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.

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Hay fever meds

Click to view and download graphic on the Ci site

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

Lucy @molecularts_

A rose comprised of molecules which are responsible for its aroma (+ water). Clearly I’m having withdrawal from drawing molecules after finishing my MSci yesterday… @compoundchem compoundchem.com/2017/02/14/ros… #art #Chemistry #chemtwitter

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!

Lucy @molecularts_

A bee, created entirely out of the molecules found in honey 🐝 As the rose was so popular, here’s another one of my chemistry-themed pieces from a while ago. My parents liked this one so much, they put it on their wall… #chemtwitter #Chemistry #WomensArt #art

Strawberry season

Photo of three sizeable strawberries

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.

Click to view and download this graphic on the C&EN site

Pop-up periodic tables

Chris Armstrong @Rhodium103@Mastodon.social @DrCDArmstrong

Returning to another project the pandemic had killed off: 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