United Steelworkers sues EPA over weakening of chemical safety rule – Reuters

Posted on by

FILE PHOTO: A United Steelworkers flag flies outside the Local 1299 union hall in Ecorse, Michigan, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Steelworkers sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court on Thursday in a bid to reverse its gutting of a safety rule at chemical plants, the union said.

The largest U.S. industrial unions lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia adds to previous litigation against the rollback of Obama-era chemical safety rules.

The Trump administrations EPA in November released its Risk Management Program, which rids chemical plants of what EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said were unnecessary regulatory burdens.

The plan weakened the Obama-era 2017 Chemical Disaster Rule, which bolstered measures to reduce risk at chemical plants with measures like third-party audits and safety technology analysis. The measure was developed in the wake of a deadly 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people.

Eliminating these requirements will allow a profit-hungry industry to police itself while putting workers, first responders and the public at risk, Tom Conway, the USWs international president, said in a statement.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The union said recent incidents at facilities where its members work prompted its lawsuit to reinstate the Chemical Disaster Rule, citing a fire and explosions at a Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery in June.

In December, a coalition of 13 environmental and science organizations sued the EPA in federal appeals court to challenge its crippling of the Chemical Disaster Rule, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act.

Reporting by Sebastien Malo; Editing by Dan Grebler

Read the original post:
United Steelworkers sues EPA over weakening of chemical safety rule - Reuters

What’s next after the International Year of the Periodic Table? – Chemistry World

Posted on by

This year, all over the world, a spotlight has shone briefly but brightly on the periodic table, opening up conversations about chemistry. 150 years since the discovery of periodicity, 2019 was a perfect candidate for a year-long celebration of the most iconic diagram in our discipline.

Children have memorised it and sung songs of the elements; arrays of cupcakes have been baked, iced with element symbols and then devoured; and countless science outreach events have explored the origins, history and future of the building blocks of our universe. But what comes next?

As chemists we dont need to be convinced of the importance of the elements and our subject for society, but sadly some members of the public still seem to feel detached from both.

In their recent Nature Chemistry article, Finding the Central Science, Rene Webster and Margaret Hardy explored chemistrys lack of visibility in relation to other disciplines.1

In their recentNature Chemistryarticle, Finding the central science, Rene Webster and Margaret Hardy explored chemistrys lack of visibility in relation to other disciplines.

One of the issues explored by Webster and Hardy is the challenge of translating chemistry beyond its own borders, outside of discipline-specific publications (such as this very magazine) and into the popular press. For example, the pair highlight that the number of Google searches for chemistry spike at the time of the year that the Nobel prizes are announced. To keep chemistry in the spotlight, we need to tell stories that cause spikes year-round.

So how do we do that?Well, one way is to try to find ways to connect chemistry to important events that have already captured the attention of the public. We need to bring chemistry to where people already are and to what theyre already reading, watching or listening to. Mirroring the excellent work of the infographics by Compound Interest, we should pitch mainstream media stories that link chemistry to sporting competitions, cultural or religious festivals and news stories, and remind people that chemistry touches all of our lives.

I think its also high time for some prime-time chemistry TV shows, or rather a new series on one of the streaming giants. And of course, we need to get even better at making our breakthroughs more relatable.

Chemistry is undoubtedly tricky to communicate to non-experts, but we have to find ways to tell stories about our central science that connect with people and their lives.

In some ways the elements, when arranged in their table, are so ubiquitous that they feel disconnected from our everyday lives.

Ironically, the periodic table, despite being such a recognisable symbol of our science, can be a hindrance to making those connections.

In his book Periodic Tales, Hugh Aldersey-Williams clearly articulates something that Ive often thought but have been unable to eloquently express: The table seemed in some funny way to belittle its own contents. With its relentless logic of sequence and similarity, it made the elements themselves, in their messy materiality, almost superfluous.

In some ways the elements, when arranged in their table, are so well known, so ubiquitous, that they feel disconnected from our everyday lives. Almost like theyve been tidied away and arent available to be played with. And in part, as expressed by Webster and Hardy, the table suggests a sort of completeness to our science, as though chemistry knowledge and discovery happened as part of history, not in our present or future.

Sibrina Collins, executive director of Marburger STEM Center at Lawrence Technical University in the US, has explored ways to embed chemistry in popular culture in order to better connect with her students.2,3 She likes to make sure that we culturally connect with people, so they can see how chemistry directly impacts society.

Sibrina Collins, executive director of Marburger STEM Center at Lawrence Technical University in the US, has explored ways to embed chemistry in popular culture in order to better connect with her students.She likes to make sure that we culturally connect with people, so they can see how chemistry directly impacts society.

I loved Marvel Studios Black Panther, says Collins. As I watched the film, I just kept wondering where the fictional element vibranium would fit on the periodic table.

Collins then set this question for her general chemistry students to answer.It was really a thought experiment, which allows students to understand for themselves how the periodic table is arranged, she explains.

Collins work extended beyond university students to high schoolers, who were invited to make their own vibranium solutions in the university laboratories. Through this process, they learned more about copper and cobalt and their importance for our everyday lives.

Additionally, one of the main characters inBlack Panther is Shuri,a prodigious talent as a scientist and engineer. She is also a young black woman a refreshing change from stereotypical representations of Stem professionals by Hollywood, and an important role model for a new generation of scientists.

For me, Collins work is just one example of the way that we should try to weave chemistry into public conversations and our culture. The IYPT has been a resounding success throughout 2019but the elements, the table and our discipline need to feel current, accessible and expansive if were going to keep the spotlight shining.

View original post here:
What's next after the International Year of the Periodic Table? - Chemistry World

NKeal Harry hopeful Houston interception wont affect chemistry with Tom Brady: Keep moving forward, have a – MassLive.com

Posted on by

FOXBOROUGH Tom Brady targeted NKeal Harry once in Houston.

Texans cornerback Bradley Roby beat him to the spot on the slant, picked the ball off, and Brady didnt look to Harry for the rest of the game.

The first-round pick is intent on making sure that doesnt affect his chemistry with Brady moving forward. Hes trying to leave that play in Texas.

Its football. Things happen," Harry said. "What youve gotta do is, you just have to keep moving forward, have a short memory, and thats how I approach it.

Though he missed the first two months of the season with an ankle injury, Harry maintains that hes comfortable in the Patriots offense, even if the results havent been there yet.

Everything theyre asking me to do is reasonable," he said. "Everything theyre asking me to do is something I can do and something Im capable of doing. So its just putting in the work and getting it done. No excuses.

Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was insightful in explaining that time really the only way Harry and fellow rookie Jakobi Meyers can build trust with Brady.

I think patience is something that I know everybody wants everything to be a finished product, and we do too, but at the same time you have to understand theres going to be a process and were going to try to stick to it, McDaniels said. "We have to be committed to it, and we know that its productive when we stay the course and continue to coach the right things and fix the right things and then the players go out and make corrections and they have success with it.

Once they make the corrections and have success with it, they gain confidence in it and they start to trust each other more, and theres no shortcut to that.

Read this article:
NKeal Harry hopeful Houston interception wont affect chemistry with Tom Brady: Keep moving forward, have a - MassLive.com

Martavis Bryant: Chemistry will ‘take time’ coming back – ESPN (blog)

Posted on by

Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant (10) has scored 15 touchdowns in his first 21 regular-season games.

PITTSBURGH -- Wide receiver Martavis Bryant acknowledged making a few plays in Tuesday's organized team activities, including a "quick" over-the-top play off a Ben Roethlisberger lob pass for a big gain in 11-man work.

Bryant knows he'll need many more days like this to work his way back into the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense for 2017.

"It's still going to take time," Bryant said. "With the work put in, the chemistry will come back."

Bryant, who returns to the practice field after missing all of last season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, has attended each of the first four OTA sessions while looking to "knock the rust off," he said. Bryant is under conditional reinstatement from the NFL.

His weight is up to 225, and he believes he's maintained his elite speed on the field while creating a drug-free environment off it.

Typically, throwing to Bryant increases the chances for a big play. Bryant has scored 15 touchdowns in his first 21 regular-season games. But simply being on the field is most important to Bryant, who says he isn't worried about when or how he gets the ball.

"All I know is with trust comes consistency," Bryant said. "As long as I handle my business, the rest should come back. I'm not going to stress over that. I'm just going to continue to do what I'm doing."

See the rest here:
Martavis Bryant: Chemistry will 'take time' coming back - ESPN (blog)

Exam board AQA apologises after error in A-level chemistry exam – TES News

Posted on by

Exam board AQA has apologised for including an unanswerable question inits A-level Chemistrypaper.

Pupils sitting the exam this afternoon were told to leave out one of the questions in the paper.

Schools were contacted about the mistake before today's exam to ensure students could be told, AQA has said.

But some pupilson social media claimed that they were onlynotified in the middle of the exam and some say they were nottold at all:

Pupils will be awarded the two marks from the question, which has had to be discounted.

An AQA spokesperson said: "This shouldn't have happened and we are sorry it did.

"Each of our exam papers goes through a lot of checks, but unfortunately errors can very occasionally slip through.

"When they do, we always make sure that students don't lose out. But one error is still one too many, so we are carrying out a detailed investigation".

The mistake came on the same dayTes revealed that exam board OCRhad made an error in its Biology A-level paper.

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? FollowTeson Twitterand likeTeson Facebook.

Read more:
Exam board AQA apologises after error in A-level chemistry exam - TES News

On the cutting edge of chemistry – UCI News

Posted on by

UCI graduate student Cory Windorff could have studied abroad for a year in Bangkok, Barcelona or Buenos Aires. Instead, he chose an austere outpost at the Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico. What the location lacked in culture and amenities, it more than made up for in historical significance, and it allowed the young researcher to play a central role in a groundbreaking scientific discovery.

In 2015, Windorff went to Los Alamos with the support of UCI and a Science Graduate Student Research Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Energy. While there, he served as a key member of a team of chemists that uncovered a previously unknown oxidation state of plutonium, the highly radioactive, synthetic element used in nuclear power plants and weaponry.

Chemists are generally aware of the applications of plutonium and have known the available oxidation states since it was first made decades ago, says Windorff, who was awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry this summer. But we still dont fundamentally understand everything we would like to know about plutonium and some of its closely related elements, including all of their oxidation states, apparently. This is important information because oxidation states dictate how elements will react in chemical compounds.

Derived by either adding electrons to the outer shells of atoms or taking them away, oxidation states are fundamental aspects of elements on the periodic table. In nomenclature perplexing to nonchemists, removing electrons results in a plus oxidation state, and adding them produces a minus state. (This has to do with the fact that electrons have a negative charge.) A well-known example is rust, which is iron 3 plus (with three missing electrons) in chemistry terminology. Windorff and his colleagues had a breakthrough when they added an electron to plutonium 3 plus to make plutonium 2 plus.

The charge on a metallic element is a basic quantity in chemistry, says William Evans, UCI professor of chemistry and Windorffs Ph.D. adviser. Oxidation states have been studied extensively by scientists for over 100 years, and many thought that all were well-established.

But Evans and his students have made a habit of toppling these assumptions.

Their focus has largely been on the metals called lanthanides and actinides in the two rows usually shown at the bottom of the periodic table, separate from the main body of elements. In a lab in UCIs Frederick Reines Hall, Evans team developed innovative techniques to tease out new oxidation states for six lanthanide elements and three actinide metals.

Their approach involves combining reagents at low temperatures and working quickly before the materials decompose. Evans students log a lot of hours with their hands inside glove boxes (transparent sealed containers that allow manipulation of substances inside), mixing compounds, and moving samples in and out of cold baths and freezers to keep things chilly and stable.

When a perfect crystal is formed, its loaded onto a diffractometer and X-rayed to tell the researchers exactly where the atoms are in the molecules. You can see your target metal ion surrounded by a group of atoms we call ligands that protect the ion were studying, Evans says.

With the help of Los Alamos actinide chemist Stosh Kozimor, a veteran of the Evans lab, Windorff was able to bring these techniques to the national lab to be used on plutonium; he worked closely with Los Alamos senior scientist Andrew Gaunt.

Cory was a fourth-year graduate student, so he was at his peak in terms of his ability to make these molecules, Evans says. We cant handle plutonium here its too dangerous but they can at Los Alamos, and they wanted to work with us on this project, so what better way than to drop your student into the lab that has the capacity to do this.

He notes that the young chemist not only got to participate in cutting-edge research, but benefited from exposure to the national lab environment.

Windorff agrees: It was an unbelievable experience, being able to rub elbows and shake hands with so many well-known scientists from a field that Im interested in. It was really exciting. When I came back to UCI after a year in Los Alamos, I began to think differently about my research because of what I learned there.

