May 31, 2012
Adamantane, the invincible molecule, was discovered in petroleum in 1933 and stimulated a whole new field in chemistry, that of research into polyhedral organic compounds. It might be thought of as the tiniest possible building block of diamond, which is after all an infinite 3D network of carbon atoms essentially pinned on the adamantane structure minus the hydrogens. Adamantane itself has been modified for practical applications in the …
May 30, 2012
According to good friend of this blog Stuart Clark, writing in The Guardian, the 1761 transit of Venus was a watershed moment in the history of astronomy. It was, he says, the first time astronomers would have the opportunity to measure accurately the size of the solar system. The distance between the Earth and the Sun had been estimated, with varying degrees of success, since the Greeks, but this was different…the endeavour was the …
May 28, 2012
There are millions of supplements on the market, most are untested in any clinical setting and are beyond pharma regulations. They’re available over-the-counter, without a prescription and may be contaminated with toxins, heavy metals and other nasties, especially those bought from far-flung places via the Internet. Some may be marginally useful in helping people recover from certain conditions although there is a dearth of evidence …
