/oss/taxonomy/term/2173/all en /oss/article/history-did-you-know/chemistry-lesson-farmer <p>The farmer had purchased some potassium permanganate. Exactly why he needed it isn’t clear but using it as a disinfectant to clean the udders and teats of cows before and after milking is a possibility. The compound can also be used to remove iron and hydrogen sulphide from well water. Potassium permanganate is a purple crystalline material that produces a very pretty purple color when dissolved in water. But when dissolved in some other liquids, the story can be quite different, as our unfortunate farmer discovered.</p> Wed, 06 Nov 2024 18:31:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10145 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know-general-science/chemistry-spider-webs <p>“The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out…”. But funnily her web remained unscathed. How?!</p> <p>With Halloween having just passed, we saw spider web decorations completely overtake houses, adorn witch hats and even candy wrappers. Despite my fear of spiders, I have an immense amount of respect for them and not for their contributions to our environment. I admire them because spiders are quite the biochemists, and their webs are a product of a biochemical reaction that we can only attempt to reproduce in the lab.</p> Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:22:54 +0000 Angelina Lapalme 10130 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/true-story-frankenstein <p>"I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet."  With these words Victor Frankenstein began his account of the adventure that would terrify generations of readers.  Although Mary Shelley's classic 1816 tale is usually thought of as a horror story, it is actually a thoughtful fantasy about the consequences of science gone astray.</p> Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:03:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10129 at /oss /oss/article/technology-history-did-you-know/beginnings-chemical-synthesis <p>Chemistry can be roughly divided into two branches, analysis and synthesis. Chemists either try to identify existing substances or make new ones. By the early 19th century, a number of substances had been isolated from plants, with morphine from the poppy, quinine from cinchona bark, and coumarin from tonka beans being examples. However, given that these substances were derived from living species, they were believed to be endowed with a “life force” that could not be duplicated in the lab, and that such “organic” substances could not be synthesized.</p> Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:52:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10124 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/when-science-allows-you-lose-your-head <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-when-science-allows-you-to-lose-your-head">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 18 Oct 2024 20:01:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10121 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/having-trouble-faces-theres-name <p>If you drive to pick up your child after school and notice that sometimes they go and greet <i>another parent </i>instead who has a car similar to yours, what goes through your head?</p> Thu, 17 Oct 2024 21:57:16 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10118 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know/hardest-working-caffeine-addicts-bees <p>Wake up, go to work, seek out caffeinated beverages, get food, share food with others, store leftovers for later, and repeat. This routine sure does sound familiar, doesn’t it? With over 3.5 billion employed people worldwide following a variation of that basic routine, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was talking about humans. But what if I told you I was actually illustrating the day in the life of a bee? As it turns out, humans and bees have very similar lifestyles. They protect their own, work together during the day and seek the refuge of their hive at night.</p> Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:30:52 +0000 Angelina Lapalme 10110 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/we-have-surplus-baby-boys <p>Be honest: have you ever made love to your partner in a specific position because you heard that it would result in a baby boy?</p> Fri, 04 Oct 2024 02:18:15 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10100 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history-did-you-know/john-daltons-eyeball <p>In 1995, researchers from Cambridge University asked the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society for a sample of an eyeball that had been sitting in a jar on a shelf since 1844. That eye had made some of the most important scientific observations in history. It—and another just like it—belonged to John Dalton, the English schoolteacher who in the late years of the eighteenth century formulated the atomic theory. </p> Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:31:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10099 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know/white-noise-machines-may-have-underlying-fineprint <p><a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/noise-and-sleep/white-noise#references-83455">White noise</a>, also known as broadband noise, is a type of noise that contains all the audible frequencies for humans. White noise is often present in our daily environment in the form of radio or television static, vacuums, fans, and air conditioner hums. When played in the background, white noise can reduce the sound difference between the environmental noise and background noise.</p> Fri, 30 Aug 2024 02:14:16 +0000 Daniela Padres 10051 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-history-did-you-know/weaving-history-persian-carpets <p>Although I could get straight to the point and tell you about Persian carpets, it’s only fitting to begin with a bit of history about the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great, who reigned from approximately 559 to 530 BCE, founded the first Persian Empire. His legacy includes the Cyrus Cylinder, often regarded as the first declaration of human rights, in which he decreed religious freedom and protection for all within his empire.</p> Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:17:14 +0000 Hosna Akhgary 10045 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know/how-deep-can-humans-really-go <p>Up until the late 1960s, physiologists believed that the maximum depth a person could descend to was determined by the depth at which <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.162.3857.1020?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">their total lung capacity (TLC) was compressed to the same volume as their residual volume (RV)</a> which is the smallest lung volume a person can breathe to.</p> Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:34:15 +0000 Daniela Padres 10039 at /oss /oss/article/medical-environment-did-you-know/whipping-some-science <p>Want to add a bit of extra delight to that cake or sundae? No need to bother with whisking some cream when you can just reach for that aerosol cannister of whipped cream. Just squeeze the little trigger and perfectly whipped cream gushes out! For the propellant action you can thank nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas.” That term was coined by the great English chemist Humphry Davy upon noting that “this gas raised my pulse upwards of twenty strokes, made me dance about the laboratory as a madman, and has kept my spirits in a glow ever since.”</p> Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:25:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10026 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-environment-did-you-know/mystery-milky-seas <p>Imagine sailing through a pitch-black ocean night, only to find the waters around you glowing eerily like a vast field of snow. This enchanting phenomenon, known as milky seas or mareel, has both baffled and mesmerized sailors for centuries. These rare events, occurring roughly zero to two times a year globally, are a spectacular display of bioluminescence that turns the sea into a surreal, glowing expanse.</p> Fri, 09 Aug 2024 14:31:17 +0000 Hosna Akhgary 10022 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/are-your-refrigerator-habits-inviting-unwanted-bacteria <p>As a kid I grew up being told that I had to let food cool down before putting it in the fridge. I was under the notion that placing warm food directly in the refrigerator could cause the other foods in the refrigerator to warm up. I had also been told that placing warm food in the refrigerator was a waste of energy as the fridge would have to work harder to maintain a cool temperature. I was shocked when I learned that leaving leftovers to cool on the countertop posed a potential risk for my health.</p> Fri, 02 Aug 2024 14:39:35 +0000 Daniela Padres 10014 at /oss