Month: June 2011

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The Nanotechnology Solution to the Global Water Challenge

— It has been said that “water is the next oil.” Just like oil, water — specifically, clean drinking water — is a resource that is rapidly depleting. Every year, 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and millions of people die, including almost 5000 children a day, from various waterborne diseases. These numbers are increasing as the world population keeps growing. Continue reading The Nanotechnology Solution to the Global Water Challenge

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Famine follows the plough in Africa?

— A fifty-year famine provoked by drought threatens millions in the sub-Saharan Sahel region of Africa with crop failure, cattle loss, starvation and death. As policy makers work to provide relief for the drought-ravaged nations, scientists in Europe are investigating what caused a seemingly-minor ‘dry spell’ to snowball into a drought so severe that it now threatens political stability in sub-Saharan Africa. Airborne dust, created by commercial farming practices introduced by Portuguese settlers between the 18th and the 19th centuries, may be the culprit. Continue reading Famine follows the plough in Africa?

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An interview with Professor George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor and Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University

Prof. Whitesides is a prolific chemist with a long and distinguished career spanning almost five decades. Over the years he has published more than a 1000 scientific articles and has won multitudes of awards, including the Priestley Medal (2007), the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering, an … Continue reading An interview with Professor George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor and Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University

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Green Chemistry: Reducing production of hazardous substances through innovative design

  In today’s society, contributions from the field of chemistry are evident all around us. Advancements in chemistry have led to the production of medicines to alleviate our pain, polyester to keep us warm, fertilizers to provide our crops with nutrients, cooking oil to add flavor to our food, and many other things. These same advancements have also generated numerous toxic chemicals, from the insecticides … Continue reading Green Chemistry: Reducing production of hazardous substances through innovative design

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Where does medicine come from?

Think back to the last time you took medicine — perhaps it was a pain reliever or some cough syrup. What were you thinking about as that medicine was digested? Chances are, you weren’t thinking about the origins of the drug, but scientists and doctors have probably spent countless hours developing it. The task of getting a drug to your local pharmacy is complex, arduous, … Continue reading Where does medicine come from?

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Curbing the chemistry of climate change

The 2011 Harvard Radcliffe Institute Science Symposium, “Something in the Air: Climate Change, Science, and Policy” [1] brought together internationally renowned researchers to address the state of our current knowledge of climate science and courses of action that might lie ahead in addressing human-induced climate change. Chemistry plays an essential role in every aspect of studying and modeling the climate, as well as developing predictions … Continue reading Curbing the chemistry of climate change

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Better living through Chihuly

We are surrounded by so many commonplace glass objects, they are almost transparent to our notice: car windows, casserole dishes, food jars, soda bottles, even buildings! It is a great feat of science and technology that glass has become so affordable to produce and so strong that it can be used for such a variety of purposes. However, there are also craftspeople who value glass … Continue reading Better living through Chihuly

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Nuclear chemistry: Lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster

On December 20th, 1951, four glowing light bulbs in Arco, Idaho heralded the first use of nuclear power for electricity generation [1]. Today, twenty-nine countries operate nuclear power plants, and these produce about 14% of the world’s electricity [2]. This electricity comes from a seemingly ideal source: nuclear power is cost-effective, does not rely on fossil fuels, and emits the same carbon equivalent per kilowatt-hour … Continue reading Nuclear chemistry: Lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster

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Harnessing the power of the Sun: How can raspberries and genetically modified viruses help?

If you’ve watched the movie The Day after Tomorrow, you must remember the climate-related natural disasters that ravaged the human civilization. Though the events depicted in the movie are unrealistic, we are still dramatically altering Earth’s environment and climate through our current energy policies and practices. How can we mitigate some of the effects of man-made global warming? One possible solution is to increase our … Continue reading Harnessing the power of the Sun: How can raspberries and genetically modified viruses help?

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