Jun 30, 2008
Carbon Tet and Paradigm Shifts
Since tetrachloromethane is banned as an industrial solvent avoiding its formation as a byproduct of other chlorocarbons is important, this week, The Alchemist learns that a lanthanum chloride catalyst could help with the cleanup. A paradigm shift in drug discovery could be approaching as researchers working with proteins involved in Alzheimer’s disease have discovered an apparently novel approach to inhibiting disease. In organic chemistry, the Alchemist hears that molecules are not quite as diverse as …
Genetic disease is a complicated affair. Scientists have spent years trying to find genetic markers for diseases as diverse as asthma, arthritis and cardiovascular disease. The trouble with such complex diseases is that they are none of them simply a manifestation of a genetic issue. They involve multiple genes, various other factors within the body and, of course, environmental factors outside the body.
I’m not entirely convinced that bird flu (avian influenza) is going to be the next big emergent disease that will wipe out thousands, if not millions, of people across the globe. SARS, after all, had nothing to do with avians, nor does HIV, and certainly not malaria, tuberculosis, MRSA, Escherichia coli O157, or any of dozens of virulent strains of disease that have and are killing millions of people.
I am once again drawn to research from a team at the University of Westminster, a renowned institution that doles out so-called science degrees in homeopathy. This time the paper in question, published in the inaugural issue of the 
rVita emailed me today to enthuse about a purportedly “wonderful resource”, which is apparently the web’s first integrative medicine community (funny they should claim that as I had someone else emailing to tell me yesterday about their first such site too).
First online in The Alchemist, this week, is an award for pioneering work in mass spectrometry and the study of molecules colliding with surfaces.
Apologies if, like me, you’re a Brit and prefer to refer to petrol and diesel, then apologies for today’s post title. But, I’ve noticed a flurry of complaints from Americans about the price of vehicle fuel, recently, and just had to comment. Complaints about the price of gas? I hear the good folks of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland exclaim! Yes, indeed, apparently, filling your tank Stateside …
Fresh, clean water is going to be increasingly in short supply. Despite the recent heavy rains across Southern Europe, the building of desalination plants in such regions, and the shipping in of water supplies from elsewhere is likely to increase in coming years, while desertification will maintain its dehydrating crawl and some regions of the developing world will continue to die of thirst in hotter dry season, while squandering the …
Reminiscences on a serious Stateside gun crime: You would think you wouldn’t find a less controversial topic to write about than the analysis of heavy metals using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). In some ways it must sound like the dullest topic in the world, beyond those who work with MS. However, when the metal in question is lead, and its source is ammunition then I should have been …
I discovered a rather intriguing perspective on the world of wellbeing, health and nutrition in the latest issue of the journal World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (
A simpler, gentler eye test based on Raman spectroscopy could spot ocular infection and other problems without irritating patients, although they may be required to yawn during the procedure. Whichever way you look at them, whether through the emotional blur of crying or as lachrymal secretions ripe for analysis, tears are complex. Now, researchers in the UK, have taken a close look at this aqueous solution of proteins, metabolites, electrolytes …
David Bradley
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