay. They added different amounts of thiocyanate and dipped the sensor into the salt water, and determined that it could measure thiocyanate concentrations in the range of1 to 5parts per billion, about 2-3 times more sensitive than previous detection systems.

Second, the sensor can also be used to identify which fish have been caught with cyanide. Fish detoxify cyanide rather slowly (over the course of a few days), and excrete the thiocyanate in urine. So, when afish is placed in clean water, the absence or presence of thiocyanate is a surrogate marker for whether cyanide fishing was used to catch it.

Good for them. Our coral reefs are in bad enough shape in many areas of the world. We do not need to make thingsworse by dumping 500 tons of cyanide into the ocean, andkilling healthy reefsso that people can have pretty fish tanks. Enough already.

Notes:

(1) Here are the answers:

Note: The fish in the photos are not meant to be a representation of those that are found in aquariums, or were necessarily caught using cyanide. They arejust some of my favorites.

(Anyone have a favorite snorkeling site they'd like to share?)

(2) Rubec PJ, Cruz F, Pratt V, Oellers R, McCullough B, et al. (2001) Cyanide-free net-caught fish for the marine aquarium trade. Aquarium Sci Conserv 3: 3751.PJ RubecF. CruzV. PrattR. OellersB. McCullough2001Cyanide-free net-caught fish for the marine aquarium trade.Aquarium Sci Conserv33751

(3) Sadovy YJ, Donaldson TJ, Graham TR, McGilvray F, Muldoon GJ, et al. (2003) While stocks last: The live reef food fish trade: Asian Development Bank, Philippines. 169 p.YJ SadovyTJ DonaldsonTR GrahamF. McGilvrayGJ Muldoon2003While stocks last: The live reef food fish trade: Asian Development Bank, Philippines169

(4) deRivera C, Hitchcock N, Teck S, Steves B, Hines A, et al. (2007) Larval development rate predicts range expansion of an introduced crab. Marine Biology 150: 12751288.C. deRiveraN. HitchcockS. TeckB. StevesA. Hines2007Larval development rate predicts range expansion of an introduced crab.Marine Biology15012751288

(5) Some of the fish caught in this manner are also eaten.

Originally posted here:
Protecting Coral Reefs With Some Clever Chemistry - American Council on Science and Health

As a longtime member of OberlinCollege Office and ProfessionalEmployees, Office and ProfessionalEmployees InternationalUnion, local 502, I would like toexpress my dismay at how the recentsearch for a new administrativeassistant for the Chemistrydepartment has been handled.Not only was the posting of theposition unnecessarily delayedfor many months, contrary to languagein the contract between theCollege and the Union, but the internalcandidates for the positionwere misinformed about certainparameters of the job during the interviews, necessitating the repostingof the position and furtherdelaying the process. Could it bethat the rumors are true, that theChemistry department will dowhatever they want, including violatingthe contract and the rightsof OCOPE members, to keep thetemp for as long as they want? Ido not wish to cast any aspersionson the good name of the workerwho is temping in the Chemistrydepartment. I knew her when sheworked in Mudd library as an undergraduate,and she bears no culpabilityin this matter.

Oberlin College and its lawyersnegotiated a contract with themembers of OCOPE. Every word inthat contract was thoroughly vettedand approved by the Collegeadministrators and lawyers, andboth sides agreed to the contractand signed it. I understand completelythat the business of the Collegemust continue, but the agreementthat the College negotiatedand signed with a group of its employeesmust also be upheld. Whenone party in an agreement decidesthat it can disregard with impunitya mutually agreed upon contract,it is making a powerful statement.Does Oberlin College really wish tosay that its word means nothing,that when it signs a contract or anagreement it cannot be relied uponto uphold its end of the bargain?

The current delays concerningthe Chemistry department positionsmack of incompetence or deliberatedelay tactics. The deans andmanagers of Oberlin College haveshown little evidence to OCOPEthat they are willing to apprise andinform supervisors of the parametersunder which an importantgroup of employees of this institutionwork or of their responsibilitieswith regards to job searchesand management of employees ingeneral. It is not sufficient for HRand the College attorney to enterinto an agreement if the supervisorswho must also administerthat agreement are not informedof the details of the agreement orchoose to ignore those details withimpunity and negatively impactthe ways in which they interact ona daily basis with employees.

The delay of the hiring processhas been blamed on OCOPE in anumber of meetings. OCOPE requesteda statement from the Collegeexplaining that the delay wascaused by the department chairsnot interviewing in a timely fashionwith total disregard to the terms ofour collective bargaining agreement.That has not yet happened.

Michael B. Palazzolo

OCOPE Personnel Coordinator

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Chemistry Hiring Delays Favor Temps - The Oberlin Review

The Lowell High boys volleyball team from left, front: Jackie Kho, Randy Pang, Ricky Kho, Calvin Yonn, Chance Ly. Rear: Julien Tang, Eddy Olu, Sokunbuth Ly, Aakash Patel, Brendan Di, Sabriel Mendoza, Adriel Garcia, Desmond Dao, Alex Salvat and Charles Tran. SUN/JULIA MALAKIE

LOWELL -- The Lowell High boys volleyball team has quickly served notice that it's a force to be reckoned with this spring.

Lowell is off to a sizzling 6-1 start with signature victories over perennial Merrimack Valley Conference powers Chelmsford and Lawrence. This early-season spike in success has a resurgent Lowell club, which finished with a 10-11 record last year, playing at a high level while gaining altitude in the league standings.

With six seniors leading the way, each of whom has bought into head coach Paul McCarthy's team-first philosophy, the Red Raiders have shown there's no limit to what a group can accomplish when it plays as a unit.

"This is our best start since I've been here," said McCarthy, who has been involved with the Red Raiders' program on and off since 1995.

Practicing their skills during Wednesday's practice were Mendoza, front left, Olu, right, and Di, center. The Red Raiders are off to a strong 6-1 start to their season after besting Malden. SUN/JULIA MALAKIE

"They're getting the job done on and off the court. I've passed around papers to their teachers looking to see how they are doing in school. So many of these papers are returned to me with the words, 'Just a pleasure to have in class.' It's the same way in the gym, too. These guys put a smile on my face every day."

This Red Raider revival is being spearheaded by co-captains Brendan Di and Randy Pang, who have lifted their level of play and helped carry their teammates up with them.

"This team is pretty good," said Di, a middle/outside hitter with over 50 kills. "We're better than we've been in past years. We have real good chemistry. Team chemistry means everything in volleyball. To set up passes and hits, you have to know how everyone plays. The better the chemistry, the better the team plays."

Lowell's entire roster is made up of upperclassmen. Nearly all of these players have a good amount of varsity playing time and the blissful convergence of talent and experience that is taking place shows in the Red Raiders' record.

"I've seen the program being built up the last couple of years," said Pang, a senior setter with 105 assists. "We've come a long way. We've improved each year. This year everything is coming together. We have lots of good players. We're really playing well right now."

Much like the city of Lowell itself, this talented group of Red Raiders is ethnic, proud and willing to put in the work it takes to reach its long-term goals.

"I like the fact we have many nationalities here," said McCarthy, who credits assistant Brandon Seng with playing an important role in the fast start. "It's a melting pot. It's just like Lowell High. They're all great friends who are following in the footsteps of the players they learned from. The kids who came before them taught this group how to be good teammates and what it takes to win."

Di, Sabriel Mendoza, Buth Ly and Adriel Garcia have consistently made their presence felt at the net. Pang and Petey Som regularly set the Red Raiders' potent -attack in motion. Libero Ricky Kho heads up Lowell's swarm-to-the-ball defense.

Jackie Kho, Charles Tran, Chance Ly, Aakash Patel, Eddy Olu, Julian Tang, Calvin Yonn, Desmond Dao and Alex Salvat have also been playing well.

Lowell suffered its first loss to Haverhill on Tuesday. The Red Raiders rebounded with a 3-0 non-league win over Malden on Thursday.

"The beauty of this group is their ability to learn from their mistakes," said McCarthy. "I'm glad we got that first loss out of the way. I think we'll be a better team going forward for having learned from it. This team works hard. I just tweak the system a little bit and make sure they're communicating with each other and in the right spots. They always go out and try their best. It's really a simple formula for success."

Follow Carmine Frongillo on Twitter @cwfrongi

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Great chemistry keying Lowell - Lowell Sun Online - Lowell Sun

Maria T. Oliver-Hoyo, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of Chemistry at NC State, is so fascinated by the teaching of chemistry that she has become a leading light in the study of chemistry education and shes so good at it that she was recently named a winner of the 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award from the UNC system Board of Governors.

Its all the more ironic, then, that Oliver-Hoyo is not one of those seemingly charmed people who wind up doing something theyve always wanted to do.

Chemistry professor was not my first choice of career, she says. I love comparative literature, I love mathematics; I love everything. At first I couldnt decide between the humanities and the sciences.

When Oliver-Hoyo graduated high school and enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, she learned that students there could take an exam to determine whether theyd be allowed to bypass the first year of general education courses and go straight into the college of sciences. Only the students who scored among the top 100 were selected for the accelerated program, so Oliver-Hoyo decided to take the exam and let the result guide her choice.

Her high exam score got her into the college of sciences, but then she faced another choice: Which science would she pursue?

I loved math the most because it was easiest for me, so I thought, I dont want to do that, she recalls. I didnt like physics because I thought it was too dry. At the time, biology depended too much on memorization, so I didnt want to do that either. Chemistry, though, was the most challenging field of all for me. I had to study very hard to grasp it. I had to learn how to study. So I said, thats where Im gonna go. I wanted that challenge.

