Ci Newsletter #12: An antiviral timeline and 25 periodic tables
Welcome to the latest Ci newsletter! This fortnight we've got a timeline of antivirals, a collection of periodic tables for the upcoming National Periodic Table Day, a look at how I ended up creating Compound Interest, and more!
A short history of antivirals
COVID has generated unprecedented levels of interest in antiviral medicines, but they're just the latest in a long line of antivirals going back almost 70 years. The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News looks at some of the key drugs, from the first antiviral to be approved to antivirals for HIV and Influenza, as well as briefly summarizing how some of these compounds work.
COVID & lateral flow tests
On the subject of COVID, after we seemingly dodging it since the start of the pandemic, the UK government's policy of 'let's all catch Omicron' finally caught up with our family. Happily, the hardest part of having it has been keeping a toddler with increasing levels of cabin fever entertained during isolation. Over the past year or so we've all run countless lateral flow tests, so it was interesting to have some of my assumptions about them challenged after sharing this image on Twitter.
Like, I expect, most of you, I'd assumed that the intensity of the test lines correlated pretty well with the viral load. However, I'm reliably informed by those who know more about it than me that this isn't an inference we can confidently make, due to the other factors (swabbing technique, flow through the test, humidity, temperature, and so on) which can vary.
I'm still having a hard time reconciling this with the observed fading of my positive test as the infection recedes, but I guess that the point that's being made is that using LFTs beyond the question of "Am I positive for COVID, yes or no?" is beyond their limited capacity.
National Periodic Table Day
National Periodic Table Day is coming up on 7th February, marking the date on which John Newlands’ first periodic table of elements was published way back in 1863 (and fittingly it's also only a day before Dmitri Mendeleev's birthday). If you're looking for a variety of periodic tables to commemorate the occasion there's 25 different themed ones available on the website, from a table of element name origins to element abundances and applications. Check them all out here.
My career journey
As part of #YoungScientistNetworking, the creation of @QuantumTessera over on Twitter, I was asked to share my career journey so far. So, for those who are interested, here's my Twitter thread detailing how I wound up working at an exam board for my day job while running Compound Interest on the side. Warning: it's on the long side!
Grapefruits and medication
February is National Grapefruit month, which is a great opportunity to highlight the curious effects that some grapefruit compounds can have on some medications. The main culprits are a family of chemical compounds called furanocoumarins, and particularly the compounds bergamottin & dihydroxybergamottin, which can stop some drugs from being broken down in the body at usual rates. There's more detail in an old infographic available here.
Chemistry news and features
Making hydrogen from banana peels — www.chemistryworld.com
Photothermal process converts banana peels into valuable syngas and solids with a flash of white light
Xenon gas scans show hidden lung damage in long COVID patients — www.theguardian.com
A study using xenon gas in MRI scans has shown that some long COVID patients have hidden damage to their lungs.
Direct evidence emerges for the existence of two forms of liquid water — www.chemistryworld.com
This is fascinating, though worth caveating that it's specifically been observed in super-cooled water at high pressures. Don't start scrutinising your tap water!
Normal, COVID-free service will be resumed in the next issue. Until then, please share the newsletter if you're enjoying it, and hit the reply button if you're reading this in your emails to pass on any comments or suggestions.
Thanks for reading,
Andy