The sojourn also opened his eyes to possible new career paths. I had always thought about a position in academia after I got my Ph.D., Windorff says. Los Alamos made me think about doing research at a national lab, so Ive included a few in my application process.

For Evans, the driving factor is the ongoing quest for fundamental knowledge about the world around us.

Whats special to me is the idea that were finding out things about the elements that we never knew were possible and this after looking closely at them for years and years, he says. As a scientist, you might think, Okay, weve gone about as far as we can go, then somebody finds something completely different that opens up a whole new world. That, to me, is what makes this plutonium oxidation state research a very big deal.

See the original post:
On the cutting edge of chemistry - UCI News

New plutonium discovery lights way for FSU chemistry professor’s … – Florida State News

Posted on by

Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt, professor of chemistry.

Plutonium has long been part of many countries nuclear energy strategies, but scientists are still unlocking the mysteries behind this complicated element and seeing how they can use heavier, nuclear elements to clean up nuclear waste.

Now, new research by Florida State University Professor Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt shows that plutonium doesnt exactly work the way scientists thought it did. The findings will contribute to his teams efforts to develop technologies to clean up nuclear waste.

The work was published today in Nature Chemistry.

Albrecht-Schmitt and a team of researchers have been studying plutonium Pu on the Periodic Table of Elements for almost two decades to understand how it behaves chemically, and how it differs from lighter elements like iron or nickel. To Albrecht-Schmitts surprise, a plutonium-organic hybrid compound that his team assembled in the lab behaved much like compounds made with lighter elements.

What makes this discovery so interesting is that the material rather than being really complicated and really exotic is really, really simple, Albrecht-Schmitt said. Your imagination goes wild, and you think Wow, I could make that class of compound with many other types of heavy elements. I could use other heavy elements like uranium or maybe even berkelium.

The team observed that electrons were shuttling back and forth between two different plutonium ions.The movement of electrons between two positive ions is an action that typically happens between ions of lighter elements like iron, which is why lighter elements are often used in biology to accomplish chemical reactions.

Albrecht-Schmitt said his team immediately realized there was something unique about the compound they had engineered in the lab simply because of its color.

Plutonium makes wild, vibrant colors, Albrecht-Schmitt said. It can be purple, it can be these beautiful pinks. It can be this super dark black-blue. This compound was brown, like a beautiful brown chocolate bar. When we saw that color, we knew something was electronically unusual about it.

Albrecht-Schmitts work is part of his labs overall mission to better understand the heavier elements at the very bottom of the periodic table. Last year, he received $10 million from the Department of Energy to form a new Energy Frontier Research Center that will focus on accelerating scientific efforts to clean up nuclear waste.

In order to develop materials that say trap plutonium, you first have to understand at the most basic level, the electronic properties of plutonium, Albrecht-Schmitt said. So that means making very simple compounds, characterizing them in exquisite detail and understanding both experimentally and theoretically all of the properties youre observing.

Albrecht-Schmitt and his research team have conducted similar work on the elements californium and berkelium.

Other authors on the paper are FSU graduate students Samantha Cary, Shane Galley, Matthew Marsh, Justin Cross and Jared Stritzinger; FSU research professor David Hobart; National High Magnetic Field Laboratory researcher Ryan Baumbach; Bloomsburg University Assistant Professor of Chemistry Matthew Polinski; and Laurent Maron of the Institut National des Sciences Appliques in Toulouse, France.

The work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Here is the original post:
New plutonium discovery lights way for FSU chemistry professor's ... - Florida State News

ACS names 2017 Heroes of Chemistry – Chemical & Engineering News

Posted on by

Teams of industrial chemical scientists from six companies, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corning, Dow Chemical, DuPont Crop Protection, Genentech, and Merck, are being honored with the American Chemical Societys Heroes of Chemistry awards.

Started in 1996, the Heroes program recognizes industrial chemical scientists whose innovative work has led to the development of commercially successful products ingrained with chemistry for the benefit of humankind.

Their creative spirit, commitment to excellence, and technical talent are tangible evidence of the ACS Vision, Improving peoples lives through the transforming power of chemistry, says ACS President Allison Campbell.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb team is being honored for its development of direct acting antiviral agents, Daklinza (daclatasvir) and Sunvepra (asunaprevir), which have produced hepatitis C cure rates of greater than 95%. The team consists of Makonen Belema, Min Gao, Andrew Good, Lawrence Hamann, Fiona McPhee, Nicholas Meanwell, Van Nguyen, Paul Scola, Lawrence Snyder, Li-Qiang Sun, and Alan Wang.

The Corning team of Dana Bookbinder, Ming-Jun Li, Pushkar Tandon invented ClearCurve optical fibers to overcome the hurdle of bendability in optical fiber technology.

The team from Dow Chemical developed Avanse acrylic resins and Evoque pre-composite polymers to help make architectural paints greener and more economical. The awardees are Linda Adamson, James Bardman, Kebede Beshah, Marie Bleuzen, James Bohling, Ward Brown, Brownell, Michael Clark, Stan Beth Cooper, Steven Edwards, David Fasano. Catherine Finegan, John Hook, Melinda Keefe, Alvin Maurice, Ozzie Pressley, William Rohrbach, and Wei Zhang.

Dow Chemical tests architectural paint formulations at an exposure station in Spring House, Pa.

Credit: Dow Chemical

The DuPont Crop Protection team discovered DuPont Zorvec, the first member of a novel class of fungicides to control diseases caused by oomycete pathogens. The team consists of John Andreassi, Mary Ann Hanagan, Lisa Hoffman, Robert Pasteris, and James Sweigard.

The team from Genentech discovered and developed Erivedge (vismodegib), the first medicine to be approved for the treatment of metastatic or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma. The honorees are Remy Angelaud, Georgette Castanedo, Janet Gunzner, Mike Koehler, Jim Marsters, Kirk Robarge, Scott Savage, Dan Sutherlin, Vickie Tsui, and Shumei Wang.

And the team from Merck developed Zepatier (elbasvir and grazoprevir), a prescription medicine to treat chronic hepatitis C infection in adults. The team members are Craig Coburn, Steven Harper, Daria Hazuda, Kate Holloway, Bin Hu, Nigel Liverton, John McCauley, Craig McKelvey, Mark McLaughlin, Peter Meinke, Michael Rudd, Vincenzo Summa, Feng Xu, Ping Zhaung, and Bin Zhong.

The company teams will be honored during an awards gala at the fall ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C., in August.