Oliver-Hoyo rose to the challenge, earning first her bachelors degree and then an M.S. from Georgetown. She wanted to pursue a chemistry Ph.D, but by then she was married to a member of the U.S. armed forces, and their frequent relocations prevented her from entering a doctoral program. Instead she taught chemistry as a lecturer or an adjunct professor at different institutions, and thats when she became interested in the fact that people were somehow able to understand the sophisticated information she was trying to convey to them.

How did that process actually work? The question captivated her.

I was driven to try to explain it, she says.

Thats why, when her husband retired from the military, she entered a Ph.D. program in the nascent field of chemistry education research (CER), which studies how chemistry is taught and learned. In 1999, freshly minted doctorate in hand, Oliver-Hoyo came to NC State to develop a graduate program in CER.

Any teacher will tell you that you can do the same thing in two different semesters, and it will work beautifully in one semester and not the other, she says. Why does that happen? I could have gone into any number of chemistry fields, including industry, but this is what interested me most: how to create more effective instruction.

Thats what we do in CER.

One of Oliver-Hoyos most notable innovations in CER is her sensorial experiments, which are based on her definition of chemistry.

Chemistry is the science of studying stuff, she says. Everything you perceive through your five senses is what we study in chemistry.

The problem with most undergraduate chemistry lab experiments is that they ignore four of the five senses and rely solely on visual input the color change observed in a titration experiment, for instance. This works well enough for most students, but what about vision-impaired people, or the 8 percent of males and 0.6 percent of females who are color-blind? Those students usually either let someone else do the experiment for them or are discouraged from going into sciences that require experimentation, she says.

Oliver-Hoyo came up with a different solution an innovation that utilizes another of the five senses: the sense of smell.

We created an olfactory indicator, she says. When the chemical reaction takes place to let you know that your reagent and your solution have reached their stoichiometric amounts, instead of being demonstrated by a change in color, the reaction produces compounds that smell like onions and garlic. Thats how you know the titration has reached its endpoint and you can stop the experiment, make your calculations and present your findings.

Oliver-Hoyo has also adapted the SCALE-UP model for use in chemistry classrooms. Developed by NC State physics professor Bob Beichner, SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies) restructures large science classes by placing small groups of students at round tables and spending most class time on activities rather than lectures. Oliver-Hoyos adaptation required modifications both to the chemistry curriculum and the SCALE-UP model to account for the use of wet chemicals. Oliver-Hoyo has compiled more than 100 chemistry education activities suitable for use in a SCALE-UP classroom, all of which are freely available at the SCALE-UP website.

The common thread running through much of Oliver-Hoyos work is the visualization of chemical phenomena. Along those lines, her students are now using the 3-D printer in the D.H. Hill Library Makerspace to create physical models that will help them visualize the properties of macromolecules, such as DNA.

Oliver-Hoyo says shes glad the UNC system is giving an award that honors achievements in the universitys primary mission: teaching students.

Educating students is what were here for, she says, so I think an award that recognizes teaching efforts is very important. Im appreciative of this award and humbled to have been chosen.

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Chemistry Professor Sniffs Out Excellence - NC State News

Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times 6:46 p.m. ET April 21, 2017

Gemma Arterton plays a WWII advertising copywriter in Their Finest.(Photo: Nicola Dove / STX Entertainment Motion Picture)

Screen chemistry is an odd thing; often you only notice it when it isnt there. But Their Finest, an utterly charming film set in World War II-era London, contains a textbook example.

Gemma Arterton plays Catrin Cole, a young advertising copywriter hired by the British Ministry of Information to write womens dialogue for wartime propaganda feature films; Sam Claflin is Tom Buckley, a wry fellow screenwriter whos not sure that her presence is necessary. Catrins married, Toms not and so first they become co-workers, then friends.

Watching them, you start noticing how he looks at her like shes a fascinating puzzle that hes trying to figure out, and how she blushes just a bit when hes around, and how effortlessly these two actors convey that they belong together.

Its one of many pleasures in Lone Scherfigs film, based on a 2009 novel by Lissa Evans and drenched in a sweet nostalgia that only very rarely tips into sentimentality. The plots mostly centered on the making of one movie, based on a true incident involving a pair of twin sisters who set out in their fathers shabby boat to help evacuate wounded soldiers at Dunkirk. Its a tale that, as the executives at the Ministry gleefully observe, has everything: Authenticity, optimism and a dog.

We watch the casting process (Bill Nighy, eyebrows perpetually raised, is a delight), the location shoot (note the 1940s version of CGI), and the way the filmmakers and cast form an impromptu family. Along the way, were reminded of the new roles women took on during that time, and how the shadow of war affected every day and every life, even as they soldiered on.

And theres one scene, where Sam sits moodily smoking one evening, and Catrin appears behind him as if caught in a moonlit dream, and ... well, thats why we watch movies, isnt it?

Their Finest

GRADE: B+

Rated R for some language and a scene of sexuality

Running time: 117 minutes.

Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2pN7BUB

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Review: 'Their Finest' sizzles with chemistry - The Detroit News

As LSD raced through the American counterculture during the 1960s, it became an ultimate symbol of protest. Guardians of mainstream culture panicked. In 1968 Congress made mind-altering drugs illegal. President Nixon called LSD guru Timothy Leary the most dangerous man in America. LSD was listed as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. For decades, serious research into its potential was impossible. That taboo is now dissolving.

The apocalyptic stereotype of LSD, which during the 1960s was said to cause everything from birth defects to insanity, was bound to fade. Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who accidentally discovered it in 1943, hoped it could be used to treat mental illness, and for a time it was taken seriously as a therapeutic tool. The LSD-themed musical that is scheduled to open in March focuses on three celebrities who used it during the 1950s: Cary Grant, Aldous Huxley, and Clare Booth Luce. Entitled Flying Over Sunset and written by James Lapine, who shared a Pulitzer for Sunday in the Park With George and has won three Tony Awards, it is likely to fuel burgeoning interest in psychoactive drugs.

Perhaps the most striking evidence of that interest was the announcement in September that Johns Hopkins Medicine has received $17 million in private and foundation grants to open a Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. Among its first projects will be experiments to see if LSD and related drugs can be used to treat anorexia, early-onset Alzheimers, or opioid-use disorders or even to help people quit smoking. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have endorsed calls that psilocybin be reclassified as acceptable for medical use. LSD could be next. Sidney Gottlieb, who introduced Americans to LSD nearly 70 years ago, is returning for a curtain call.

Gottlieb was the most powerful unknown American of the 20th century unless there was someone else who worked in total secrecy, conducted grotesque experiments on human subjects across three continents, and had what amounted to a government-issued license to kill. He ran historys most systematic search for techniques of mind control, a project that CIA director Allen Dulles named MK-ULTRA. Dulles believed that if a way could be found to seize control of human minds, the prize would be nothing less than global mastery. In 1951 he hired Gottlieb to direct the search. Although Gottlieb had a doctorate in biochemistry from Cal Tech and had worked in several government laboratories, he was an unlikely choice. Dulles and most of the men who ran the early CIA were silver-spoon products of the American aristocracy. Gottlieb was the 32-year-old son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants, grew up in the Bronx, attended City College of New York, stuttered, and limped. He was also a compassionate humanist who meditated, lived in a cabin without running water, grew his own vegetables, and rose before dawn to milk his goats. He was his generations most prolific but also most gentle-hearted torturer.

Gottlieb was fascinated with the mind-control potential of LSD. He and his fellow seekers dared to hope that it might hold, as one of them put it, the secret that was going to unlock the universe. By his own account he used it himself at least 200 times. Years later he recalled his first trip: I happened to experience an out-of-bodyness, a feeling as though I am in a kind of transparent sausage skin that covers my whole body and it is shimmering, and I have a sense of well-being and euphoria for most of the next hour or two hours, and then gradually it subsides.

In 1953, Gottlieb persuaded the CIA to spend $240,000 to buy the worlds entire supply of LSD from its sole producer, the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Sandoz. Over the next decade, he used his unique stash for two purposes. Some of it went to prisons in the United States and to CIA safe houses in Europe and East Asia, where it was used in heinous experiments on unwitting or unwilling human subjects. In one of them, seven African American inmates at a prison in Kentucky were given what the prison doctor called double, triple and quadruple doses of LSD every day for 77 days. Experiments abroad, in which LSD was used in concert with other drugs and with torments like electroshock, were even harsher, and caused an unknown number of deaths. These were the most extreme experiments on human subjects that have ever been conducted by an officer or agency of the US government. Gottlieb had concluded that before he could insert a new mind into someones brain, he had to blast away the existing mind. Some of his most gruesome experiments at black sites in Europe and East Asia were aimed at finding out if overdoses of LSD and other drugs could do that. His victims, called expendables, were prisoners of war, suspected enemy agents, and refugees who would not be missed if they disappeared.

The other side of Gottliebs LSD research was quite different voluntary and non-coercive. He wanted to know how ordinary people would react to LSD in a clinical setting. Since the CIA could not conduct these experiments itself, Gottlieb set up bogus medical foundations that served as conduits for MK-ULTRA funds. Through them, he contracted with hospitals and clinics across the United States that agreed to carry out tests on volunteers. Among the first to sign up was a graduate student named Ken Kesey, who was given doses of Gottliebs LSD and psilocybin at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park, California. He liked it so much that he not only urged his friends to volunteer, but took a job at the hospital. That gave him material for his counterculture masterpiece One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and also allowed him to pilfer vials of LSD for use at his soon-to-be-famous acid test parties.

