Chemistry in its element
624 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 177 ratingsA weekly tour of the periodic table, from Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Episodes
Gallium arsenide: Chemistry in its element
November 01, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 9.47 MBBrian Clegg introduces gallium arsenide – the supercar of the semiconductor scene
Electrum: Chemistry in its element
October 25, 2019 13:19 - 5 minutes - 8.12 MBGeorgia Mills introduces the malleable mixture of gold and silver that minted some of the world's oldest coins
Hypoxia-inducible factors – HIFs: Chemistry in its element
October 18, 2019 12:57 - 7 minutes - 10.2 MBBen Valsler introduces the oxygen sensors that help life react to changing conditions, and were key to the 2019 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine
Ciguatoxin: Chemistry in its element
October 11, 2019 15:25 - 6 minutes - 9.58 MBEnna Guadalupe investigates the toxin found in reef fish that leads to food poisoning so bad it can cause life-long symptoms.
Ramipril & ACE inhibitors: Chemistry in its element
October 04, 2019 14:59 - 6 minutes - 6.54 MBHow a Brazilian scientist's knowledge of viper venom led to the discovery of a whole class of medication for high blood pressure. With Mike Freemantle.
Hedione: Chemistry in its element
September 27, 2019 14:31 - 6 minutes - 6.54 MBLouise Crane investigates a jasmine-derived synthetic scent with supposed sex appeal
Sodium fluoroacetate: Chemistry in its element
September 20, 2019 11:31 - 5 minutes - 5.88 MBGeorgia Mills examines a controversial killer: Sodium fluoroacetate or 1080
Methylhexaneamine or DMAA: Chemistry in its element
September 13, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.18 MBSold as a 'sports supplement', methylhexaneamine – or DMAA – is implicated in the deaths of otherwise fit & healthy people. Enna Guadalupe investigates.
Domoic acid: Chemistry in its element
September 06, 2019 09:00 - 9 minutes - 8.86 MBKatrina Krämer investigates a marine toxin that drives animals crazy and might have inspired one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous films
Boric acid: Chemistry in its element
August 30, 2019 09:48 - 6 minutes - 6.55 MBMike Freemantle revisits battlefield surgery to investigate boric acid, a key part of Dakin's antiseptic solution used extensively in the first world war
Amygdalin & Laetrile: Chemistry in its element
August 22, 2019 16:08 - 8 minutes - 8.02 MBPatrick Hughes delves into the molecule at the centre of a decades-old cancer treatment conspiracy theory
Dopamine: Chemistry in its element
August 16, 2019 08:57 - 5 minutes - 5.44 MBGeorgia Mills tackles the feel-good neurotransmitter and hormone behind thrill seeking, addiction and mobile gaming
Hydrogen sulfide: Chemistry in its element
August 09, 2019 08:38 - 6 minutes - 6.61 MBMike Freemantle finds the connection between Land of Hope and Glory and the noxious, corrosive, flammable gas that stinks of rotten eggs
Baclofen: Chemistry in its element
August 02, 2019 09:30 - 5 minutes - 5.2 MBOne doctor's battle with alcoholism and self-experimentation with baclofen led to a rush of people desperate to try the drug to curb their addictions. But are we simply replacing one problem with another, asks Enna Guadalupe
Polypropylene: Chemistry in its element
July 26, 2019 10:27 - 8 minutes - 8.01 MBMicroplastics, including polypropylene, are present in our oceans, on our beaches and even in bottled water. Ian Robertson from PerkinElmer investigates the scale and some solutions
Zinc polycarboxylate: Chemistry in its element
