It’s cherry season, and the cherry trees are currently heaving under the weight of both sweet and sour cherries. Here we take a look at the chemical differences between the two, and why cherry stones are poisonous.

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As we head into 2018, it’s time to take a look back at some of the biggest science news stories over the past year. This year’s science news featured poisonous frogs, battery fires, element creation, and more!

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Dispelling Misconceptions

The term ‘chemophobia’ has been used on social media amongst chemists with increasing regularity over the past year. Defined as ‘a fear of chemicals’, more specifically it refers to the growing tendency for the public to be suspicious and critical of the presence of any man-made (synthetic) ...

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White Arsenic

This graphic is the first in a planned series looking at the effects and chemistry of a range of different poisons. As such, it seemed appropriate to start with one of the most well known poisons: arsenic. Arsenic has been used by poisoners for centuries, primarily in the form of white arsenic, ...

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Thallium, ‘The Poisoner’s Poison’

Having already looked at arsenic and cyanide in the previous instalments in this series, our attention turns to thallium, another famed poison. Thallium perhaps doesn’t share quite the same profile as arsenic and cyanide, but despite this it’s perhaps an even more effective compound in ...

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Today’s graphic is a whimsical look at lethal doses of chemicalswe consume on a regular basis.Whilst it may be more common to view chemicals in a black and white framing of ‘toxic’ or ‘non-toxic’, the reality is more of a sliding scale of toxicity. The admission of too much of any chemical into ...

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18th May marks the date of birth of Thomas Midgley, who made significant contributions to something many of us make use of on a regular basis: petrol. Midgley was the research assistant to Charles Kettering, and the duo were responsible for the addition of the compound tetraethyl lead to petrol, ...

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Part II: The V Series

It’s been a little while since the last post on chemical warfare agents on the site, in which we looked at the G series nerve agents, including sarin and tabun. The secondof the two graphics looking at nerve agents focuses this time on the V series, including the infamous VX. The V series ...

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Aroma, Colour, & Toxicity

In late May and early June, the winding pathways of the English countryside arefestooned with the delicatewhite blooms of the elderflower. As the end of the summer eventually arrives, these blooms will have been transformed, and the bushes will be heaving under the weight of clusters of ...

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