Read the rest here:
ACS names 2017 Heroes of Chemistry - Chemical & Engineering News

Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick Rose see lack of Knicks’ chemistry … – Newsday

Posted on by

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Kristaps Porzingis was the first to see something and say something when he expressed that despite the Knicks early-season success, something was missing. The second-year big man proved to have great foresight.

I think it was pretty easy to tell from the inside that were not that good of a team, Porzingis said after Sundays practice. We can win games based off of our talent, but thats not going to last long, and thats exactly what happened.

Porzingis said he felt that way when the Knicks were 14-10, but he never thought it would turn out as bad as it has. Since then, they have gone 13-32. Theyve clinched a fourth straight losing season and, according to Derrick Rose, need a miracle to make the playoffs.

The Knicks are 6 12 games behind the Eastern Conferences last playoff spot with 13 to play. Theyre closer to getting a higher draft pick than making the playoffs.

We all expected big things out of this year, said Porzingis, who should return Monday night against the Clippers after missing the previous game with a bruised left thigh. . . . I felt like we would make good runs but we werent there at that level yet where we wanted to be. And you can see it now were not where we wanted to be.

A lack of defense has been the Knicks most glaring deficiency, but Porzingis delved a little deeper into what he saw that was missing.

Just more work, attention to details, keep growing as a team, he said. Obviously, a good team needs some time to play together. This was our first year for most guys playing together. It never happens like that: You trade a couple of players and there you go, youre a championship contender.

Its understandable that we werent going to win the championship, but I could tell that we werent there yet where we wanted to be.

The Knicks made changes during the season to their game plans, their defense and their offensive system. It led Porzingis to say after the loss to the Nets on March 12 that theres a lot of confusion and its from top to bottom. Four days later, the Knicks again lost to the Nets, the NBAs worst team.

It shows where we are right now, Porzingis said Sunday.

With Carmelo Anthony, Rose and Porzingis, the Knicks thought they could be one of the top teams in the East and be able to make some noise in the playoffs. But Rose lamented that they never developed chemistry. We didnt click, he said. We didnt have that connection that we wanted throughout the season. You need that to go far in this league.

Now Porzingis said all thats left is to play as hard as possible.

Thats hard to do now in this situation where youre down and not winning games and not where you want to be, which is the playoffs, he said. Its tough mentally, but just to be able to sleep at night, we have to go out every night and give our all. And once the season is over, its over.

The rest is here:
Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick Rose see lack of Knicks' chemistry ... - Newsday

Sniffing out a career in chemistry – Royal Society of Chemistry

Posted on by

While Jonathon has been inspired to try out different training techniques with his own dog, a cocker spaniel called Marley, nothing has stuck so far: My dog is somewhat of a handful I end up getting taken out for walks rather than the other way around.

Around his PhD, Jonathon is also president of the Forensic Science Society at the University of Leicester. He works alongside the committee to organise events for the forensic science students, giving current undergraduates the opportunity to see where their degree might take them.

Through my research, I have a lot of contacts on a range of forensics subjects. We invite guest speakers to the university so that current students can find out whats going on in the wider field.

I think its really important that undergraduates get this opportunity and I think a lot of lecture courses dont always highlight the importance of networking and keeping up to date with current research. The projects that Im working on now are a result of my networking seeing what research is out there and whos doing what. I really wanted to give that back to the community.

We recently took a group of first and third year undergraduate students to a conference and it was fantastic to see how engaged they were talking to people in the field. It was really nice to see them get the chance to network, without our direct help, but as a result of our organisation.

Jonathon is also a member of KENYON International Emergency Services, a crisis management organisation that brings together relevant experts in the case of natural disasters. He can be called out to a disaster, anywhere in the world, as a human identification officer, to help with victim recovery.

Jonathon recently received one of our Researcher Mobility Grants, which give early career researchers funding for a short placement at a different institution to where theyre currently based. They help early stage researchers build links with potential collaborators and enhance the scope of their work. Jonathon spent a month at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), in the centre for forensic science working with the Shari Forbes group. The centre has an associated body farm, so Jonathon can work with human samples. Watch this space for an update on how he got on.

In the future, Jonathon wants to establish his own research group in the area of victim recovery, with different teams of researchers investigating different variables. He sees the Sydney centre as a good model to work towards.

I want to move the UK forward in victim recovery detection. Were quite behind in terms of dog training. We need to spend more time looking at, and understanding, all of the fundamental science were often jumping ahead but we need to pause and test the applications of the science in the field.

Jonathon also feels its incredibly important to continue building links with police taskforces, bridging the gap between academic research and work in the field.

I think the communication between police forces and universities is quite restricted at the moment. Not a lot of researchers get the opportunity to go out there and work with a taskforce. Once I meet a police officer, we always stay in contact and they can talk to me about the project or any problems that theyre facing on a case. Its all about making sure that communication remains open so theyve always got that guidance there to support their work.

See more here:
Sniffing out a career in chemistry - Royal Society of Chemistry

Chaos gives way to better chemistry at Largo – Tampabay.com

Posted on by

The renovations to Largo High's football stadium are nearly complete. There is a new locker room. Sod also is being installed on the practice field and at the stadium.

The work is part of a complete campus makeover that took nearly three years to complete.

Packers coach Marcus Pascal is confident the reclamation project of the school's football program will take considerably less time.

Last season was a hardship for the players and coaches. They had to drudge equipment for practice while the locker room was being rebuilt. Pascal was teaching at a middle school and there not a coach on campus full-time during school hours.

The results showed. Largo finished 3-6, the first losing record at the school since 1999. In five of those losses, the Packers were leading at halftime.

"It was chaos last year," Paschal said. "Not having coaches constantly around during school hours was a big reason we weren't able to hold on to leads and stay consistent throughout games."

Paschal again is teaching at Largo. The coaching staff also has some continuity.

The players also were able to take solace from last season's struggles in knowing they had a future together. Defensive lineman Bobby Roundtree (Illinois) and receiver Julian Cooney (Garden City Community College) are the only significant starters the Packers lose.

Everyone is back on the offensive line, a unit that averages 265 pounds per starter. That line also will be bolstered by the guidance of former Largo coach Rick Rodriguez, who agreed to return as an assistant this season.

There are elite prospects at other positions, too.

