Quotes from Joe Schwarcz

myasthenia gravis

The Sumerians, living five thousand years ago in what is now Iran, are commonly believed to be the world's first civilization.

adenosine triphosphate)

And that is why beer is sold in brown bottles. The brown pigment in the glass filters out the wavelengths of light that cause the skunky smell.

So why do some manufacturers bottle their product in clear glass bottles? Chemical ingenuity has made this nuance possible. Through the process of hydrogenation — much like the one we use for margarine — we can alter slightly the molecular structure of iso-humulone, making it stable in light.

osteomalacia

In spite of the weakness of the epidemiological evidence linking nitrites to cancer, and the established fact that 95 per cent of all the nitrite we ingest comes from bacterial conversion of nitrates naturally found in vegetables, many consumers have a lingering concern about eating nitrite-cured processed meats. But one person's concern is another's business opportunity.

phosphatidylserine

PS is derived from soybeans and is also available in pill form.

physical exercise retards brain deterioration.

neurotransmitters

neurotransmitter stimulates an adjacent cell by fitting into a receptor site on its surface, very much the way a key fits into a lock. This cell then releases a neurotransmitter, which stimulates the next cell, and thus the message is propagated. The specific neurotransmitter involved in the nerve gas story is acetylcholine.

Clostridium botulinum bacterium.

Once acetylcholine has carried out its job of triggering a reaction in an adjacent cell, an enzyme present in the synapse decomposes it. Overstimulation is therefore prevented. It is this enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, that nerve gas deactivates. The result is overstimulation of the nervous system, eventually leading to convulsions, paralysis, and respiratory failure.

By the end of World War II, the Germans had developed sarin, a nerve gas far more potent than tabun. The chemistry was relatively simple: methylphosphonyl difluoride mixed with rubbing alcohol.

Miss Chemistry

The human gastrointestinal tract harbors numerous species of bacteria, which all compete for food; luckily for us, botulinum bacteria do not fare well in this contest, and they cannot establish themselves. Unless, of course, there are relatively few competing bacteria, as is the case with the gastrointestinal tracts of infants. That's why children younger than twelve months old should not be fed bee regurgitation — that is, honey.

promyelocytic

no one knew exactly what sort of forces held the small molecules together, so Carothers applied himself to solving the problem. He quickly concluded that there was no great mystery. Scientists already understood that atoms in molecules were held together by the sharing of electrons. Such covalent bonds could also be forged, Carothers surmised, between atoms of different molecules, creating a long chain.

Our word plumbing actually derives from the Latin plumbum, meaning "lead," and that is also why this element's chemical symbol is Pb.

Lead carbonate was the main white pigment used in paint up until about 1950, and it was still in general use until 1980, when it was finally phased out.

Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn't in them.

At one time, people also preserved meat by soaking it in a brine solution or by covering it with whole grains of salt (which were known as "corn," hence the origin of "corned beef").

Ludwig van Beethoven, as you may have heard, was deaf.