Fascinating and painless chemistry lessons

I had to select this video on the element rutherfordium because of the  New Zealand link of the scientist the element is named after.

It’s an interesting short lesson on rutherfordium and there is more where it came from – in fact one short video lesson for every element in the periodic table! Click on the image below to go to the interactive version of the periodic table.

 

You can find out more about the people who produced these videos from this University of Nottingham web site – Periodic Videos

This is a great, painless, way to learn some interesting chemistry.

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Singing about the periodic table

Most people here are probably familiar with Tom Lehrer‘s song – The Elements.

Well, for chemists here’s a new song about the elements – and the periodic table.

Actually, the video version – which depicts the elements in order on the periodic table may be useful as a memory tool for students.

The NEW Periodic Table Song (In Order).

Oh – there may also be a few more elements than in Lehrer’s time too.

Some recent recommended science books

Here’s something for those who love science books, or are thinking of Christmas presents for such people (hint). It’s the latest annual short list selected by the UK Royal Society for the Winton Prize for Science Books.

I think they all look interesting. I have already purchased two of these (The Disappearing Spoon and Massive) and will keep an eye out for the others.

Below, I have provided links for those wanting more details, price, etc. Also the judges comments on each book provided by the Royal Society (see Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books Shortlist Announced).

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Alex’s Adventures in Numberland by Alex Bellos

“This book is a complete revelation. A rich and diverse story of mathematics, peppered with anecdote and personalities, whirling round the globe and through history from Euclid to the supercomputer, it brings maths bursting to life in a way we never expected.”

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Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages by Guy Deutscher

“A enthralling book that truly broadened our understanding of language, culture and the science of perception, using startling experiments to make us re-think the subtle assumptions with which we all view and describe the material world.”

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The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

“This is much more than just a witty guide to the periodic table – it gives a fascinating insight into the history of the elements, how they were discovered, and the extraordinary part they play in our lives.”

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The Wavewatcher’s Companion by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

“A brilliant almost poetic book that really opened our eyes. We were amazed to find that we now see waves everywhere we look, making the world around us a more absorbing and enchanting place, thanks to modern science.”

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Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science by Ian Sample

“An extraordinary book that tells the real human story behind one of the biggest science adventures of our time, managing to translate the complex concepts of particle physics into a real page-turner.”

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The Rough Guide to The Future by Jon Turney

“A thought-provoking and refreshingly optimistic view of the future across the whole range of the sciences, with a highly original style of brief and multi-focused presentations, that sets it apart from conventional scientific writing.“

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NASA and old lace

Felisa Wolfe-Simon processing mud from Mono Lake to inoculate media to grow microbes on arsenic. (Image NASA)

I managed to catch the tail end of the NASA press conference this morning. This  had created quite a flutter on the internet with some speculating that NASA was going to announce the discovery of evidence for extraterrestrial life.

Well, it proved to be a bit more realistic than that – but nevertheless quite exciting. The press conference discussed research indicating the possibility that arsenic can substitute for phosphorus  in a bacteria. Neil deGrasse Tyson explained this in a brief tweet:

“Like Carbon & Silicon in Periodic Table, Phosphorus & Arsenic sit above &b elow one another, making them kindred souls of chemistry.”

Researchers present their findings in the paper “A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus.” It has the usual laundry list of authors (12) we have come to expect for significant work. The lead author is Felisa Wolfe-Simon. And here is the abstract:

Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, which substitutes arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bioelements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical significance.

And here is a short video on the work:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
NASA’s Alien Life News: The Real Story from Sci…, posted with vodpod

The scientists at the press conference disagreed on the actual role of the arsenic and how stable such life forms could be. Clearly more work will be done on this and Wolfe-Simon is publishing further results in February.

This is way out of my area of expertise so I won’t comment further on the research. But I was interested to here the scientists and reporters discuss the feelings that often come with significant discoveries. Ryan Anderson from The Martian Chronicles expressed my thoughts exactly with his comment:

I thought it was great to hear Wolfe-Simon say during the question session that there wasn’t a “eureka moment” where they knew what they had found, it was more like “Hey, this isn’t right.” It reminds me of this Isaac Asimov quote:

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I’ve found it!), but ‘That’s funny…’ -Isaac Asimov.

