Ci Newsletter #19: Hay fever meds, molecule art, & summer chemistry
Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Ci newsletter. There's a summer theme this fortnight, with graphics looking at the good (strawberries, sunglasses) and the bad (hay fever!) of the current season in the northern hemisphere.
There's also some great chemistry art and pop-up periodic tables, and the usual round-up of interesting chemistry news and features.
Hay fever meds
It's the peak of the grass pollen season here in the UK at the moment, and don't all of us hay fever sufferers know it. Thankfully, there are medications that provide a modicum of relief from the streaming nose and itchy eyes. This graphic takes a look at the antihistamines, and what's in eye drops and nasal sprays that help combat allergy symptoms.
Chemistry art
I love it when chemistry and art collide, and these drawings by Lucy Walker, built up from individual molecules, are fantastic. Sadly, she doesn't have a webshop you can purchase prints from yet, though I suspect it's only a matter of time until one appears based on the reception these have been met with on Twitter!
Strawberry season
Here in the UK, it's strawberry season – take a look at the whoppers we picked at the nearby pick-your-own recently! Of course, there's a Ci graphic for every occasion, and I made this one on strawberries for C&EN a few years back, looking at the compounds behind their colour, aroma, and ripening.
Pop-up periodic tables
Another Twitter spot this week was these fabulous pop-up periodic tables from Chris Constantine-Armstrong. If you want one for yourself, like I do, he's looking at scaling them up and producing more of them...
Summer chemistry
Summer has taken a while to warm up here in the UK, but temperatures are heading upwards this week – so a good time to flag up the range of summer-related chemistry graphics available on the website. Sunscreen, sunglasses, barbecues and more are all covered!
Chemistry news & features
Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th-century chemistry pioneer who faded from history — www.chemistryworld.com
More than 200 years ago, a female chemist introduced the concept of catalysis and made early steps toward photography.
Foaming at the mouth: the superworms making a meal of polystyrene waste New research shows the gut of the Zophobas morio beetle larvae contains enzymes capable of breaking down the plastic, which is difficult to recycle
LGBTQ+ chemists you should know about
These historic scientists influenced agriculture, 3D printing, inorganic chemistry, and more.
As usual, please do let me know if you have any feedback or ideas for the next newsletter!
Thanks for reading,
Andy