Defensive back/receiver Calvin Lockett, a rising senior, is a three-star recruit who has offers from Oregon, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others. Fellow receiver Jaquan Hiers led the team in catches (18), receiving yards (435) and receiving touchdowns (five) last season. Hiers also led the team with 485 yards rushing. Jayion McCluster, a rising sophomore, is poised for a breakout season. The cousin of former Largo standout Dexter McCluster has nine offers, including ones from Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, USF and Oregon.

The defense has just as many prospects.

Lineman Jaquaze Sorrells, a rising junior, is a four-star lineman who has already committed to Florida. Linebacker Logan Doublin is a rising senior who was a first-team, all-county selection last season. He has four offers, the latest ones coming from Marshall and Ohio.

"I feel like we have guys who are among the top prospects in the area in their class for the next three years," Paschal said. "These are guys that I've worked with throughout their careers."

The talent is there, the coaching staff is in place.

The only thing missing is a sense of unity.

"We know in order to really turn things around we have to be less selfish and play more as a team," Lockett said. "We have a couple of new guys that are learning how to do things, but overall I feel like the team is going to be a lot better."

Spring football

Saturday

Dixie Hollins at Bradenton Saint Stephen's, 7 p.m.

Tuesday

Nature Coast at Palm Harbor University, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Clearwater at Clearwater Central Catholic, 7 p.m.

St. Petersburg Catholic at Farragut (controlled scrimmage), 7 p.m.

Thursday

Largo at Pinellas Park, 7 p.m.

Northeast at Palmetto, 7 p.m.

Zephyrhills Christian at

Boca Ciega, 7 p.m.

May 19

Shorecrest at Bayshore Christian, 7 p.m.

Countryside at Tarpon Springs, 7 p.m.

Lakewood at Braden River, 7 p.m.

Dunedin at Bayshore, 7:30 p.m.

Osceola at Seminole, 7:30 p.m.

East Lake at River Ridge, 7:30 p.m.

Calvary Christian vs.

Cambridge Christian

at Skyway Park, 7:30 p.m.

Gibbs at Jesuit, 7 p.m.

Naples at St. Petersburg, 7 p.m.

Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic at Keswick Christian, 7 p.m.

Chaos gives way to better chemistry at Largo 05/10/17 [Last modified: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 5:24pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

Original post:
Chaos gives way to better chemistry at Largo - Tampabay.com

New database highlights cumulative chemical dangers – Chemistry World (subscription)

Posted on by

A collaborative and publicly available database of previously inaccessible hazardous chemical reactions has been launched by the Pistoia Alliance, a not for profit group based in Boston, US.

This new Chemical Safety Library (CSL) service features a submission tool that allows researchers to add safety data in just minutes, helping to prevent dangerous events from being repeated. The system was designed in conjunction with Pistoias industry members, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Although many commercial and open resources already offer information on the hazardous properties of individual reagents, often there are no details about the effect of combining such reagents, according to Steve Arlington, the Pistoia Alliances president. In addition, such events are often not shared within or between companies.

The CSLs chemical reaction incident dataset can be downloaded, and it can also be configured to alert scientists if there is a known safety risk before they carry out a research project.

Within hours of Pistoia announcing the CSL on 16 March, 150 people had already signed up to use the new system, says Carmen Nitsche, a business development consultant for Pistoia. Users have access to the base set of about 25 incidents with which Pistoia pre-populated the system, and they can enter their own incidents, which will then be reviewed before being approved. If we are successful, this will be a resource for academia, for chemical companies, for anyone who has lab scenarios where this could be useful, Nitsche tells Chemistry World.

Original post:
New database highlights cumulative chemical dangers - Chemistry World (subscription)

Taking on chemistry’s reproducibility problem – Chemistry World (subscription)

Posted on by

Not a week passes without reproducibility in science or the lack of it hitting the headlines. Although much of the criticism is directed at the biomedical sciences or psychology, many of the same problems also pervade the chemical sciences.

A survey of over 1500 scientists conducted by Nature last year revealed that 70% of researchers think that science faces a reproducibility crisis. Over half, however, still have faith in published literature in their field with chemists being amongst the most confident despite reporting the most difficulty replicating other researchers or their own work. Although this observation seems contradictory, an explanation might be that chemists are more often looking to repeat experiments exactly, says Rick Danheiser, a synthetic organic chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chemical journal articles suffer from the inability of people to name compounds accurately

Anita Bandrowski, University of California, San Diego

Danheiser is the editor-in-chief of the unconventional journal Organic Syntheses that has verified the experiments of all the papers it has published since it launched in 1921. The journal does this by having the research replicated by independent chemists before publishing them a practice that is almost unheard of in chemistry or any other research field (the exception being a few brief instances in history). All experiments are checked for reproducibility in the lab of one of the journals board of editors, often by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers working under the supervision of the Organic Syntheses editor. Danheiser, who has written about reproducibility, tells Chemistry World that the journal usually aims to check the work in submitted papers within six months.

But Danheiser says that rolling out this replication process to other fields is challenging as biology often has too many variables and physics and some areas of chemistry entails the use of specialised or costly equipment that may not be readily available in other labs. Between 2010 and 2016, the journal rejected 7.5% of submissions due to irreproducibility of yield or selectivity, Danheiser notes. Most chemists would consider that to be frightening, he adds, as papers in conventional journals are therefore less likely to be reproducible.

Chemistry is to some extent in a sweet spot when it comes to reproducing experiments as the apparatus used is usually not too exotic, notes Derek Lowe, a medicinal chemist who pens the In the pipeline blog. But he notes that, for instance, in natural product chemistry almost none of the multi-step syntheses used to produce the compound are a feasible way of getting to the product. As a result, most are never completely reproduced in the first place, explains Lowe. In fact, he says, products are often easy enough to obtain from their original source in most cases. What people do build on, Lowe says, is the unique techniques researchers use when creating compounds.

Medicinal chemistry and drug discovery literature are some of the more reproducible fields in chemistry, adds Lowe, as theyre more extensively conducted by industry scientists, who have fewer incentives to publish fake or substandard results. Lowe points out that industry researchers contribute more to patent literature, and patents lacking reproducibility and rigour could result in legal issues.

Chemistrys reproducibility problem should be a fairly easy thing to fix

Phil Baran, Scripps Research Institute

Furthermore, Lowe believes irreproducibility is a bigger problem at high profile journals publishing cutting edge research, as well as low-end journals. Most solid papers are likely to be in what Lowe calls middle journals those that are respectable, but not glamorous.

