The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Emmanuelle Charpentier and  Jennifer Doudna for "for the development of a method for genome  editing”. Their work has markedly added to the toolbox available to  researchers in the life sciences and in my humble opinion, it is worth  talking about. To understand why this work is so important, we will need  to have some introductory episodes first and this here is part number II, where we will discuss how genetic information stored in DNA is...

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for "for the development of a method for genome editing”. Their work has markedly added to the toolbox available to researchers in the life sciences and in my humble opinion, it is worth talking about. To understand why this work is so important, we will need to have some introductory episodes first and this here is part number I, where we will discuss the structure of DNA. I can now be reached on twitter...

In this episode, I discuss a special group of materials called hydrogels. For something that is hardly ever mentioned publically, it has a surprising amount of uses in the world... I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to share. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected] . Sources 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogel 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophile 3....

We all know that statues in the cities are green, like for example the statue of liberty. But do you all know why they are green? This episode looks at this question. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to share. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected]...

Why do our eyes burn and tear when we cut onions? This listener question will be discussed in this episode. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to share. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected]...

Water is all around us and we kind of take it for granted. It is an accepted basis for life and makes our planet inhabitable. Have you guys ever wondered why that is? Well, water is also a very special liquid. This episode revolves around a specific feature that water has, namely hydrogen bonds, how they function and why they change the way water behaves in comparison to other compounds. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to...

This episode is based on a discussion I had with an acquaintance at a barbecue. He, being the smarty pants that he is, asked "Do you know the difference between diesel and heating fuel?"... I didn't... I, being the smarty pants that I am, was annoyed by that. With a wry smile he suggested: "Better look it up then." And I did! The result is a not too shabby podcast episode on the difference between the two. If you want to know why it is a bad idea to use heating fuel in your diesel engine,...

When talking about chemistry, one of the first topics to breach is the chemistry of soap. In the time of a global pandemic, washing our hands has become second nature and at some point at the beginning the stockpiling of soap even led to shortages in some areas. So let's talk about soap and how it does its job. Sources https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seife https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap General Chemistry by D. D. Ebbing 5th Ed. 1996 ISBN...

I love fireworks, folks. I don't see the spectacle often, but when I do , it is an absolute beauty to behold, especially when it is an entire choreography. I sometimes cannot believe that there are people whose job it is to "make" fireworks. Especially, the development of new ones must be a blast!... in more ways than one :-P. This episode looks at how fireworks create colour at the sky. I hope you enjoy it. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback...

Virtually every time before I record an episode of my podcast, I open a can of coke. That little 'fizz' sound heralds the beginning of my late evening, I take a brief sip and then I start recording. I do this with such regularity that I dedided to make the fizz the topic of today's conversation. How do we make carbonated drinks? If you want to find out, this is episode to listen to. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to share....

After we discussed the concept of catalysis in our last episode, it is only fitting to look at a specific example. If you are interested in knowing how nature uses catalysis to run the show in our bodies, then tune in to learn about Enzymes, nature's catalysts. I can now be reached on twitter under @ChemistryinEve1 , if you have feedback that you would like to share. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected] Sources: ·...

Catalysis is a word that is rarely used in daily life, yet it influences many facets of it. If you are interested to know how catalysis changed the way car engines run or how margerine is made, then listen in. References · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annika_S%C3%B6renstam · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKBUL2yesR4 · Inorganic Chemistry by C. E. Housecroft, A. G. Sharpe 1st Ed. 2001 ISBN 0582-31080-6 · General Chemistry by D. D. Ebbing 5th Ed. 1996 ISBN 0-395-74415-6 · Organic...

When you immerse an egg in vinegar the shell will slowly disappear, leaving a flexible and bouncy egg. Bread dough leavens when you use baking soda. Find out in this episode the reasons for these phenomena.

Proteins are one of the key elements that define life in a way that we know. They have such a vast array of functions it is staggering. Seemingly, every problem and obstacle that an organism encounters, a protein comes to the rescue. Humans have them, other mammals, birds, bacteria, even viruses consist for a big part of proteins. You want to walk somewhere, you need your muscles, those are proteins. You want to digest food? Guess what? digestive enzymes are proteins. Your skin and hair?...

The  sun is the source of life on this world, yet at the same time it can be  very dangerous for us and other lifeforms on earth. The life giving  energy that is emitted from the sun to earth's surface needs to be made  use of through processes like photosynthesis, but it also needs to be  "disarmed" or filtered. This episode is the second part of a two-part series that looks how we  protect ourselves from the sun. In this concluding episodes sun lotion and natural sun protection is in the...

The sun is the source of life on this world, yet at the same time it can be very dangerous for us and other lifeforms on earth. The life giving energy that is emitted from the sun to earth's surface needs to be made use of through processes like photosynthesis, but it also needs to be "disarmed" or filtered. This episode is the first part of a two-part series that looks how we protect ourselves from the sun. We start of with oftentimes mentioned ozone layer, the first line of defense.

On the surface, a diamond and a pencil have nothing in common. One is one of the hardest and valuable materials known to man and the other is a pencil, an everyday object that many people use on a daily basis to write, draw or the medium between the two: scribble. But once we leave the surface behind us and look closer on a chemical level the differences between a diamond and a pencil are actually not that big. Interested? Listen in and found out more! Useful...