See also:
NASA Scientists Find Microbes With Arsenic DNA
NASA-Funded Research Discovers Life Built With Toxic Chemical
Of Arsenic and Aliens
Living off Toxic Waste—Bacteria Swap Out Phosphorus for Arsenic

Related articles

• Nasa reveals bacteria that can live on arsenic instead of phosphorus (guardian.co.uk)
• Bacteria use arsenic to build DNA (cbc.ca)
• NASA Finds New Arsenic-Based Life Form in California (wired.com)
• NASA Announcement: New Life Form (manolith.com)
• Poison-Based Bacteria Redefines Life As We Know It [Video] (kotaku.com)
• “NASA scientist discovers arsenic-based alien life form – on Earth” and related posts (personalmoneystore.com)
• Arsenic-eating bacteria find recipe for life (cbc.ca)

Periodic Table of of science blogs

David Bradley of Sciencebase has put together an interesting Periodic Table of science bloggers. It was complied on a “first come, first served” basis and is, of course, restricted in numbers (currently 103). But a useful resource for anyone interested in browsing through science blogs they may not be familiar with.

There’s even a couple of Kiwi science blogs in the Table! See if you can find them.

Reminds me a bit of the periodic table for wines (see I want one of these!)!

Thanks to Periodic Table of David Bradley Sciencebase.

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I want one of these!

Well, yes, I would love a bottle – or even the chance to taste some of these wines. But it’s the packaging that attracts me, this time. Washington State’s Wines of Substance, won the Seattle Magazine’s “Coolest Wine Label” Award in 2008 for these. The labels are presented in the format we are used to with chemical elements (Pg is pinot gris, Se for semillon, Gw for gewürtztramminer, for example).

But, as a chemist, what I would really like is the “periodic table” of wines this company has produced. I can just imagine it pinned up alongside Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic table of Elements on my office wall.

Substance justifies their table because “wine is as much an art as it is a science. What better way to express this basis than a Periodic Table of Wine with each varietal reflected as an element or substance?” Their interactive “periodic table” website is a great example of this art (see WINES OF SUBSTANCE – Washington State Periodic Table of Wines).

This table is obviously aimed at the American consumer. But I reckon someone could produce a similar things for New Zealand. A periodic table sumarising our wine varieties  and grape growing regions.

It would probably go down well with many consumers. Or at least the geeks amongst us.

Thanks to Bioephemera at The Periodic Table of Wine

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Chemistry for kids

In my day it was Tom Lehrer and his song “The Elements.” It always struck me as a humourous way of remembering the name of the chemical elements – when you didn’t have a periodic table handy.

Gareth, from Hot Topic, has passed on a modern song “Meet the elements” from the new They Might Be Giants kids’ album, Here Comes Science (see video below). Coincidentally, Damian is also recommending it on his blog And Slaters Go Plop

Sounds like the album will be great or kids – especially with Christmas coming up.

Update:

Another song from the album: “I Am A Paleontologist”

Element 112

A new element will soon be added to the periodic table. Today came the announcement that a team of German scientists have been credited with the discovery of element 112. This comes more than a decade after their experiments first produced a single atom of the “super-heavy” element.

“The team, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research, must propose a name for their find, before it can be formally added to the table.

Scientists continue the race to discover more super-heavy elements.

Professor Hofmann began his quest to add to the periodic table in 1976.”

See also:
Periodic table gets a new element.
A new chemical element in the periodic table
Physics News :: Periodic table gets a new element

And for fun – have a look at the announcemnt of the discovery of  the new element Administratium (Ad).

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Scientific dissent from . . . science?

Opponents of scientific evolutionary theory will often refer to the Scientific Dissent From Darwinism list to justify that the theory is controversial and should be discarded, or at least equal time be given to creationist “theories” in school biology classes. There is no doubt that the list is being used to attack scientific theory but its worth looking at the statement professionals on the list have signed up to. It reads:

“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

Few of the signatories have signed the statement for scientific reasons – rather their motives have been religious (see Who are the “dissenters from Darwinism”?). However, scientists by their nature are skeptics and should always critically examine evidence. In principle few scientists would disagree with the statement. So why has the Scientific Dissent from Darwin list attracted so little scientific support (see Dissenters from Darwinism in context)?