Gottlieb was also sponsoring experiments at nearby Stanford University which, like most MK-ULTRA contractors, did not realize that it was working for the CIA. Among the first volunteers at Stanford was the poet Allen Ginsberg, who listened to Tristan und Isolde on headphones during his first experience and went on to promote the healthy personal adventure of LSD use. Another was the Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, who later wrote some of his most celebrated songs while tripping. Together, these unwitting MK-ULTRA subjects helped turn on a generation.

It took decades for LSD evangelists to grasp the bizarre truth that their formative and ultimately culture-shattering LSD experiences were part of a CIA project aimed at finding a tool for mind control. The United States government was in a way responsible for creating the acid tests and the Grateful Dead, and thereby the whole psychedelic counterculture, Robert Hunter concluded. When an interviewer asked John Lennon about LSD, he replied: We must always remember to thank the CIA. Those answers were correct as far as they went, but early psychic voyagers had never heard of Sidney Gottlieb. If they had, they would have realized that they had him to thank for LSD, not simply the United States government or the CIA.

Timothy Leary, the most prominent LSD promoter of that era, was also introduced to psychedelics thanks to Sidney Gottlieb. He learned of their existence from a 1957 article in Life magazine about an expedition to find magic mushrooms in Mexico. Fascinated with the prospect of a mind-altering substance, he traveled to Mexico, found and tried the magic mushroom, pronounced it above all and without question the deepest religious experience of my life, and set off on the path that made him the Pied Piper of LSD. Neither he nor anyone else could have known it at the time, but Gottlieb had used MK-ULTRA funds, disguised as a foundation grant, to subsidize the expedition that had produced the Life article. The LSD movement was started by the CIA, Leary recognized years later. When he mused, I wouldnt be here now without the foresight of CIA scientists, what he meant was: I wouldnt be here without Sidney Gottlieb.

Gottliebs decade of MK-UTRA experiments led him to two conclusio
ns. He had proven conclusively that with the application of enough drug overdoses and other extreme techniques over extended periods, it is possible to destroy a human mind; the trail of ruined lives he left in his wake is horrific testimony to his success. Yet he was also forced to admit that he had failed to find a way to insert a new mind into the resulting void. As MK-ULTRA ended in the early 1960s, Gottlieb concluded that psychoactive drugs are too unpredictable in their effect on individual human beings, under specific circumstances, to be operationally useful.

Once MK-ULTRA was behind him, Gottlieb went on to other glories at the CIA. Because he knew more about toxins than anyone in the US government probably more than anyone in the world it was logical that his CIA superiors would call on him when they needed ways to kill. He made the poisons used in failed attempts to kill Fidel Castro, and at one point mused about creating aerosolized LSD that could be sprayed into a radio studio from which Castro was about to speak. In 1960 he carried poison to the Congo to be used in killing Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. The poison was not used, and several months later a Belgian-Congolese squad captured and executed Lumumba. For the last seven years of his career he ran the Technical Services Staff, which makes tools and devices for spies. In later life, perhaps troubled by what he had done, he volunteered at a hospital for leprosy patients, taught students with speech defects, and counseled dying patients at a hospice. Yet LSD is his most mind-boggling legacy. He saw it not as a tool for psychic exploration, as did his unwitting hippie disciples, or for clinical use, but as a potential key to abolishing consciousness so minds could be opened to outside control.

Before retiring from the CIA in 1973, Gottlieb destroyed most records of MK-ULTRA. Nonetheless enough have remained to make it possible to reconstruct his astonishing career. Without Gottlieb, LSD might not have become a driving force in American culture during the 1960s or an object of renewed fascination today. His perturbed spirit hovers above as a new era of interest in psychoactive drugs finally begins to unfold.

Stephen Kinzer is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, and author of Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control. Follow him on Twitter @stephenkinzer.

Stephen Kinzer is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

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A CIA chemist, mind control and the return of psychedelic drugs - The Boston Globe

The University of WisconsinMadisonDepartment of Chemistryhas received a 2020 Diversity Award from the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. The award recognizes the departments efforts to enhance underrepresented students access to and success in the chemistry graduate program.

This award celebrates a key point in our progress toward fostering greater diversity in our discipline and is just the beginning of our efforts says Judith Burstyn, department chair. These achievements are the result of everyone in the department who works tirelessly to build diversity through the creation of key programs and mentorship of students.

The field of chemistry has long lacked diversity. According to theAmerican Chemical Society(ACS), the number of females receiving bachelors degrees in the discipline is increasing, but the number of doctoral recipients, postdoctoral scientists, and professional chemists who stem from other traditionally underrepresented populations is still low.

Members of the Department of Chemistry Climate and Diversity Committee include: Front row, from left: Desiree Bates, Robert Hamers, Judith Burstyn, Karen Stephens, Kristi Heming, AJ Boydston, and Heike Hofstetter. Back row, from left: Wesley B Swords, Zachary Jones, Silvia Cavagnero, Sam Wood, Matthew Sanders, and Cheri Barta. Not pictured: Andrew Greenberg.PHOTO BY TATUM LYLES FLICK

Everyone benefits from diverse perspectives, says Burstyn. We recognized that need in our department and have worked to find effective solutions.

The Department of Chemistry has created several programs aimed at increasing diversity in the field and at supporting students who pursue a graduate degree.Chemistry Opportunities (CHOPs), which brings in students from minority-serving institutions, andResearch Experiences for Undergraduatesboth facilitate undergraduate exploration of the departments doctoral program. For graduate students, the department offersCatalyst, a supportive mentoring program for underrepresented minority and first-generation students.

The strength and effectiveness of the first three programs led the ACS to select the department as its first partner for aChemistry Bridge to the Doctorateprogram, which aims to increase the number of doctoral degrees completed by underrepresented minorities. A select group of students bolster their experience and applications to top PhD programs by completing a research-based masters degree, with the benefit of well-coordinated mentorship.

Consistent with UWMadisons commitment to recruit, retain and graduate a diverse student body, the Department of Chemistry embraced their role in supporting diversity by creating highly effective initiatives to increase representation within their large graduate program, says Gloria Mari Beffa, associate dean in the Colleges of Letters & Science, in her nomination letter.

The Board of Regents awards the winners $7,500, which the chemistry department will use to support its programs. The Diversity Awards are administered by the UW System Office of Academic and Student Affairs. The other recipients are Associate Professor Arijit Sen, from the UWMilwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and UWStouts Fostering Success program. The three winners will be recognized at the Feb. 7 meeting of the Board of Regents in Madison.

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Department of Chemistry wins Regents' Diversity Award Creating Community - University of Wisconsin-Madison

We have a thirst for firsts. The first person to achieve something gets their place in history, and competing to be first is a powerful motivator even when the goal is effectively arbitrary. In October, Eliud Kipchoge (unofficially) became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. It was an incredible feat of endurance, but Kipchoges official record set in 2018 is 2:01:39, and from where I sit, 7299 seconds is no less impressive than 7200 seconds. Still, such symbolic firsts inspire intense competition and they are just as seductive to scientists as they are to sportspeople.

As we reported recently, scientists are now very near to making the first room temperature superconductor, with a lanthanum hydrides 13C transition temperature coming tantalisingly close. In this particular room, the thermostat sits just north of 0C, which is a little wintry for most but its a good deal warmer than the liquid nitrogen temperatures needed by cuprate ceramics that were the previous best in class.

Yet hitting room temperature wont herald the dawn of widespread superconducting technology. Yes, the temperature is more readily achievable, but practicality is still a long way off when the materials also have to be crushed under a million atmospheres of pressure. So this will be a far more symbolic than scientific effort. As Mikhail Eremets one of the researchers hoping to break the barrier told Nature, the target has no real physical meaning. However, it is enormously important psychologically.

The race to make the first room temperature superconductor shows how human behaviour influences scientific progress. Getting a superconductor over this psychological threshold may be pretty incremental; its well within reach and we know how well make up the difference. But it represents decades of work the lifetime of an entire field and will make headlines around the world. There may even be a Nobel in it for the discoverers. All of which is spurring on the few groups working in the field to claim the prize any of them could be the first to get there and only one of them will. In the science economy, that priority carries a significant premium.

Yet while competition for first place is the lifeblood of athletics and sports, in science it can come with damaging consequences. In an editorial for Infection and Immunity in 2015, Ferric Fang and Arturo Casadevall argued that this competitive drive for priority does science far more harm than good it leads to wasted effort, it stifles creativity, breeds secrecy and creates a hostile environment for young scientists, especially young women. Just look at our history.

As the International Year of the Periodic Table draws to a close, and we reflect on a year of celebration, we should also note what the table teaches us about our culture. Scratch the tables surface just about anywhere and youll find an argument about who deserves the credit lurking underneath; the table is littered with priority disputes and our obsession with the idea of individual genius. Today, a handful of teams around the world compete to be the first to synthesise the next element, and for the right to name it, which will very likely honour an individual person or nation. The table is sciences culture in microcosm; every inch of it is covered in our motivations, like smudgy fingerprints.

So how do we address this fixation with firsts, when it is so embedded in our culture? It seems fanciful to think we can just forget about them pushing back the frontiers means someone has to be at the front. Perhaps we can instead broaden the scope of that culture to include other motivations altruism, charity and curiosity, for example so that these are more apparent in the way we carry out and celebrate science. The problem with focusing only on firsts is that it pushes everyone else into last.

