To Edit or not to Edit
The Ethics of Gene Manipulation The concept of gene editing (adding, disrupting or changing the sequence of a specific gene) has been a staple of science fantasy for several decades. From Aldous Huxley’s...
Let’s Stay Together
Getting Protein Bonds to Stick Imagine a match made in heaven: yin and yang, Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly. Now, try to picture what those combinations would look like in the realm of chemistry....
An Elemental Shift in the Periodic Table
We think of the periodic table as a static object that is the same in all textbooks. In the periodic tables that appear in our freshman chemistry book, for instance, the ionization energy of each element, the...
Proton-Coupled Electron Transport
A New Branch of Organic Chemistry A common metaphor used to describe organic chemistry is “the psychology of electrons.” This statement embodies one of the fundamental ideas of organic chemistry: most...
How the Building Blocks of Life Began
Investigating the origin of life has intrigued researchers for centuries. To explain how life originated on Earth requires explaining how organic molecules essential to life — such as amino acids and...
Insulin at the Touch of Your iPhone
What if you no longer had to go to the doctor’s office for your appointments? What if all of your lab tests could be done at home, on your own time? What if you had continuous access to all of your vital...
The Truth About Harmful Forms of Radiation
Would you stick your head in a microwave oven? No? Then you also shouldn’t be using your cell phone without protection — or, for that matter, using the internet over a wireless network. Actually, while...