July 19, 2019 09:54 - 7 minutes - 7.05 MBLay back in the chair and say 'Ahh', as Mike Freemantle introduces zinc polycarboxylate dental cement
Zircon: Chemistry in its element
July 12, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.67 MBThe versatile gemstones that give scientists insights into the chemistry of the early Earth, introduced by Brian Clegg
Cyclopropane: Chemistry in its element
July 05, 2019 12:55 - 7 minutes - 7.68 MBChemistry’s tastiest bonds for an explosive anaesthetic that was as useful as it was dangerous
2C psychedelics: Chemistry in its element
June 28, 2019 12:35 - 6 minutes - 6.25 MBBen Valsler introduces a class of hallucinogenic phenethylamines, explored by the 'godfather of psychedelics' Alexander Shulgin and sadly implicated in a tragedy at a 2017 music festival
Azidothymidine: Chemistry in its element
June 21, 2019 13:42 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MBThe first drug approved in the US to treat Aids required a completely new approach to clinical trials – Frances Addison explores the history of azidothymidine
Silver iodide: Chemistry in its element
June 14, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.55 MBHow the compound that ushered in a photographic revolution has taken to the skies to try to control the weather
Amantadine: Chemistry in its element
June 07, 2019 10:55 - 6 minutes - 6.85 MBKatrina Krämer investigates how one of the smallest small-molecule drugs around saved Jeanna Giese's life
Indole: Chemistry in its element
May 31, 2019 09:00 - 5 minutes - 5.77 MBKat Arney investigates a potent chemical that might explain the brain-bending powers of bacteria
Amber: Chemistry in its element
May 24, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.45 MBMike Freemantle introduces amber – the valuable organic gemstone that invests unwary insects in a durable tomb
Beryllium oxide: Chemistry in its element
May 17, 2019 12:57 - 6 minutes - 6.42 MBBrian Clegg examines the duality that makes beryllium oxide so valuable to the electronics industry
Methylphenidate (Ritalin): Chemistry in its element
May 10, 2019 08:59 - 6 minutes - 6.22 MBJamie Durrani diverts his attention to the rise of Ritalin, a drug first identified as a way of improving tennis performance
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate: Chemistry in its element
May 03, 2019 09:26 - 5 minutes - 5.65 MBFrances Addison takes a look at the discovery that brought horseshoe crabs to the heart of the pharmaceutical industry
Levothyroxine: Chemistry in its element
April 26, 2019 09:30 - 4 minutes - 4.83 MBKit Chapman investigates the drug that has been one of the top five prescription medications in the UK every year for the last two decades
Starch: Chemistry in its element
April 19, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.18 MBInspired by a mention of arrowroot in Jane Austen's Emma, Mike Freemantle investigates how subtle differences in composition mean starch can be resistant dietary fibre or easily-digested nourishment.
Aniline: Chemistry in its element
April 12, 2019 08:30 - 7 minutes - 7.36 MBHow an early synthetic dye chemical came to play a role in a mysterious disease outbreak in 1980s Spain
Talc, or magnesium silicate: Chemistry in its element
April 05, 2019 09:30 - 6 minutes - 6.42 MBCoating your naked body with powdered magnesium silicate may sound strange, but it's an important part of many bathtime rituals
Tocopherols: Chemistry in its element
March 29, 2019 15:22 - 6 minutes - 6.11 MBMike Freemantle discovers sea buckthorns, also called 'beauty berries' because of their high concentration of tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E.