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Put priority in its place | Opinion - Chemistry World

A solar energy material that is remarkably durable and affordable is regrettably also unusable if it barely generates electricity, thus many researchers had abandoned emerging organic solar technologies. But lately, a shift in the underlying chemistry has boosted power output, and a new study has revealed counterintuitive tweaks making the new chemistry successful.

The shift is from fullerene to non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), terms detailed below, and in photovoltaic electricity generation, the acceptor is a molecule with the potential to be to electrons what a catcher is to a baseball. Corresponding donor molecules pitch electrons to acceptor catchers to create electric current. Highly cited chemist Jean-Luc Brdas at the Georgia Institute of Technology has furthered the technology and also led the new study.

NFAs are complex beasts and do things that current silicon solar technology does not. You can shape them, make them semi-transparent or colored. But their big potential is in the possibility of fine-tuning how they free up and move electrons to generate electricity, said Brdas, a Regents Professor in Georgia Techs School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Gaining on silicon

In just the last four years, tuning NFA chemistry has boosted organic photovoltaic technology from initially converting only 1% of sunlight into electricity to 18% conversion in recent experiments. By comparison, high-quality silicon solar modules already on the market convert about 20%.

Theory says we should be able to reach over 25% conversion with organic NFA-based solar if we can control energy loss by way of the morphology, said Tonghui Wang, a postdoctoral researcher in Brdas lab and first author of the study.

Morphology, the shapes molecules take in a material, is key to NFA solar technologys heightened efficiency, but how that works on the molecular level has been a mystery. The new study carefully modeled tiny tweaks to molecular shapes and calculated corresponding energy conversion in a common NFA electron donor/acceptor pairing.

Improved performance came not from tweaks to the metaphorical hand of the catcher nor from the donors pitching hand but from something akin to positions of the catchers feet. Some positions better aligned the body of the acceptor with that of the electron donor.

The feet were a tiny component, a methoxy group, on the acceptor, and two positions out of four possible positions it took boosted the conversion of light into electricity from 6% to 12%. Brdas and Wang published their study, Organic Solar Cells Based on Non-Fullerene Small Molecule Acceptors: Impact of Substituent Position, on November 20, 2019, in the journal Matter. The research was funded by the Office of Naval Research.

(The donor/acceptor chemical pair was PBDB-T / IT-OM-1, -2, -3, or -4, with -2 and -3 showing superior electricity generation.)

Clunky silicon cells

Marketable NFA-based solar cells could have many advantages over silicon, which requires mining quartz gravel, smelting it like iron, purifying it like steel, then cutting and machining it. By contrast, organic solar cells start as inexpensive solvents that can be printed onto surfaces.

Silicon cells are usually stiff and heavy and weaken with heat and light stress, whereas NFA-based solar cells are light, flexible, and stress-resistant. They also have more complex photoelectric properties. In NFA-based photoactive layers, when photons excite electrons out of the outer orbits of donor molecules, the electrons dance around the electron holes they have created, setting them up for a customized handoff to acceptors.

Silicon pops an electron out of orbit when photons excite it past a threshold. Its on or off; you either get a conduction electron or no conduction electron, said Brdas, who is also Vasser Woolley Chair in Molecular Design at Georgia Tech. NFAs are subtler. An electron donor reaches out an electron, and the electron acceptor tugs it away. The ability to adjust morphology makes the electron handoff tunable.

Not a fullerene

Like the name says, non-fullerene acceptors are not fullerenes, which are pure carbon molecules with rather uniform and geometric structures of repeating pentagonal or hexagonal elements. Nanotubes, graphene, and soot are examples of fullerenes, which are named after architect Buckminster Fuller, who was famous for designing geodesic domes.

Fullerenes are more ridged in molecular structure and tunability than non-fullerenes, which are more freely designed to be floppy and bendable. NFA-based donors and acceptors can wrap around each other like precise swirls of chocolate and vanilla batter in a Bundt cake, giving them advantages beyond electron donating and accepting such as better molecular packing in a material.

Another point is how the acceptor molecules are connected to each other so that the accepted electron has a conductive path to an electrode, Brdas said. And it goes for the donors, too.

As in any solar cell, conduction electrons need a way out of the photovoltaic material into an electrode, and there has to be a return path to the opposite electrode for arriving electrons to fill holes that departing electrons left behind.

Highly impactful citations

Brdas accolades are numerous, but he has particularly gained attention for his Google Scholar h-index score, a calculation of the impact of a researchers publications. Bredas current score of 146 likely places him in the 700 most-impactful published researchers in modern global history.

He has been a particularly noted leader in photoelectric and semiconductor research based on affordable and practical organic chemistry.

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Minuscule chemical tweak is advancing an organic solar technology that was once thought unviable - pvbuzz media

Google's new Doodle may look like a bunch of items you'd find in your high school science class, but all those cartoon beakers are in celebration of Sir John Cornforth, Australia's only Nobel Prize-winner in chemistry.

Cornforth died just four years ago, just one year after his wife, scientist Rita Cornforth, passed away. The Doodle celebrates what would have been his 100th birthday.

Cornforth gained his Nobel Prize in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions not the easiest work to break down in layman's terms, but suffice to say rather important in the world of drug discovery.

The degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) was conferred upon Sir John Warcup Cornforth at a ceremony held in the Great Hall on Nov. 2, 1977.

Image: University of sydney

According to his alma mater, the University of Sydney, Cornforth went deaf early in life, using textbooks instead of lectures and relying on fellow researcher and University of Sydney chemistry alumnus Rita for assistance with lip reading and sign language. The university now awards the Rita and John Cornforth Medal for Ph. D achievement.

Rita and Sir John Cornforth.

Image: University of sydney

The Cornforths made a remarkable contribution to the world," says University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence. "It was perhaps Sir Johns determination to consult primary sources, and celebrate science as an ongoing endeavour, that made his work so precise and compelling.

Google's other recent Australian Doodles include an Australia Day special on Jan. 26, featuring World Heritage Site the Great Barrier Reef, and a Doodle to celebrate iconic Aboriginal Australian artist Albert (Elea) Namatjiras 115th birthday on Jul. 28.

Excerpt from:
Australian scientist and Nobel Prize winner honoured in Google Doodle - Mashable

In the context of relationships, chemistry is a simple "emotion"[1] that two people get when they share a special connection. It is not necessarily sexual. It is the impulse making one think "I need to see this [other] person again" - that feeling of "we click".[2] It is very early in one's relationship that they can intuitively work out whether they have positive or negative chemistry.[3]

While the actual definition of chemistry, its components, and its manifestations are fairly vague, this is a well documented concept. Some people describe chemistry in metaphorical terms, such as "like cookie dough and vanilla ice cream", or "like a performance".[4] It can be described in the terms of mutual feelings - "a connection, a bond or common feeling between two people", or as a chemical process - "[it] stimulates love or sexual attraction...brain chemicals are definitely involved".[3] While chemistry has been described as "that romantic spark between [two people]", the term "spark" in the context of relationships is as vague as "chemistry", and therefore is not particularly useful in a definition.[1] It has also been described as "intangible, unspoken [and] energetic".[5] Chemistry is an unconscious decision, informed by a complex blend of criteria.[2]

Some of the core components of chemistry are: "non-judgment, similarity, mystery, attraction, mutual trust, and effortless communication"[3] Chemistry can be described as the combination of "love, lust, infatuation, and a desire to be involved intimately with someone".[2]

Research by Kelly Campbell, Ph.D., suggests that "not everyone experiences chemistry". She decided that "chemistry occurred most often between people who are down-to-earth and sincere". This is because "if a person is comfortable with themselves, they are better able to express their true self to the world, which makes it easier to get to know them...even if perspectives on important matters differed." Sharing similarities is also deemed essential to chemistry as "feeling understood is essential to forming relational bonds."[3]

In general terms, there are 3 main types of chemistry, which are defined in terms of the nature of the rapport between the respective people:[6]

The various manifestations of chemistry are: sexual chemistry, romantic chemistry, emotional chemistry, activity chemistry, team performance chemistry, creative chemistry, intellectual chemistry, and empowerment chemistry".[6]

There are various psychological, physical and emotional symptoms of having good chemistry with another person. It has been described as a "combination of basic psychological arousal combined with a feeling of pleasure". The nervous system gets aroused, causing one to get adrenaline in the form of "rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and sensations of excitement that are often similar to sensations associated with danger". Other physical symptoms include "blood pressure go[ing] up a little, the skin...flush[ing], the face and ears...turn[ing] red and...[a] feeling of weakness in the knees". One can feel a sense of obsession over the other person, longing for "the day [when they return] to that person". One can also uncontrollably smile whenever thinking about the other person.[3]

There is some debate over whether one can artificially create chemistry if they are "not initially feeling it". While some people hold that it is something that you "can't learn and can't teach...[and you] either have...or you don't", others hold that chemistry is a process rather than a moment, "build[ing] up and adds up and eventually you get this kind of chemical bonding". Some people, while believing it is possible to artificially create chemistry, think that it is better to let chemistry hit them spontaneously.[3]

In Western Society, chemistry is generally considered the "igniter [and] catalyst for the relationship", i.e., without this chemistry, there can be no relationship.[3] Having chemistry "can be the difference between a relationship being romantic or platonic". Chemistry "can cause people to act sexually impulsively or unwisely". It can also be the difference between someone remaining faithful in their relationship, and seeking one night stands and affairs.[1]

Romantic chemistry can be one of the most dangerous and self destructive emotions if left unchecked. Some people will enter relationships with incompatible mates blinded by chemistry. Chemistry often seems to have the power to blind us. Chemistry is the reason the saying, "Love is blind," exists. Chemistry can make otherwise rational people ignore serious problems and issues in an individual and relationship. Chemistry often blinds people to warning signs that a person or relationship is not healthy or the right one for them.

