/oss/taxonomy/term/2351/all en /oss/article/medical-general-science/studying-organic-chemistry-can-pay <p>One of the fundamental reactions we teach in organic chemistry is “nucleophilic substitution” in which an atom or group of atoms in a molecule is exchanged for another one. Quite logically, the substituted atom or group is known as a “leaving group.” The ease with which a leaving group can be displaced by the substituting species, or “nucleophile,” is variable and depends on several factors including the strength of the bond with which the leaving group is attached to the rest of the molecule.</p> Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:51:32 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10010 at /oss /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/lesson-nature-what-click-chemistry-and-why-it-won-nobel-prize <p>“This year’s [Nobel] Prize in Chemistry deals with not overcomplicating matters” says Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. It has a simple and catchy name: Click Chemistry.</p> <p>There is a certain chemical reaction that is often referred to as <b>the</b> click reaction. But that’s a bit of a misnomer. Click chemistry is a framework or methodology for doing chemistry. Specifically, making complex organic molecules, mainly pharmaceutical ones.</p> Wed, 12 Oct 2022 00:58:30 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9261 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/why-do-old-books-smell-so-good <p>E-readers might be convenient, but they’ll never have that comforting old book smell. It turns out that the smell of old books is due to the organic materials in books (like cellulose from wood pulp) reacting with light, heat and water, and over time releasing volatile organic compounds or VOCs. What VOCs are released depends on how the book was made and stored, but common scents are toluene or ethylbenzene, which smell sweet, benzaldehyde or furfural, which smell almond-like, or vanillin, which smells like- you guessed it- vanilla.</p> Sun, 14 May 2017 02:29:25 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2445 at /oss /oss/article/environment-news-space-technology/space-molecules-are-branching-out <p>In a paper published in this week’s issue of Science, astronomers from the Max Planck institute, the University of Cologne (Germany) and Cornell University (USA), announced to have for the first time detected, in interstellar space, a carbon-containing molecule with a branched structure. The molecule, isopropyl cyanide (<em>i</em>-C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>7</sub>CN), was discovered in a gas cloud called Sagittarius B2 close to the center of our galaxy.</p> Wed, 08 Oct 2014 01:29:27 +0000 Ariel Fenster PhD 2202 at /oss