This month, the Chemical Probes Portal saw its 275th compound added. This portal is part of the campaign to make science more reproducible and holds a database of many of the small molecules used in drug discovery and to investigate biological processes. The problems being addressed by the portal are twofold, says Amy Donner, its director in Boston. The smaller problem, she says, is that of making sure appropriate reagents are used in experiments. Whereas the larger issue that results in a tremendous amount of irreproducibility that we see in the literature is misunderstanding how to use these highly potent chemical probes to tweak biological processes in living organisms.

Donner says the number of chemical probes out there is in the tens of thousands, and that in itself is a problem. Biologists who are most likely to use probes in experiments dont necessarily have the expertise to carry out relevant chemical validation tests to determine which molecules would work best in their experiments, says Donner. This is where the chemical probes portal comes into its own offering advice on which probes are suitable for specific circumstances and which are best avoided. Researchers can search their target protein and find a list of molecules that interact with it, Donner explains.

Theres currently no checklist outlining a compounds information rather, says Donner, scientists rely on aggregating information about probes as they go. Sharing that information on the portal should save others from replicating that effort as well as informing investigators how they should be designing experiments taking into account a probes strengths and weaknesses.

But the portal is still in its infancy and researchers face a huge task logging tens of thousands more molecules, Donner says. At present, the priority is highlighting the best and worst probes. In the short term, thats how we can have the biggest impact, she adds.

Research Resource Identifier (RRID) is another initiative with the goal of improving research reproducibility by helping to standardise how reagents, software, antibodies and model organisms are cited in the literature. Although over 200 journals have already started encouraging authors to use RRIDs to cite laboratory resources, chemistry journals are, on the whole, not on board yet, says Anita Bandrowski, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, who is coordinating the RRID project.

According to Bandrowski, chemical journal articles also suffer from the inability of people to name compounds accurately. As its difficult to teach everyone to use appropriate nomenclature, says Bandrowski, attention has mostly focused on pushing researchers to at least use numerical identifiers like the PubChem ID. Our findings show that authors are highly accurate when they provide this type of information, she says.

Another phenomenon that has taken industrial chemistry by storm is electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs), which store experimental data and procedures, allowing researchers to access data years after it was collected. One feature of ELNs is that they allow researchers to search molecular structures of reactants and products, making it easier to keep track of reactions. Inside a research group or a company, ELNs may be set up to allow scientists to search their colleagues notebooks, which is useful to avoid duplicating work and assess differences in repeat experiments. But ELNs have seen slower uptake in academia probably due to their high costs.

There are many ELNs out there with different ways of collecting and storing data, says Richard Whitby, an organic chemist at the University of Southampton, UK, who leads the Dial-a-molecule network, which aims to speed up the process of synthesising new molecules. One of the networks other goals is to promote a standard for ELN data to enable exchange and data mining. ELNs which are designed for chemistry pay you back for using them, Whitby adds. He notes that they also have some useful features such as stoichiometry calculations and experimental safety data, which partly makes up for the fact that its actually more difficult to use an ELN than a paper notebook.

Phil Baran, a synthetic organic
chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, says that blogging at the Open Flask has helped his group tackle issues like reproducibility and transparency around experiments. Weve gotten more use out of this than conventional peer review, Baran notes. He says chemistrys reproducibility problem compared with other fields should be a fairly easy thing to fix. The solution, he says, is to put the onus on authors to make their supporting information clear and to encourage them to collaborate with other labs to get their work checked or field-tested. Journals should also make rules specific to different disciplines, and text only supporting information should no longer be allowed, particularly for methodology papers where the primary outcome is for others to reproduce a protocol, Baran says.

See original here:
Taking on chemistry's reproducibility problem - Chemistry World (subscription)

A&M brings chemistry road show, virtual reality to SXSW – Texas A&M The Battalion

Posted on by

Among the dozens of displays, interactive events and panels available to participants of South by Southwest last week, the Aggies stole the show with seven activations highlighting work from across the university.

South by Southwest is a globally recognized festival which draws together interactive, film and music industries, attracting tens of thousands each year. This year Texas A&M took over the Hotel Van Zandt, filling it with displays such as a chemistry road show, a virtual reality display combining art with technology and an Aggies Invent competition.

Amy B. Smith, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at Texas A&M, said she felt A&Ms mission at South By Southwest was successful.

A definite yes on building awareness and enhancing reputation by showcasing student and faculty work in a very futuristic manner, Smith said. Time will tell on our third goal: To grow the number of Fortune 500 companies hiring our students. There were many companies present who saw our exhibits and feedback was tremendous.

Marco Palma, associate professor and extension economist with the Human Behavior Laboratory, and Steven Woltering, assistant professor and Director of the Neurobiological Lab for Learning and Development, were two of the members of a four-member group called The human lab: Revealing the emotional brain, which demonstrated how they connect brainwaves and track eye movement and facial expressions to determine a persons choices.

Woltering said each of the members of the panel emphasized the possible application of biometrics in different fields.

My presentation aimed to show how biometrics can revolutionize the field of education in the future, Woltering said. I wanted the audience to know about a new initiative at the College of Education called the Neurobiological lab for Learning and Development (NLD) which aims to bridge recent advances in neurobiology and apply them in an educational context.

Palma said he was excited to see the variety of events A&M at South by Southwest and enjoyed the experience of participating.

It was great to have the opportunity to share our vision for the Human Behavior Laboratory, Palma said. We hope to be able to engage with faculty and students interested in using this technology in their research and outreach efforts.

Smith said she hopes to eventually bring A&M back to South by Southwest.

It makes sense to go back, Smith said. The event is global but based nearby. It is attended by corporations who hire our students, media who can spread the word about what we do, venture capital investors and government agencies who provide grants.

Smith said A&Ms participation in South by Southwest is part of a bigger picture.

This is about telling the story of the amazing things that Texas A&M students and faculty do, Smith said. SXSW participation was just a small step. There is more to come born in the minds of scholars who may be reading this now and who will be featured next year.

Read the rest here:
A&M brings chemistry road show, virtual reality to SXSW - Texas A&M The Battalion

AkzoNobel’s Imagine Chemistry Challenge Generates More Than 200 Ideas – BodyShop Business

Posted on by

AkzoNobel announced that an enthusiastic response to its Imagine Chemistry initiative has resulted in more than 200 innovative ideas being submitted by chemistry start-ups, scientists, research groups and students around the world.

Developed in conjunction with KPMG, Imagine Chemistry was launched to help solve real-life chemistry-related challenges, such as finding ways to revolutionize plastics recycling, as well as uncovering sustainable opportunities for AkzoNobels Specialty Chemicals businesses.