Dating coach Evan Marc Katz suggests that "chemistry is one of the most misleading indicators of a future relationship. Chemistry predicts nothing but chemistry." This is because chemistry can make people blind to actual incompatibilities or warning signs. Psychologist Laurie Betito notes that arranged marriages actually do quite well in terms of relationship satisfaction, and this is because "a spark can build based on what you have in common. You can grow into love, but you grow out of lust."[7]

Neil Clark Warren argues that physical chemistry is important because "couples who don't share strong chemistry may have additional problems during the ups and downs of a life together." Like Betito, he suggests not ruling someone out on the first date due to lack of chemistry. "But," he adds, "if by the second or third date you dont feel a strong inclination to kiss the other person, be near him, or hold his hand, youre probably never going to feel it."[8]April Masini likewise says that chemistry is a strong predictor of relationship success. She suggests that chemistry comes and goes, and it's important to actively cultivate it because it can help couples deal with future conflicts.[9]

See more here:
Chemistry (relationship) - Wikipedia

August 11, 2017

By: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review

How can I be a chemical missionary? What can the chemicals that make up this world and universe tell us about the Creator?

These are some of the questions Andrews University (AU) Chemistry Professor Ryan Hayes asks himself time and again when reflecting on the intersections of his beliefs and the field of science he loves.

Hayes, an AU alumnus who returned to his alma mater to teach after a decade of further studies and work in the chemical industry, offered a hands-on one-size-fits-all seminar, during the 2017 Adventist Laymens Services and Industries (ASi) Convention in Houston, Texas, United States, on August 4. In it, he explored some of the unanswered questions for naturalists and shared a work-in-process initiative that he hopes will provide novel resources for integrating faith into Chemistry learning.

A Missing Link

Hayes notes that most scholarly discussions about origins have traditionally focused on either Physicsthe depth of time, and Biologythe complexity of life, but not on Chemistry, which he called the missing link. But how is this world put together? he asks. How did God make this world?

In that regard, said Hayes, it is relevant to ask whether Chemistry can be a doorway or a barrier. There are in fact a lot of barriers for life happening spontaneously, he says. It is the reason the scientific community is spending a lot of money on Chemical Origins of Life InitiativesChemistry is the current battleground in origin studies.

Hayes believes, however, that without a Creator, there are too many knowledge gaps. For instance, the invisible chemical makeup of our planet is a finely tuned mixture of molecules that supports life, he says, before asking, How did this happen?

Educational Materials

Hayes believes that we need a renewed study of the overlooked components that make up our world in light of Scripture. Science can enhance our relationship with God, he notes as he quotes Jeremiah 29:13, where God says, And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Now Hayes is willing to put money where his mouth is. In partnership with the communication ministry Hart Research Institute, and artist Nathan Greene, he is working on seven sets of educational materials based on the seven days of the Creation story. Greene will contribute with one specific painting for each day of Creationhe is currently working on his 5th-day paintingwhile Hayes will provide content for study and discussion.

Each set will include a video, targeting a key element of that specific Creation day, says Hayes. The idea is to throw out important arguments to make people think. It is expected that when availablemost likely by late 2018these materials may be widely used in Adventist schools, churches, and homes.

Our goal is to offer visually compelling artwork, as well as age appropriate educational materials, says Hayes. Instead of destroying our relationship with God, [we believe] science can greatly enhance it!

Air and Water

While Hayes believes that every day of the Creation story has an impressive potential for discussion and reflection on God as the Designer, his presentation is mostly devoted to one of them.

Take the second day, for instance, he says. You can discuss not only the impressive design of the atmosphere but also the magnetic and the electric fields.

Hayes notes that the atmosphere is so finely tuned that one cannot but wonder whether there is evidence of chemical design in the amount of air on the Earth.

Much of the greenhouse effect we are experiencing results from carbon dioxide, which has gone up from 0.035 to 0.040, he says. That small change is producing grave alterations. And the same applies to the weight of the atmosphere, which is exactlyno more, no lessthe one needed to support life on the planet.

After simple but alluring experiments to demonstrate some of the properties of air, Hayes reminds people attending his seminar that atmosphere is a great shield, as it protects Earth from asteroid impacts.

And it is just with the right pressure, he says, explaining that more air pressure would increase the boiling point, making it harder for evaporation to take place and affecting the water cycle. Less pressure, on the other hand, would overheat the planet, since water vapor is a greenhouse gas.

Water is the single most important ingredient for life, says Hayes. But the amount of air controls the water cycle.

As the seminar concludes, and in case people listening to his presentation still entertain doubts, Hayes reiterates his main point.

The creation story from a chemical perspective makes perfect sense, and the Bibles Creation story is scientifically sound, he says. Gods signature is His creation.

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A Chemical Missionary - Adventist Review

wbur Marijuana remains on the NFL's list of banned substances. (Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images)

Several states have legalized recrational marijuana in recent years, but the drug is still on the NFL's list of banned substances. Now, some argue it could be a beneficial alternative to painkillers for players.

That story and more on this week's edition of "3 Stories You Should Know." Patrick Hruby of Vice Sports and Cindy Boren of the Washington Post joined Bill Littlefield.

1. NFL's Banned Healing Component

A recent Washington Post articledetails how some retired NFL players are now experimenting with medical marijuana instead of traditional painkillers to ease football-related pain. Cindy Boren has been following the debate over whether active players should be allowed to use the drug as well.

Players are playing a game that's incredibly painful, so they're looking for anything. And the NFL over the years has pushed prescription drugs, Toradol for instance. And these have long-range effects that really wreak havoc on the system. And players are turning, increasingly, to marijuana. And this is a new science, but it's being shown to have an effect on alleviating pain. ... If you care about the people, then you're going to want what would be the safest way for them to seek pain relief.

2. The 'Science' Of Team Chemistry

Baseball is a statistics-driven sport. But a recent Slate article suggests that team chemistry could become the next hot statistic. Should teams really use math to optimize team chemistry and win more games? Bill Littlefield weighs in.

I think I hate this idea it's too new for me to be completely sure. But some matters, it seems to me, should remain subjective, even in a game so thoroughly drenched in statistics as baseball is. ... What fun it would be to be a fly on the wall when an agent comes into negotiations and says 'Look at these stats that show that my guy is gonna make your whole team so much better just by being a terrific influence in the clubhouse.' I can't wait to hear the response to that.

3. Religious Headwear Allowed On FIBA Courts

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced Tuesday that it would change its uniform rule which banned players from wearing religious head coverings on the court. As of October 1, 2017, playerswillbe allowed to don this headwear. Patrick Hruby likes the move.

It's a pretty significant move, because before this, players with strong religious beliefs didn't have any options. ... But when you look at the change, it does raise the question which is why was this even a rule in the first place? FIBA says this was a "safety precaution." But, there's no actual evidence that any player was ever hurt during a game because of headgear.

More Stories You Should Know

This segment aired on May 6, 2017.

Continue reading here:
3 Stories: Marijuana And The NFL, Baseball Chemistry, Headwear ... - WBUR

May 12, 2017; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants rookie draft class general manger Jerry Reese running back Wayne Gillman (30), quarterback Davis Webb (5) defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (94) head coach Ben McAdoo defensive end Avery Moss (91) tight end Evan Engram (88) and offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty (66) at Quest Diagnostics Training Center . Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

NFC East Buzz: New York Giants lost ground in draft by Curt Macysyn

New York Giants: Team needs to manage the Webb hype by Curt Macysyn

The New York Giants utilized the 2017 NFL Draft to address two of the biggest needs on the roster. The decisions may have come as something of a surprise, but New York filled the voids at tight end and quarterback.

With Evan Engram on pace to earn astarting role in 2017, and Davis Webb projected to be Eli Mannings successor, the new duo iswasting no time in developing chemistry.

New York selected Engram in the first round andWebb in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Both selections offered a fair indication of how important they are to general manager Jerry Reeses vision for the team.

According to Jordan Raanan of ESPNs NFL Nation, the chemistry between Engram and Webb has been building since the Senior Bowl.

Its funny because Evan was my favorite player at the Senior Bowl. I told him that there, Webb said Friday after the first day of rookie minicamp practice. Couple months later, were on the same team. So that is really cool. Evan is a great player. He works his butt off. He did a great job [Friday] with his assignments and is coached really well. We have a good relationship off the field, and hopefully that translates to a good relationship on the field.

its far too soon to jump to any concrete conclusions, but Engram and Webb could be anchoring the Giants offense for years to come.

Engram is a 63 and 234-pound tight end with 4.42 speed and proven playmaking ability. He led all FBS tight ends in yards per reception during the 2014 season, and recorded 65 receptions for 926 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2016 campaign.

The Giants have long needed a tight end who can stretch the field vertically, and Engram has the potential to be a matchup nightmare.

As for Webb, hes filling the biggest shoes of all as Mannings heir apparent.

Webb is a 65 and 229-pound quarterback whoput up 4,295 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and eight rushing touchdowns in 2016. He completed 61.6 percent of his passes, but theres a rational fear that he may havelearned bad habits in spread offenses.

Thankfully, Webb projects to have two or three seasons to learn behind a Super Bowl champion.

The New York Giants havethe potential for greatness. Both Evan Engram and Davis Webb will play roles in the development of it.

