Latest Research Chemistry Podcast Episodes

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Vivek Polshettiwar – Catalyst for change

Modern Chemistry Podcast - March 23, 2023 03:30 - 28 minutes
Professor Polshettiwar is based at the Prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) (https://www.tifr.res.in). Prof Polshettiwar was educated at a number of institutions across India, before he moved to France, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. In 2013 he joined the TIFR. Prof V...

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Nigel Taylor – EV batteries – that’s quite a challenge

Modern Chemistry Podcast - November 15, 2022 08:00 - 42 minutes
Terms used If you’re not familiar with some of the terms used in this discussion – some key ones are described here for your reference: C rate – the charge and discharge rates of a battery. This varies by battery, but a 1C rate will be a defined current over a particular period of time.  Cell...

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Debabrata Maiti – It takes a community to functionalize a C-H bond

Modern Chemistry Podcast - October 20, 2022 03:30 - 43 minutes
If you’re not familiar with some of the terms used in this discussion – some key ones are described here for your reference: Bio-inorganic chemistry – the study of the role of metals in biological processes. This includes naturally occurring molecules and artificially introduced proteins. Meta...

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Sebastian Gross – The devil is in the data

Modern Chemistry Podcast - June 09, 2022 07:30 - 49 minutes
Episode 18 of the Modern Chemistry podcast features Dr. Sebastian Gross. Sebastian is a consultant at Wega IT, (https://www.wega-it.com/en/). Where he supports clients, using his advanced experience in biotechnology methods, bioprocess development, lab & assay automation and kinetic modelling. S...

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Challenges for Inorganic Testing of Cannabis with Robert Thomas

Spex Speaks Science - May 04, 2022 19:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
In this podcast, Spex is joined by Robert Thomas to discuss the cannabis testing industry and the challenges for inorganic testing of cannabis. Robert (Rob) Thomas is the principal of Scientific Solutions, an educational consulting company that serves the needs of the trace ele­ment user commu...

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Foodborne Illness

Spex Speaks Science - March 31, 2022 17:00 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Millions of people around the world are stricken with food or waterborne illnesses each year. Thousands of people will succumb to their illnesses. Food safety and testing are a critical part of analytical research to ensure that chemicals, bacteria, viruses and molds do not endanger the food we ...

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Discussing Dilutions

Spex Speaks Science - March 31, 2022 16:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Creating calibration curves or calculating dilutions are a common everyday occurrence in an analytical laboratory. However, these simple procedures can be full of potential error and contamination which can ultimately effect the data and skew results. In this podcast, we will look at the best p...

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Amanda Morris – Energy from sunlight.

Modern Chemistry Podcast - February 10, 2022 08:00 - 41 minutes
Amanda has a BS degree in Chemistry from Penn State University, and PhD in Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and conducted post-doctoral research at Princeton University prior to her tenure at Virginia Tech. Amanda’s research focuses on how to convert solar power into usable energy, or fu...

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Ben Schumann – Precision tools and carbohydrates

Modern Chemistry Podcast - December 16, 2021 09:00 - 52 minutes
Episode 16 of the Modern Chemistry podcast dives back into glycobiology and its practical application with Benjamin Schumann. Ben is a chemical biologist who studies the biology of carbohydrates (glycans). After completing his undergraduate biochemistry studies in Tübingen, Germany, he was train...

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Monica Perez-Temprano – The building blocks of catalysis.

Modern Chemistry Podcast - October 21, 2021 07:00 - 52 minutes
Monica Is a group leader at ICIQ (Institut Català d’Investigació Química / Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia), Tarragona, Spain. Her group focuses on the ‘Development of new chemical transformations: From organometallic mechanistic studies to catalysis’. Prior to her current position, ...

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Introducing the Genomax and DNAmax Kits

Spex Speaks Science - October 11, 2021 20:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
In this podcast, we introduce and share insight on our newest set of products, the Genomax  and DNAmax kits.  The Genomax is an automated high-throughput plant and animal tissue homogenizer and cell lyser designed for rapid cell disruption, cell lysis and tissue homogenization through bead bea...

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Mycotoxins in the Laboratory

Spex Speaks Science - September 22, 2021 15:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Mold and Fungi ubiquitous in the world and a persistent and dangerous contaminant for many agricultural products. Their size and spore mobility causes fungi to spread through agricultural products quickly when the environmental conditions are favorable. In this podcast, learn how significant cr...

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Wet Chemistry

Spex Speaks Science - July 19, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Analytical chemistry consists of classical methods (i.e. wet chemical methods) and instrumental methods (i.e. spectrometry, chromatography etc.). Wet chemistry or classical analysis are forms of analytical chemistry that use proven historical (classical) methods to determine the identity, amount...

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Wet Chemistry

Spex Speaks Science - July 19, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Analytical chemistry consists of classical methods (i.e. wet chemical methods) and instrumental methods (i.e. spectrometry, chromatography etc.). Wet chemistry or classical analysis are forms of analytical chemistry that use proven historical (classical) methods to determine the identity, amount...

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Chromatography

Spex Speaks Science - June 29, 2021 17:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Chromatography is a critical tool that analytical scientists use every day, often without much consideration for how all the parts work together. In this podcast, we will take a deeper look into the history, operation and functionality of liquid chromatography to show analyst how the different c...