From the 200 submissions received, AkzoNobel will now select 20 finalists to attend a three-day event in June at the companys principal research facility in Deventer, the Netherlands.

We have been very impressed by the number and quality of the submissions, said Thierry Vanlancker, AkzoNobels Executive Committee member responsible for Specialty Chemicals. This confirms our belief that there is tremendous potential even in mature chemistries. We are looking forward to working with the eventual winners to scale up their ideas and turn them into a commercial reality with real global impact.

The Imagine Chemistry challenge is focused on finding solutions in five areas:

There are also open challenges for broad ideas in two further areas: highly reactive chemistry and technology, and sustainable alternatives to current technologies.

The challenge is part of an integrated approach to further deploy AkzoNobels innovation capability in support of its growth ambitions.

We put innovation and sustainability at the heart of everything we do, saidVanlancker. Our strategic ambition is to deliver a world-beating product portfolio across all our markets, building on collaborative and open innovation.

Recent innovations from AkzoNobels Specialty Chemicals business include Bolikel XP, a next generation, biodegradable micronutrient to efficiently combat iron deficiency in crops; and Berol DR-B1, a safe and sustainable surfactant for consumer and commercial cleaning applications that involve direct release.

See the article here:
AkzoNobel's Imagine Chemistry Challenge Generates More Than 200 Ideas - BodyShop Business

Chemistry And Beyond: Three Keys To A Successful CMO-Branding Agency Relationship – Forbes

Posted on by

Forbes
Chemistry And Beyond: Three Keys To A Successful CMO-Branding Agency Relationship
Forbes
Many factors contribute to a successful rebrand solid research, stellar creativity, a strategic launch plan and more. But here's one critical factor that's often overlooked: the relationship between the branding firm and the CMO. A productive ...

Read more from the original source:
Chemistry And Beyond: Three Keys To A Successful CMO-Branding Agency Relationship - Forbes

Chemical Industry Executive Nominated to Lead Consumer Watchdog Agency – The New York Times

Posted on by

WASHINGTON President Trump has tapped Nancy B. Beck, a former chemical industry executive, to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal agency charged with protecting the public against dangers like toxic substances in products.

Dr. Beck previously led the Environmental Protection Agencys office of chemical safety, a position she came to after serving as the senior director of regulatory science policy at the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for the chemical industry.

Democrats and environmental groups on Tuesday criticized Dr. Becks nomination as chair of the commission and accused her of using her previous government positions to advance the agenda of the chemical industry.

During her time at the E.P.A., Dr. Beck oversaw the rewriting of an Obama-era rule in 2017 on a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that are linked to birth defects, in a way that would make them harder to regulate. She also helped scale back proposed bans on other substances like asbestos and methylene chloride, a deadly chemical found in paint thinners, in favor of limited restrictions.

White House officials noted that Dr. Beck holds a Ph.D. in toxicology and has more than 20 years of public health experience specializing in risk assessment. Andrew R. Wheeler, the administrator of the E.P.A., praised her work implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act, a law that regulates the distribution and use of cancer-causing chemicals. He also credited her with developing a new action plan that the agency unveiled last month to regulate PFAS and related chemicals in drinking water.

For more climate news sign up for the Climate Fwd: newsletter or follow @NYTClimate on Twitter.

Dr. Beck has served this nation with honor and integrity, and I fully support her nomination, Mr. Wheeler said in a statement.

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health advocacy organization, said the recent movement to protect the public from water contaminants came only after intense pressure from Congress, and criticized the E.P.A. for failing to consider regulations earlier. On Tuesday the groups president, Ken Cook, called Dr. Becks track record riddled with disregard for the risks that toxic chemicals pose to human health.

Nancy Beck is the last person who should be in charge of safeguarding the American people from dangerous products, he said in a statement.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission investigates the safety of products, ranging from studying whether drawstrings on children's coats and sweatshirts pose a choking risk, or whether to issue a recall of lead-tainted toys from China. Watchdog groups say the agency, which was created in 1972 to protect the public against unreasonable risks from consumer products suffers from budget cuts and insufficient staff to monitor the more than 15,000 regulated items.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is expected to consider Dr. Becks nomination before it reaches the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.

Read the original here:
Chemical Industry Executive Nominated to Lead Consumer Watchdog Agency - The New York Times

HALP! Simultaneous Equations with Chemistry and Physics Simulation – GameDev.net

Posted on by

As part of one of my projects, there is a /chemistry/ simulator. It's not intended to be exact to real-life chemistry, but is still a fair bit more complex than just "A + B = C" This is being done in an Object-Oriented programming language similar to java and c#.

Some background: Before I started working on the project:

The container was an instantiated object. It contained a variable, with an array of instantiated chemicals that *existed in the container*. The chemicals themselves were instantiated objects, with a reference to their container, and a volume.

Whenever the container was interacted with, (such as a new chemical added), the function would instantiate a new chemical, add linking references, and update the volume of the chemical. Then it would iterate through *EVERY* chemical in the container to check for possible reactions using a lookup table, and if a match was found, it would run the reaction, and restart. This included a potential for infinitely 'reacting' chemicals, but the workaround was just careful implementation of recipes to prevent infinite loops.

----------------------------------

Now i saw this, and was absolutely disgusted. And changed it to something more akin to:

In this model, the container has a 2D array of the chemical, and it's volume inside of the container. The chemical is only ever instantiated ONCE, and if a chemical is accessed, the properties of the master chemical are read.

(Each unique chemical has static properties in both models, and the only dynamic variable was *volume*)

Then when the contents of the container are modified, it is *flagged* to receive an update, iterates through the contents, performs all currently possible reactions unless that reaction was already performed during this update. If any reactions occured, it would flag the container to be updated *next* process. This removed the potential for problems caused be recursive reactions, but prevented instantaneous consecutive reactions.

-----------------

The problem!

NOW, i want to add some more realism and complexity to the system, as well as make it more efficient if possible. I want to iterate as infrequently as possible.

containers now store the following variables and properties regarding its chemical contents:

Quantity - The quantity of a chemical within. Equivalent to moles. Thermal Energy - The total thermal energy of chemicals within. Equivalent to joules. Volume - The volume of the container. This is the *SAME* as the total volume of the container's contents. But the volume of each chemical should also be tracked separately. ie. 50 unit container contains 30 units of AIR and 1 unit of OIL and 19 units of WATER. This should be calculated based on the quantity of each substance in the container, the temperature, and the total volume of the container. As well as some data based on the individual chemical's properties. Temperature - This is calculated based on the thermal energy, and the chemical properties of the chemicals within. (IE. Temperature = Total thermal energy / Total specific heat capacity of chemicals.) Pressure - This is calculated based on volume, temperature, quantity, and some chemical properties.