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Evan Engram, Davis Webb Developing Chemistry - G-Men H.Q.

LAWRENCE A question that has eluded scientists for 200 years will be the object for study for a University of Kansas chemistry professor who received a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation.

Marco Caricato, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation for his research proposal First Principles Evaluation of Optical Activity in Solids. The award is the highest honor given by the NSF to young researchers.

Caricato will focus on chiral solids and their interaction with light, an effect known as optical activity. Chiral molecules and solids are objects that are nonsuperimposable mirror images of each other, such as right and left hands. Chiral molecules and supramolecular systems also play an important role in biology, as proteins and DNA are made out of chiral molecules (amino acids and sugars), and life has evolved around only one of the two possible mirror images (called enantiomers) for these molecules. Therefore, it is extremely important to be able to distinguish which enantiomerthat researchers have in their samples (for drugs, only one enantiomer will be effective, while the other may even be dangerous).

One way to distinguish these mirror images is through their interaction with chiral light. Scientists have studied optical activity in chiral molecules and crystals for 200 years, and they are able to use this interaction effectively for sample analysis. Nevertheless, scientists have yet to understand the correlation between molecular structure and the electronic response to light. In other words, it is not possible to predict the magnitude and sign of the response by simply looking at the microscopic structure of the material.

It is exciting to study a phenomenon that is still not quite well understood after so much time from its discovery. We are going to use sophisticated computer simulations to try to gain a chemically intuitive understanding of such structure-property relationship of matter, Caricato said.

This project could have implications for materials science, as well. Chiral materials are becoming increasingly popular for applications in catalysis, molecular recognition and electronics. Caricato will use theoretical simulations to develop first principles quantum mechanical methods for the calculation of optical rotation.

Caricato will receive $625,000 over the next five years to support his research as well as an outreach program to bring computational chemistry into high school classrooms in Kansas.

With this award, the Department of Chemistry now counts 14 CAREER Award recipients in its current faculty, reflecting a notably high success rate in applications for this award.

Professor Caricato's state-of the art research in using quantum chemistry to explain and predict the properties of materials complements very well KU's already strong efforts in computational chemistry, said Brian Laird, chair of the Department of Chemistry. This well-deserved award is a testament to the high level of research productivity that he brings to the department and to KU.

Caricato joined the university in 2014. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale and a research scientist at Gaussian Inc. following the completion of his doctorate at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, in 2006.

The NSF has existed since 1950 to promote discovery in the sciences and to fund those on the frontier of scientific innovation. The NSF CAREER Award supports junior faculty who engage in outstanding research, education and integration of education and research in their academic roles.

The Department of Chemistry is in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, which is KUs largest, most diverse academic unit.

Continued here:
Chemistry professor receives NSF CAREER Award - KU Today

A recent upsurge in planet-warming methane may not be caused by increasing emissions, as previously thought, but by methane lingering longer in the atmosphere.

Thats the conclusion of two independent studies that indirectly tracked concentrations of hydroxyl, a highly reactive chemical that rips methane molecules apart. Hydroxyl levels in the atmosphere decreased roughly 7 or 8 percent starting in the early 2000s, the studies estimate.

The two teams propose that the hydroxyl decline slowed the breakdown of atmospheric methane, boosting levels of the greenhouse gas. Concentrations in the atmosphere have crept up since 2007, but during the same period, methane emissions from human activities and natural sources have remained stable or even fallen slightly, both studies suggest. The research groups report their findings online April 17 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

If hydroxyl were to decline long-term, then it would be bad news, says Matt Rigby, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Bristol in England who coauthored one of the studies. Less methane would be removed from the atmosphere, he says, so the gas would hang around longer and cause more warming.

The stability of methane emissions might also vindicate previous studies that found no rise in emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, has reported that U.S. emissions remained largely unchanged from 2004 to 2014 (SN Online: 4/14/16).

Methane enters the atmosphere from a range of sources, from decomposing biological material in wetlands to leaks in natural gas pipelines. Ton for ton, that methane causes 28 to 36 times as much warming as carbon dioxide over a century.

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric methane concentrations have more than doubled. By the early 2000s, though, levels of the greenhouse gas inexplicably flatlined. In 2007, methane levels just as mysteriously began rising again. The lull and subsequent upswing puzzled scientists, with explanations ranging from the abundance of methane-producing microbes to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Those proposals didnt account for what happens once methane enters the atmosphere. Most methane molecules in the air last around a decade before being broken apart during chemical reactions with hydroxyl. Monitoring methane-destroying hydroxyl is tricky, though, because the molecules are so reactive that they survive for less than a second after formation before undergoing a chemical reaction.

Neither study can show conclusively that hydroxyl levels changed, notes Stefan Schwietzke, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. The papers nevertheless add a new twist in explaining the mysterious methane rise, he says. Basically these studies are opening a new can of worms, and there was no shortage of worms.

Despite being conducted by two separate teams one headed by Rigby and the other by atmospheric scientist Alex Turner of Harvard University the new studies used the same roundabout approach to tracking hydroxyl concentrations over time.

Both teams followed methyl chloroform, an ozone-depleting substance used as a solvent before being banned by the Montreal Protocol. Like methane, methyl chloroform also breaks apart in reactions with hydroxyl. Unlike methane, though, emission rates of methyl chloroform are fairly easy to track because the chemical is entirely human-made.

Examining methyl chloroform measurements gathered since the 1980s revealed that hydroxyl concentrations have probably wobbled over time, contributing to the odd pause and rise in atmospheric methane concentrations. But to know for sure whether hydroxyl levels varied or remained steady, scientists will need to take a more detailed look at regional emissions of methane and methyl chloroform, Rigby says.

Why hydroxyl levels might have fallen also remains unclear. Turner and colleagues note that the ban on ozone-depleting substances like methyl chloroform might be the cause. The now-recovering ozone layer (SN: 12/24/16, p. 28) blocks some ultraviolet light, an important ingredient in the formation of hydroxyl. Identifying the cause of the hydroxyl changes could help climate scientists better predict how methane levels will behave in the future.

Continue reading here:
Plot twist in methane mystery blames chemistry, not emissions, for ... - Science News

Sessions/Tracks

ConferenceSeries Ltdinvites all the participants from all over the world to attend 4th International Conference on Past and Present Research Systems of Green Chemistry during October 16-18, 2017 in Atlanta, USA. This includes prompt keynote presentations, Oral talks, Poster presentations and Exhibitions.

Green Chemistry Conference will be a multidisciplinary gathering and present major areas such as Green Catalysis, Green Chemistry Applications, Green Synthesis and Designing,Green Nanotechnology,Green Chemical Solvents, Analytical Methodologies, Green Nanotechnology, Organo catalysis, Ionic liquids, Green engineering,Renewable energyand many more. The forum of Scientists, students and researchers from all corners of the globe, come together to discuss future science. Each session of the meeting will be included with expert lectures, poster and discussions, join us to designsustainable developmentprocesses, innovations by which and how these strategies drive new policies, advances the business and human health protection. We are glad to invite you on behalf of organizing committee to join us, where you are the decision maker for future.ConferenceSeries LtdOrganizes 1000+ConferencesEvery Year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 morescientificsocietiesand Publishes 700+Open access Journalswhich contains over 30000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members. To know more about theconference seriesvisit:http://www.conferenceseries.com/

Track 1:Green Catalysts

Catalystscan be divided into two main types - heterogeneous and homogeneous. In a heterogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. In a homogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants.

You might wonder why phase differs from the term physical state (solid, liquid or gas). It includes solids, liquids and gases, but is actually a bit more general. It can also apply to two liquids (oil and water, for example) which don't dissolve in each other. You could see the boundary between the two liquids.

Heterogeneous catalysis: This involves the use of a catalyst in a different phase from the reactants. Typical examples involve a solid catalyst with the reactants as either liquids or gases.

Homogeneous catalysis: This has the catalyst in the same phase as the reactants. Typically everything will be present as a gas or contained in a single liquid phase.

Track 2:Green Chemistry Applications

In 2005, the Nobel Prize inchemistrywas awarded for the discovery of a catalyticchemical processcalled metathesis which has broad applicability in thechemical industry. It uses significantly less energy and has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for many key processes. The process is stable at normal temperatures and pressures, can be used in combination with greener solvents, and is likely to produce less hazardous waste.

In 2012, Elevance Renewable Sciences won the PresidentialGreen ChemistryChallenge Award by using metathesis to break down natural oils and recombine the fragments into high-performance chemicals. The company makes specialty chemicals for many uses, such as highly concentrated cold-water detergents that provide better cleaning with reduced energy costs.

Track 3:Green Synthesis-Designing the Starting Materials

There is currently considerable interest in applying the principles ofgreen chemistryandsustainabilityto industrialorganic synthesis, particularly in the fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries.

In any synthesis of a target molecule, the starting materials that are made to react with a reagent under appropriate conditions. Before coming to a final decision, consider all the possible methods that can give the desired product. The same product can also be obtained by modifying the conditions. The method of choice should not use toxic starting materials and should eliminate by-products and wastes. Following are some of the important considerations.

Track 4:New Trends inGreen Chemistry

Sustainable andGreen Chemistryin very simple terms is just a different way of thinking about how chemistry andchemical engineeringcan be done. Over the years different principles have been proposed that can be used when thinking about the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes. These principles enable scientists and engineers to protect and benefit the economy, people and the planet by finding creative and innovative ways toreduce waste, conserve energy, and discover replacements for hazardous substances.