Trichloroanisole – Wine cork taint: Chemistry in its element
March 22, 2019 14:00 - 5 minutes - 5.78 MBIf you've ever been unlucky enough to experience 'corked' wine, then 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or TCA was likely the chemical culprit
Vinblastine and vincristine – Vinca alkaloids: Chemistry in its element
March 15, 2019 14:00 - 7 minutes - 7.68 MBKat Arney unearths the story of a truly international effort to develop new drugs for cancer, and the female researcher whose key role went overlooked
Polyethylene glycol or PEG: Chemistry in its element
March 08, 2019 13:18 - 4 minutes - 4.97 MBKit Chapman on the simple polymer that preserves and protects ancient artifacts, and saved a historical Swedish shipwreck from complete collapse
Ferrous sulfate, or iron(II) sulfate: Chemistry in its element
March 01, 2019 16:23 - 6 minutes - 6.44 MBMike Freemantle on the iron compound that has been turning oak gall extract into indelible ink for centuries, but is now eating though our ancient manuscripts and musical scores
Nitrogenase: Chemistry in its element
February 22, 2019 08:00 - 7 minutes - 7.48 MBThe mysterious enzyme that can beat the world’s biggest chemical process when it comes to breaking the dinitrogen triple bond
Lazurite: Chemistry in its element
February 15, 2019 15:27 - 6 minutes - 6.83 MBA brilliant rich blue rock, prized in antiquity as a gemstone and a prominent pigment, lazurite is the basis of lapis lazuli, the original ultramarine paint and – as Brian Clegg finds – it even adorns Tutankhamun's death mask.
Melarsoprol: Chemistry in its element
February 08, 2019 12:28 - 5 minutes - 5.67 MBCases of sleeping sickness – human African trypanosomiasis – are in decline, dropping 86% in Africa between 2000 and 2014. Gege Li explores the role that this toxic, arsenic-based medication has to play.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Chemistry in its element
February 01, 2019 13:15 - 5 minutes - 5.79 MBMany consume cod liver oil due to 'a vague sense we should be taking them for something' – but what to the omega-3 fatty acids actually do?
Cacodyl: Chemistry in its element
January 25, 2019 12:03 - 6 minutes - 6.64 MBIt made Robert Bunsen seriously ill, Michael Faraday thought it 'barbaric' to use in battle and even Fritz Haber – the 'father of chemical warfare' – abandoned it after a fatal accident in his lab. This week, Mike Freemantle tells the story of tetramethyldiarsine, otherwise known as cacodyl.
Bronze: Chemistry in its element
January 18, 2019 14:24 - 4 minutes - 4.78 MBKit Chapman takes us back to the 1904 Olympics in St Louis, via the bronze age and ancient Greece
Ellagic acid: Chemistry in its element
January 11, 2019 09:00 - 6 minutes - 6.19 MBLouise Crane introduces the antioxidant that led to exaggerated claims that 'whisky helps fight cancer'
Myristicin: Chemistry in its element
December 17, 2018 16:37 - 6 minutes - 6.58 MBThe spice that gives your Christmas eggnog its distinctive taste and aroma is also a toxic narcotic that played an important role in international history. Florence Schechter shares the history of myristicin – the active ingredient in nutmeg
Low-background steel: Chemistry in its element
December 07, 2018 13:46 - 5 minutes - 5.42 MBPost-nuclear steel is a little bit radioactive, so for some specialist jobs we need to find a source of steel from before the bomb
Tin chlorides: Chemistry in its element
November 30, 2018 09:00 - 7 minutes - 7.05 MBThe compounds that put the 'tin' in tin cans and help you to reflect on your appearance
Propanethial-S-oxide: Chemistry in its element
November 23, 2018 12:32 - 5 minutes - 5.77 MBKat Arney’s investigation of the pungent chemical in onions is enough to bring tears to your eyes
Epoxies: Chemistry in its Element
November 16, 2018 14:39 - 5 minutes - 5.88 MBEpoxies – including hard-wearing resins and strong adhesives – can be found almost everywhere, from your household white goods to the Large Hadron Collider. And the aroma of these compounds cemented their place in Brian Clegg's childhood memories.
Levulinic acid: Chemistry in its element
November 09, 2018 15:14 - 7 minutes - 7 MBHow one footballer's climate concerns led to the creation of a green chemistry company: Mike Freemantle discovers the story of Mathieu Flamini, GFBiochemicals and levulinic acid.
Furanocoumarins: Chemistry in its element
November 02, 2018 12:07 - 5 minutes - 5.86 MBFlorence Schechter discovers how a seemingly healthy grapefruit-based breakfast could disrupt your daily drugs