----------

What is the most efficient way for me to *add* or *remove* a chemical from the container?

For example "I add 30 units of water. This displaces the gas in the container, and modifies the specific heat and thermal energy of the container. As a result, modifying the temperature, volume, and pressure of the container contents."

How can i adjust all relevant container values using *just* the values before the water is added, and the properties of the water? What additional information might i need to store?

The volume of the contents of the container is *ALWAYS* equal to the volume of the container. This means that if the container is sealed, and contains 30 units of water @ standard temperature, but the volume of the container is *larger* than the volume of liquid water. How do i find the equilibrium point for the volume of *liquid* water and water *vapour*using only temperature, quantity, total volume, and a single extra variable/coefficient for vapour pressure?

How do i quickly and efficiently calculate that, when there are say, n other chemicals inside the container with different properties, that also need to be in equilibrium?

---

Are there any faster and more efficient methods i can use to look-up all possible reaction matches, and perform the reactions, so that the reactions are in equilibrium?

IE if i have : "1 water + 1 agent A = volatile acid" and "1 water + 1 agent B = volatile explosive" in the recipe list, and i have: "1 water, 1 agent A, and 1 agent B" in the container,

How can i make sure that i end up with 25% acid, 25% explosive, 25% A, 25% B, instead of 50% acid, 50% agent B, with as few iterations as possible?

In the case that "acid" and "explosive" react together to form 3 parts agent C and 1 part water, How can i make the reaction find equilibrium *IN THIS UPDATE*, in as few iterations as possible?

Edited by nullie, Today, 09:39 PM.

See the original post:
HALP! Simultaneous Equations with Chemistry and Physics Simulation - GameDev.net

Chemistry, in a book and a board game – Chemical & Engineering News

Posted on by

The many meanings of chemistry

Weike Wangs experience as an undergraduate in a chemistry lab at Harvard served as the inspiration for her debut novel, Chemistry, available from publisher Alfred A. Knopf this week. The novel confronts many issues relevant to graduate students, including what it means to love science.

After an incident involving some smashed glassware, the main character takes a stress-related leave of absence from her chemistry lab. She grapples with whether to return to her Ph.D. program while entertaining a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, who has finished his degree and is preparing to take the next step in his career. The decision of whether to be honest with her strict parents about her diversion from the straight and narrow weighs heavily on her as well. She accepts a position tutoring students in math and science while she examines her options and reflects on how she arrived at this point.

Wang herself completed her doctorate in epidemiology at Harvards T.H. Chan School of Public Health in April. While working toward her doctorate, she also completed an MFA in creative writing at Boston University. She originally wrote Chemistry for her creative writing masters thesis. I didnt know I was going to write a novel until it was sort of happening, she tells Newscripts.

Wang says that working on her writing degree during the research phase of her doctorate was helpful because it allowed her to figure out where her passions lie. I actually enjoy writing when its going terribly, she says. But I hated research when it was going terribly. Although a lot of academic scientists are drawn to the creative side of research, Wang says that isnt the case for her; writing is her creative outlet.

But science is a clear inspiration throughout the novel. Wangs love of chemistry and physics is evident in the way she weaves scientific concepts into her writing. Theres a lot of beauty in science, just like theres a lot of beauty in art and music and language, something both the general public and researchers could stand to be reminded of, she says. I wanted to present science in a way that was interesting and stimulating.

Ethnicity features prominently in the novel as well. People who go into science are disproportionately Asian, she says. I wanted to investigate thatif we go into it because we love it, or if we go into it because of other forces. If the latter, Wang wonders, what happens when things dont work out?

Wangs primary purpose in writing the novel was to make people think about why theyre doing what theyre doing, which she says is a question that everybody should ask. She has no plans to pursue a position in epidemiology just yet: I am sort of hoping this writing thing might work out.

Organic chemistry can be daunting. Thats why a team of students at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed React!, a multiplayer board game that helps learners get comfortable building molecules and carrying out reactions using illustrated cards, markers, and dry-erase boards.

React! is meant to be accessible to everyone from high school students to working chemists, and no prior organic chemistry background is needed. The game was chosen as one of three winners of UC Berkeleys Big Ideas start-up competition, and the students are running a Kickstarter campaign to help launch the game.

View post:
Chemistry, in a book and a board game - Chemical & Engineering News

‘This Is Us’ star Mandy Moore gushes about her ‘chemistry’ with Milo … – Fox News

Posted on by

This Is Us has changed Mandy Moores life and revamped her career, taking it in an entirely new direction as she transitioned into Rebecca Pearson on the highly successful series.

The former pop singer told Fox News she never could have anticipated the epic reception the show has gotten, and the way the cast have become superstars.

I am grateful every single day for how my year has, sort of, exponentially changed my life, she told us at the College Television Awards in Los Angeles. Being a part of the show has changed my life -- all of our lives. But it is not lost on any of us thats for sure.

The New Hampshire-native gushed about her co-stars, particularly her TV husband Milo Ventimiglia.

I only read with him (Milo), she said. Oddly there were three girls and three guys and he was the only gentleman that I read with, and they told me before I went in that I heard Milo was the guy to beat; it was the guy everyone really loved. So when I read with him, I was like I think this is a good sign because I know they really liked him.

The 33-year-old said the chemistry with Ventimiglia a rare find.

I walked away going Oh gosh I really hope this comes to fruition because I instantly clicked with Milo, and This is really going to be disappointing if this doesn't happen now. Chemistry is not always there -- off the bat, and it was with him.

Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Sterling K. Brown, Chris Sullivan and Milo Ventimiglia all appear alongside her.

Its a crazy ride; it really is, and, you know, what makes it even better is to be a part of it with such exceptional people. Our cast genuinely loves each other and to be able to look around and nudge your friends and go Isn't this crazy we are on stage at Radio City Music Hall presenting Season 2 of our show to advertisers? and what not. But those are the moments where you look around and youre like How did we get here? This is insane.

You can follow Blanche Johnson on Twitter @blancheFOXLA.

See the article here:
'This Is Us' star Mandy Moore gushes about her 'chemistry' with Milo ... - Fox News