Green chemistrycan also be defined through the use of metrics. While a unified set of metrics has not been established, many ways to quantify greener processes and products have been proposed. These metrics include ones for mass, energy, hazardous substance reduction or elimination, and life cycleenvironmental impacts.

Green Chemistryis the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and applications of chemical products.

Principles of Green Chemistry:

Track 5:Green Chemical Solvents

The use of hazardous and toxic solvents in chemical laboratories and the chemical industry is considered a very important problem for the health and safety of workers and environmental pollution.Green Chemistryaims to change the use of toxic solvents with greener alternatives, with replacement and synthetic techniques, separation and purification which do not need the use of solvents.

One of principles of Green Chemistry is to promote the idea of greener solvents (non-toxic, benign toenvironment), replacement in cases that can be substituted with safer alternatives, or changes in the methodologies of organic synthesis, when solvents are not needed.

Track 6:Green Metrics and Measurements

Quantifying theenvironmentalimpactof chemical technologies and products, and comparing alternative products and technologies in terms of their greenness is a challenging task. In order to characterize various aspects of a complex phenomenon, a number of different indicators are selected into a metric.Green Chemistry conferenceoutlines fundamental developments inchemistryand chemical technology that have led to the development ofgreen chemistry, green chemical technology, and sustainable chemical technology concepts, and provide a foundation for the development of the corresponding metrics. It includes different approaches to metrics, and case study examples of their applications, and problems in practice.

Track 7:New Ideas for Non Toxic By-Products

Clean technology includes recycling,renewable energy(wind power, solar power,biomass, hydropower, biofuels, etc.), information technology, green transportation, electric motors,green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental footprint and minimizepollutionto make green buildings, transport and infrastructure both more energy efficient and environmentally benign. Environmental finance is methods by which new clean technology projects that have proven that they are "additional" or "beyond business as usual" can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits. A project that is developed with concern for climate change mitigation (such as a Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism project) is also known as a carbon project.

Track 8:Organic Synthesis Based on Multiphase Operation

Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the construction of organic compounds via organic reactions. Organic molecules often contain a higher level of complexity than purely inorganic compounds, so that the synthesis of organic compounds has developed into one of the most important branches oforganic chemistry. There are several main areas of research within the ge
neral area of organic synthesis: total synthesis, semi synthesis, and methodology.

A total synthesis is the complete chemical synthesis of complex organic molecules from simple, commercially available (petrochemical) or natural precursors. Total synthesis may be accomplished either via a linear or convergent approach. In alinear synthesisoften adequate for simple structures several steps are performed one after another until the molecule is complete. The chemical compounds made in each step are called synthetic intermediates. For more complex molecules, a different approach may be preferable: convergent synthesis involves the individual preparation of several "pieces" (key intermediates), which are then combined to form the desired product.

Track 9:Industrial Applications of Green Chemistry

In the past, the industrial production of Adipic acid used benzene as a starting material. Benzene is one of the basic chemicals for industrial reactions and a solvent. It is known that derives mainly from the refining processes of the petrochemical industry. Benzene is also known for its carcinogenic properties (it causes leukemia to highly exposed workers). Afterwards the starting material became cyclohexanone or a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol. For the oxidation process it was used nitric acid, producing toxic fumes of nitric oxides, NOx, which are also contributors to the greenhouse effect and the destruction of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. It was Inevitable that the method had to be changed again with more environmentally benign reactions.

Track 10: Analytical Methodologies

Ananalytical methodoranalytical techniqueis a method to determine the concentration of a chemical compound or element in a sample. There is a very wide variety of methods used for analysis which afford different degrees of sample preparation and instrumentation.

Track 11:Sustainability and Environmental Safety

At the global scale and in the broadest sensesustainability andenvironmental safetymanagement involves managing the oceans, freshwater systems, land and atmosphere, according to sustainability principles.

Land use change is fundamental to the operations of the biosphere because alterations in the relative proportions of land dedicated to urbanization,agriculture, forest, woodland, grassland and pasture have a marked effect on the global water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles. Management of the Earth's atmosphere involves assessment of all aspects of the carbon cycle to identify opportunities to address human-induced climate change and this has become a major focus of scientific research because of the potential catastrophic effects onbiodiversityand human communities. Ocean circulation patterns have a strong influence on climate and weather and, in turn, the food supply of both humans and other organisms.

Track 12:Green Chemistry and Engineering

Green engineering approaches the design of products and processes by applying financially and technologically feasible processes and products in a manner that simultaneously decreases the amount of pollution that is generated by a source, minimizes exposures to potential hazards (including reducing toxicity and improved uses of matter and energy throughout the life cycle of the product and processes). In so doing, the overall health and ecological stress and risk are reduced. As such,green engineeringis not actually an engineering discipline in itself, but an overarching engineering framework for all design disciplines.

Track 13:Green Nanotechnology

Green nanotechnology refers to the utilization ofnanotechnologyto upgrade the ecological supportability of procedures delivering negative externalities. It additionally alludes to the utilization of the results of nanotechnology to improve manageability. It incorporates making green nano-items and utilizing nano-items as a part of backing of maintainability.

Green nanotechnologyhas been portrayed as the advancement of clean advances, "to minimize potential natural and human wellbeing dangers connected with the assembling and utilization of nanotechnology items, and to support supplanting of existing items with new nano-items that are all the more ecologically agreeable all through their lifecycle.

Track 14:Green Materials and Marketing

Green marketing is the showcasing of items that are dared to be naturally desirable over others. Thusgreen marketingjoins an expansive scope of exercises, including item adjustment, changes to the generation process, economical bundling, and in addition altering publicizing. Yet characterizing green promoting is not a straightforward assignment where a few implications cross and repudiate one another; a sample of this will be the presence of shifting social,naturaland retail definitions appended to this term. Other comparable terms utilized are ecological advertising and environmental showcasing.

Green, ecological and eco-marketing are a piece of the new advertising methodologies which don't simply refocus, modify or upgrade existing promoting thinking and practice, however try to challenge those methodologies and give a generously alternate point of view. In more detail green, natural andeco-marketinghave a place with the gathering of methodologies which look to address the absence of fit between promoting as it is as of now drilled and the biological and social substances of the more extensive advertisingenvironment.

After a Successful conference of Green Chemistry2016, ConferenceSeries Ltd proudly announces the 4th International Conference on Past and Present Research Systems of Green Chemistry during October 16-18, 2017 in Atlanta, USA. This includes prompt keynote presentations, Oral talks, Poster presentations and Exhibitions.

The scientific program andworkshopswill focus on current advances in the research and use of Green Chemistry with the whole concept of this advanced technology is to agendize from past, analyze the present and implement for the future the latest innovative evolving theories and technologies to surpass the hurdles and make modish frontiers.ConferenceSeries LLCOrganizes 1000+ConferencesEvery Year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 more scientificsocietiesand Publishes 1000+Open access Journalswhich contains over 50000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members. To know more about theconference seriesvisit:http://www.conferenceseries.com/

Green Chemistry Conferencewill be a multidisciplinary gathering and present major areas such as green synthesis,green catalysis, education and policies. The forum of Scientists, students and researchers from all corners of the globe, come together to discuss future science. Each session of the meeting will be included with expert lectures, poster and discussions, join us to designsustainable developmentprocesses, innovations by which and how these strategies drive new policies, advances the business and human health protection. We are glad to invite you on behalf of organizing committee to join us, where you are the decision maker for future.

Green Chemistry Conference purpose is to fill your head with knowledge you can use: ideas, new trends, amazing ingenuity. Our focus is on sustainable Development and Green Technologies, which we believe are foundational to the success of individual organizations as well as our cities, states, nations and world. Attendees come to Green Chemistry Conference to learn from experts in their community and leave.

Every year over 300 of experts representing renewable energy companies, technology and service providers, governments, investors and consultants attend our Green Chemistry Conferences.

With so much to see and do, you can't miss the excitement and energy of Green Chemistry Conference in Atlanta, USA.

The global chemical industry is expected to grow from $4 trillion to $5.3 trillion by 2020. According to a 2011 report from Pike Research, Green Chemistry represents a market opportunity that will grow dram
atically from $2.8 billion in 2011 to $98.5 billion by 2020. The same report also estimates that Green Chemistry is forecast to save industry $65.5 billion by 2020. a part of the $5.3 trillion US chemical industry.

About the Conference:

Green Chemistry 2017 takes immense pleasure to invite you all to be a part of this meeting which will focus on current trends and emerging issues in Green Chemistry. This ConferenceSeries Ltd Conference desideratum is to render an intriguing forum and vibrant opportunity for researchers to share their original research results and practical experiences, at the same time absorb knowledge from works being done around the nooks of world. Apart from researchers, professors, biopharmaceutical industry practitioners, private and public investors, and students are also most welcome to get themselves inbuilt to the rays of novel happenings onGreen Chemistryaround the globe. The whole concept of this advanced technology is to agenized from past, analyze the present and implement for the future the latest innovative evolving theories and technologies to surpass the hurdles and make modish frontiers.

The major objective of the conference is to emphasize the importance of Green Chemistry, explore recent advancements, and research by making room to experts and researchers from around the globe. The gathering will address sustainable developments in areas such as organic chemistry, novel methodologies in physical and applied chemistry. This event will be the best venue for academicians, researchers and interested parties to discuss proposals and most sound issues related to eco-friendly chemical processes.

