What Is Chemistry? Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between them. This is also the definition for physics, by the way. Chemistry and physics are specializations of physical science. Chemistry tends to focus on the properties of substances and the interactions between different types of matter, particularly reactions that involve electrons. Physics tends to focus more on the nuclear part of the atom, as well as the subatomic realm. Really, they are two sides of the same coin. The formal definition of chemistry is probably what you want to use if you're asked this question on a test. Because understanding chemistry helps you to understand the world around you. Cooking is chemistry. Everything you can touch or taste or smell is a chemical. When you study chemistry, you come to understand a bit about how things work. Chemistry isn't secret knowledge, useless to anyone but a scientist. It's the explanation for everyday things, like why laundry detergent works better in hot water or how baking soda works or why not all pain relievers work equally well on a headache. If you know some chemistry, you can make educated choices about everyday products that you use. … Continue reading →

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Kristaps Porzingis was the first to see something and say something when he expressed that despite the Knicks early-season success, something was missing. The second-year big man proved to have great foresight. I think it was pretty easy to tell from the inside that were not that good of a team, Porzingis said after Sundays practice. We can win games based off of our talent, but thats not going to last long, and thats exactly what happened. Porzingis said he felt that way when the Knicks were 14-10, but he never thought it would turn out as bad as it has. Since then, they have gone 13-32. Theyve clinched a fourth straight losing season and, according to Derrick Rose, need a miracle to make the playoffs. The Knicks are 6 12 games behind the Eastern Conferences last playoff spot with 13 to play. Theyre closer to getting a higher draft pick than making the playoffs. We all expected big things out of this year, said Porzingis, who should return Monday night against the Clippers after missing the previous game with a bruised left thigh. . . . I felt like we would make good runs but we … Continue reading →

Not a week passes without reproducibility in science or the lack of it hitting the headlines. Although much of the criticism is directed at the biomedical sciences or psychology, many of the same problems also pervade the chemical sciences. A survey of over 1500 scientists conducted by Nature last year revealed that 70% of researchers think that science faces a reproducibility crisis. Over half, however, still have faith in published literature in their field with chemists being amongst the most confident despite reporting the most difficulty replicating other researchers or their own work. Although this observation seems contradictory, an explanation might be that chemists are more often looking to repeat experiments exactly, says Rick Danheiser, a synthetic organic chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chemical journal articles suffer from the inability of people to name compounds accurately Anita Bandrowski, University of California, San Diego Danheiser is the editor-in-chief of the unconventional journal Organic Syntheses that has verified the experiments of all the papers it has published since it launched in 1921. The journal does this by having the research replicated by independent chemists before publishing them a practice that is almost unheard of in chemistry or any other research … Continue reading →

A collaborative and publicly available database of previously inaccessible hazardous chemical reactions has been launched by the Pistoia Alliance, a not for profit group based in Boston, US. This new Chemical Safety Library (CSL) service features a submission tool that allows researchers to add safety data in just minutes, helping to prevent dangerous events from being repeated. The system was designed in conjunction with Pistoias industry members, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Although many commercial and open resources already offer information on the hazardous properties of individual reagents, often there are no details about the effect of combining such reagents, according to Steve Arlington, the Pistoia Alliances president. In addition, such events are often not shared within or between companies. The CSLs chemical reaction incident dataset can be downloaded, and it can also be configured to alert scientists if there is a known safety risk before they carry out a research project. Within hours of Pistoia announcing the CSL on 16 March, 150 people had already signed up to use the new system, says Carmen Nitsche, a business development consultant for Pistoia. Users have access to the base set of about 25 incidents with which Pistoia pre-populated the system, … Continue reading →

Forbes Chemistry And Beyond: Three Keys To A Successful CMO-Branding Agency Relationship Forbes Many factors contribute to a successful rebrand solid research, stellar creativity, a strategic launch plan and more. But here's one critical factor that's often overlooked: the relationship between the branding firm and the CMO. A productive ... See original here: Chemistry And Beyond: Three Keys To A Successful CMO-Branding Agency Relationship - Forbes … Continue reading →

AkzoNobel announced that an enthusiastic response to its Imagine Chemistry initiative has resulted in more than 200 innovative ideas being submitted by chemistry start-ups, scientists, research groups and students around the world. Developed in conjunction with KPMG, Imagine Chemistry was launched to help solve real-life chemistry-related challenges, such as finding ways to revolutionize plastics recycling, as well as uncovering sustainable opportunities for AkzoNobels Specialty Chemicals businesses. From the 200 submissions received, AkzoNobel will now select 20 finalists to attend a three-day event in June at the companys principal research facility in Deventer, the Netherlands. We have been very impressed by the number and quality of the submissions, said Thierry Vanlancker, AkzoNobels Executive Committee member responsible for Specialty Chemicals. This confirms our belief that there is tremendous potential even in mature chemistries. We are looking forward to working with the eventual winners to scale up their ideas and turn them into a commercial reality with real global impact. The Imagine Chemistry challenge is focused on finding solutions in five areas: There are also open challenges for broad ideas in two further areas: highly reactive chemistry and technology, and sustainable alternatives to current technologies. The challenge is part of an integrated approach … Continue reading →