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Computing carbohydrates

Modern Chemistry Podcast - June 29, 2021 08:00 - 54 minutes
Elisa Fadda obtained her PhD in 2004 from the Department of Chemistry at the Université de Montréal under Professor Dennis R. Salahub. From May 2004 to May 2008, she worked as a post-doctoral fellow in Dr Régis Pomès group in Molecular Structure and Function at the Hospital for Sick Children (Si...

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Discussing Water Quality

Spex Speaks Science - June 24, 2021 20:00 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Water is one of the most important chemicals and commodities in the world. Billions of people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water traveling long distances to use substandard polluted water sources. Even in the United States, the majority of states have issues meeting water quali...

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SuperStructures and the looking glass

Modern Chemistry Podcast - June 15, 2021 08:00 - 40 minutes
You will hear the following terms used during the interview. I've included some descriptions here.  Chirality – Chirality is a feature where an object can be distinguished from a mirror-image version of itself (for instance left and right gloves, or shoes). In chemistry, chirality is often due ...

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Lose the Solvent Headache with VapLock Closed Systems

Spex Speaks Science - April 27, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
VapLock is a safety solution for scientists, chemical hygienists, and researchers worldwide, designed to ensure proper delivery and waste containment of industrial chemicals and solvents. Vaplock's mission is to create a safer, healthier and cleaner workplace by providing unique, effective and p...

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Constant Curiosity

Modern Chemistry Podcast - April 20, 2021 08:00 - 40 minutes
You will hear the following terms used during the interview. I've included some descriptions here.  PCR - The Polymerase Chain Reaction is a technique for amplifying DNA sequences using a thermostable DNA polymerase enzyme and a cycling reaction temperature profile of heating and cooling. Dedic...

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The new technology of science

Modern Chemistry Podcast - February 16, 2021 10:00 - 33 minutes
During the show, ee mention Kevin – Dr. Kevin Lam, a previous podcast guest on episodes 5 and 6 – accessible at https://helgroup.com/knowledge/podcasts/ . Again, Thanks to Kevin for making the connection to Steve. You will hear the following terms used during the interview.  I’ve included some ...

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Is That My Sample? Understanding the Effects of Growing Conditions on Targeted Cannabis Compounds and Representative Sampling

Spex Speaks Science - January 27, 2021 15:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Accuracy in analytical testing starts at the very beginning with sampling and sample preparation prior to testing. If sample collection processes are flawed, then the final answers will be biased. The basis of accuracy of sampling and testing often rests on two inter-related and fundamental conc...

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Soil and Contamination

Spex Speaks Science - November 16, 2020 18:00 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
The science and art of gardening and agriculture is part passion, part luck and a lot of chemistry. In this podcast, will take a look at the science of soil and how chemistry can affect the growth and health of plants. We will also take a look at sources of potential contamination in gardens an...

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Christian Gunder - Fermenting change

Modern Chemistry Podcast - October 29, 2020 15:44 - 25 minutes
You will hear the following terms used during the interview.  I’ve included some descriptions and links to deeper reading.  Lactic acid – an organic (carbon-based) acid, with chemical formula CH3CH(OH)COOH Biopolymer – In this case, biopolymer refers to a polymer manufactured from biologically...

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Speciation

Spex Speaks Science - October 13, 2020 20:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Chemical and elemental species are important in many fields of science and health. Human health and nutrition can be influenced by the presence or absence of certain chemical species such as iron, selenium, arsenic, and mercury. Some chemical species are potentially toxic and are targets of conc...

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Terpenes and Flavonoids

Spex Speaks Science - August 04, 2020 18:00 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
Terpenes are the common term for a large group of compounds that contribute to flavor and smell of botanical products. Flavonoids are botanical compounds, similar to terpenes, responsible for different processes for defense and metabolic processes in plants. These compounds are responsible for m...

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Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

Spex Speaks Science - July 22, 2020 19:00 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
A normal part of laboratory operations is the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Most laboratory personnel are familiar with common PPE such as gloves, safety glasses and lab coats. Now in the time of the pandemic laboratories are reassessing and adding to their PPE protocols with the a...

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An Introduction to Cryogenic Grinding

Spex Speaks Science - June 24, 2020 17:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
When Laboratories receive material for testing, it is often not in a state where it can be directly tested. It requires sample preparation techniques to expose or make possible the extraction of the desired analytes. For many samples, this can be a difficult process as their composition and phys...

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Jeff Sperry - Safer, earlier.

Modern Chemistry Podcast - June 18, 2020 23:00 - 30 minutes
One minor clarification  Jeff asked me to make - at around 7:15  he mentions that Vertex  does not do any commercial manufacturing in-house.  Vertex does not perform in-house, commercial scale production of drug substances. You will hear the following terms used during the interview.  I’ve incl...

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From Root to Fruit: A Discussion of the Science of Gardening

Spex Speaks Science - June 17, 2020 21:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 7 ratings
There are many possible soil contaminants that could end up in the foods you grow. In this podcast, Rebekah and Tristan discuss the different challenges of gardening and the science of soil and food testing. The modern gardener is faced with many decisions and choices to produce a safe and healt...