For more details please visit-http://greenchemistry.conferenceseries.com/organizing-committee.php

Importance & Scope:

Green Chemistry provides a unique forum for the publication of innovative research on the development of alternative sustainable technologies. With a wide general appeal, Green Chemistry publishes urgent communications and high quality research papers as well as review articles. The scope of Green Chemistry is based on, but not limited to, the definition proposed. Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. Green Chemistry is at the frontiers of this science and publishes research that attempts to reduce the environmental impact of the chemical enterprise by developing a technology base that is inherently non-toxic to living things and the environment. Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.

The meeting will be a multidisciplinary gathering and present major areas such as green synthesis, catalysis, education and policies. The forum of Scientists, students and researchers from all corners of the globe, come together to discuss future science. Each session of the meeting will be included with expert lectures, poster and discussions, join us to design sustainable processes, innovations by which and how these strategies drive new policies, advances the business and human health protection. We are glad to invite you on behalf of organizing committee to join us, where you are the decision maker for future.

Why Atlanta?

The city is one of the top three leading destinations in the United States for conventions, business, and meetings. Las Vegas prides itself in being one of the busiest cities in America for conferences and conventions. There are several Green Chemistry Universities in USA. Mainly it includes Yale Universitywhich is the center for Green Chemistry.

Conference Highlights:

Why to attend???

Meet Your Target Market with three days of programming, the Green Chemistry 2017 conference will feature 52 technical sessions, a poster session, green exhibit hall, and keynotes lectures. As the longest running green chemistry conference in the United States, Green Chemistry 2016 invites scientists, decision-makers, students, and chemists to come together, compare findings, and discuss the science of the future. Share your research with an engaged audience of your peers from around the globe; learn from scientific trailblazers who are designing more sustainable chemistries and processes; find out how green innovations are inspiring new businesses and product lines.

A Unique Opportunity for Advertisers and Sponsors at this International event:

http://greenchemistry.conferenceseries.com/sponsors.php

Major Marketing Associations around the Globe

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)

Major MarketingAssociations in USA

Statistical Analysis of Associations and Societies

Target Audience:

The target audience is Nobel laureates, MD/Presidents, Vice Presidents, Departmental Head & Chairs. Vendors will have the opportunity to introduce the latest Green Chemistry technology to a diverse audience by becoming a conference sponsor via exhibits and/or workshops.

Target Audience:

Top Universities in USA:

Glance at Market of Green Chemistry:

The global chemical industry is expected to grow from $4 trillion to $5.3 trillion by 2020. According to a 2011 report from Pike Research, Green Chemistry represents a market opportunity that will grow dramatically from $2.8 billion in 2011 to $98.5 billion by 2020. The same report also estimates that Green Chemistry is forecast to save industry $65.5 billion by 2020. A part of the $5.3 trillion US chemical industry.

Green Chemistry 2016

Thanks to all of our wonderful speakers, conference attendees and Ad sponsors, Green Chemistry 2016 Conference was our best ever!

The 3rd International Conference on Past and Present Research Systems of Green Chemistry, hosted by the Conference Series LLC was held during September 19-21, 2016 at Embassy Suites Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USA.

The conference attracted the research community, universities and Green Chemistry associations. 13 different tracks and 68 sessions were designed under the theme Emphasis on Emerging Global Trends in the Direction of Sustainability and Environmental Safety. All the sessions, poster presentations invigorated the conference.

Green Chemistry 2016 witnessed an amalgamation of peerless speakers who enlightened the crowd with their knowledge and confabulated on various new-fangled topics related to the field of Green Chemistry.

Green Chemistry 2016 Organizing Committee would like to thank the Moderator of the conference,Dr. Mauricio Rostagno, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil who contributed a lot for the smooth functioning of this event.

Conference Series LLC would like to convey a warm gratitude to the entire keynote Speakers of Green Chemistry 2016:

Workshop: A workshop organized by Dr. Andrew C Flick, Pfizer Global Research and Development, USA.

Conference Series LLC is privileged to felicitate Green Chemistry 2016 Organizing Committee and Editorial Board Members of Journal of Organic Chemistry: Current Research, Natural Products Chemistry & Research and Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry Plenary Speakers, Chairs of the conference whose support and efforts made the conference to move in the path of success.

We thank all the organizing committee members, participants, attendees, exhibitor and media partners for their generous support without which the conference would not have been possible.

Book mark your dates for 4th International Conference onPast and Present Research Systems of Green which will be held during October 16-18, 2017 at Atlanta, USA.

Green Chemistry 2015

Thanks to all of our wonderful speakers, conference attendees and Ad sponsors, Green Chemistry 2015 Conference was our best ever!

The 2nd International Conference on Past and Present Research Systems of Green Chemistry, hosted by the Confer
ence Series LLCwas held during September 14-16, 2015 Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, Orlando, USA.

The conference attracted the research community, universities and Green Chemistry associations. 13 different tracks and 68 sessions were designed under the theme Foster Advancements in Globalization of Green Chemistry. All the sessions, poster presentations invigorated the conference.

Green Chemistry 2015 witnessed an amalgamation of peerless speakers who enlightened the crowd with their knowledge and confabulated on various new-fangled topics related to the field of Green Chemistry.

Green Chemistry 2015 Organizing Committee would like to thank the Moderator of the conference,Dr. Dequan Xiao, University of New Haven, USA who contributed a lot for the smooth functioning of this event.

Conference Series LLCwould like to convey a warm gratitude to all the Honorable Guest of Green Chemistry 2015:

The highlights of the conference were its educative and effectual keynote lectures by:

Workshop: A workshop onGreener Fenton processes for removal of persistent organic pollutants from wastewaters organized by Dr. Andreja Zgajnar Gotvajn from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

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Green Chemistry Conferences | Chemistry Conferences ...

This automated extractor uses water, high pressure and high temperature to release amino acids trapped inside of soil samples. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Few places are as hostile to life as Chiles Atacama Desert. Its the driest place on Earth, and only the hardiest microbes survive there. Its rocky landscape has lain undisturbed for eons, exposed to extreme temperatures and radiation from the sun.

If you can find life here, you might be able to find it in an even harsher environment like the surface of Mars. Thats why a team of researchers from NASA and several universities visited the Atacama in February. They spent 10 days testing devices that could one day be used to search for signs of life on other worlds. That group included a team from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on a portable chemistry lab called the Chemical Laptop.

With just a small water sample, the Laptop can check for amino acids, the organic molecules that are widespread in our solar system and considered the building blocks of all life as we know it. Liquid-based analysis techniques have been shown to be orders of magnitude more sensitive than gas-based methods for the same kinds of samples. But when you scoop up a sample from Mars, the amino acids youre looking for will be trapped inside of or chemically bonded to minerals.

To break down those bonds, JPL has designed another piece of technology, a subcritical water extractor that would act as the front end for the Laptop. This extractor uses water to release the amino acids from a soil sample, leaving them ready to be analyzed by the Chemical Laptop.

These two pieces of technology work together so that we can search for biosignatures in solid samples on rocky or icy worlds, said Peter Willis of JPL, the projects principal investigator. The Atacama served as a proving ground to see how this technology would work on an arid planet like Mars.

To find life, just add water

Willis team revisited an Atacama site he first went to in 2005. At that time, the extractor he used was manually operated; in February, the team used an automated extractor designed by Florian Kehl, a postdoctoral researcher at JPL.

The extractor ingests soil and regolith samples and mixes them with water. Then, it subjects the samples to high pressure and temperature to get the organics out.

At high temperatures, water has the ability to dissolve the organic compounds from the soil, Kehl said. Think of a tea bag: in cold water, not much happens. But when you add hot water, the tea releases an entire bouquet of molecules that gives the water a particular flavor, color and smell.

To remove the amino acids from those minerals, the water has to get much hotter than your ordinary cup of tea: Kehl said the extractor is currently able to reach temperatures as high as 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

Liquid samples would be more readily available on ocean worlds like Jupiters moon Europa, Kehl said. There, the extractor might still be necessary, as amino acids could be bonded to minerals mixed into the ice. They also may be present as part of larger molecules, which the extractor could break into smaller building blocks before analyzing them with the Chemical Laptop. Once the extractor has prepared its samples, the Laptop can do its work.

NASAs own tricorder

The Chemical Laptop checks liquid samples for a set of 17 amino acids what the team refers to as the Signature 17. By looking at the types, amounts and geometries of these amino acids in a sample, its possible to infer the presence of life.

All these molecules like being in water, said Fernanda Mora of JPL, the Chemical Laptops lead scientist. They dissolve in water and they dont evaporate easily, so theyre much easier to detect in water.

The Laptop mixes liquid samples with a fluorescent dye, which attaches to amino acids and makes it possible to detect them when illuminated by a laser.

Then, the sample is injected onto a separation microchip. A voltage is applied between the two ends of the channel, causing the amino acids to move at different speeds towards the end, where the laser is shining. Amino acids can be identified by how quickly they move through the channel. As the molecules pass through the laser, they emit light that is used to quantify how much of each amino acid is present.

The idea is to automate and miniaturize all the steps you would do manually in a chemistry lab on Earth, Mora said. That way, we can do the same analyses on another world simply by sending commands with a computer.

The near-term goal is to integrate the extractor and Chemical Laptop into a single, automated device. It would be tested during future field campaigns to the Atacama Desert with a team of researchers led by Brian Glass of NASAs Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

These are some of the hardest samples to analyze you can get on the planet, Mora said of the teams work in the Atacama. She added that in the future, the team wants to test this technology in icy environments like Antarctica. Those could serve as analogs to Europa and other ocean worlds, where liquid samples would be more readily plentiful.

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JPL Team Works Portable Chemistry Lab Detecting Life in the Driest Place on Earth - Pasadena Now