/oss/taxonomy/term/266/all en /oss/article/videos/right-chemistry-truth-about-spirulina <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-tsehruycx4y" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tSEHRUyCX4Y?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-tsehruycx4y&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 09 Nov 2018 19:39:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7447 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology-environment/unlocking-molecular-puzzle-cannabis <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> - There is no evidence for the existence of GMO weed.<br /> - Genetic information shows that labels in cannabis shops (about strain, ancestry, and name) cannot be trusted.</p> <p>Despite what some chronic users may claim, the cannabis plant is not mystical. Like any living species, its cells house genes that encode proteins which, through an impressively choreographed dance influenced by the environment, yield a distinct organism.</p> Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:34:59 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7391 at /oss /oss/article/health/what-difference-between-organic-and-inorganic-arsenic <p>Atoms of arsenic can combine with atoms of other elements to form a variety of compounds. These can be divided into two categories, “inorganic” and “organic.” In this case, the term “organic” is used in its proper chemical sense, referring to molecules that have a framework of carbon atoms. In an “organic” arsenic compound, the arsenic atom is attached to a carbon that may, for example, be part of a sugar molecule such as ribose. This "organic" variety is more complicated in structure, but it is harmless.</p> Thu, 30 Aug 2018 19:31:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7325 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-environment/clean-ideas-about-dirty-dozen <p>It’s springtime which means it is time for the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to send the media into a frenzy with its annual release of the “dirty dozen” conventionally produced fruits or vegetables that contain the greatest variety of pesticide residues. The implication is that these should be shunned in favour of  their organic versions. </p> Thu, 19 Apr 2018 15:55:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7024 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health-and-nutrition-quackery/firing-gun-seeds <p>Scary pictures circulating online would have you believe that scientists use a syringe to inject DNA into food. Don’t be silly. They use a gun.</p> <p>But before we get to the gun (which, like Chekhov’s, will go off before this story has ended), we must talk about genes.</p> <p><strong>Banging on the hood of a car</strong></p> Thu, 26 Oct 2017 14:00:03 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 6796 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-do-they-spray-wax-apples-0 <p>Pick an apple off a tree, buff it a little and it will shine! That’s because the fruit is coated with a layer of natural wax that protects it from drying out and helps to prevent fungi from getting a foothold. The wax is a mixture of up to fifty different compounds, most of which fall into the chemical category known as esters. There are also alcohols like heptacosanol and malol as well as hydrocarbons such as triacontane, C30H62. This compound can also be isolated from petroleum and is sometimes applied to fruit to supplement its natural wax.</p> Sat, 03 Dec 2016 07:35:14 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2358 at /oss /oss/article/environment-news/solving-solution-problems <p>Solvents! What do you think of? Nail polish remover? Dry cleaning fluid? Yes, those are solvents. But there’s a lot more to the story. Chemistry would not be possible without the use solvents. Most chemical reactions are carried out in solvents and any time you hear of some substance being extracted from a plant or herb, you’re looking at a solvent in action. The simplest and safest solvent is water. When you brew coffee or tea you are using water as a solvent. But the majority of substances chemists deal with are not soluble in water and require the use of an organic solvent.</p> Fri, 05 Jul 2013 15:54:10 +0000 Alexandra Pires-Ménard, OSS Intern 1977 at /oss /oss/article/drugs-health-you-asked/you-asked-zenbev-effective-sleep-aid <p>A lot of people have asked about Zenbev, the "organic sleeping aid" available in health food stores. This combination of pumpkin seed extract and dextrose with some rice starch and guar gum was developed by psychiatrist Craig Hudson based on the assumption that the tryptophan-rich protein in the seed releases tryptophan upon digestion, and that insulin secretion in response to the dextrose component leads to other amino acids being absorbed into muscle cells leaving trytophan free to cross the blood brain barrier.</p> Mon, 25 Nov 2013 02:04:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2036 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health-news/organic-vs-conventional-emotional-issue <p>Judging by the hate mail directed his way, you would think that Dr. Alan Dangour had suggested banning baby kissing. In fact, all the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine nutritionist did was search the scientific literature for studies comparing the nutritional value of organic and conventional foods. The venomous attacks on his work, and in many instances his character, were triggered by his conclusion, that at least as far as the nutrients he examined were concerned, there was no appreciable difference.</p> Tue, 04 Feb 2014 11:21:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 2088 at /oss /oss/article/environment-news/guano-back <p>The other day, at the garden center, I noticed a box of fertilizer announcing that it contained a "natural" fertilizer… guano. In fact, before synthetic fertilizers, such as ammonium nitrate - which unfortunately just made headlines with the accident in West Texas - all fertilizers were "natural." But none of them have a history as extensive as that of guano. It is difficult to imagine that what is basically bird droppings could be the root of so many conflicts, including wars.</p> Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:10:34 +0000 Ariel Fenster PhD 1923 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/what-makes-fish-organic <p style="text-align:justify">The use of the label "organic" is regulated by a strict set of guidelines. As it applies to farmed fish, it implies following a number of rules with respect to water recycling, disposal of waste and feed. All food the fish are fed must come from certified organic sources. This is not a problem when it comes to species such as the tilapia which is vegetarian since certified vegetarian food is available. However with carnivorous fish, salmon for instance, it is another matter.</p> Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:26:44 +0000 OSS 1755 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/alfalfa-and-biotechnology <p style="text-align:justify">Think of alfalfa and you probably visualize a salad adorned with the sprouts of this legume served up in a California style restaurant. But that is a minuscule use of this plant. The prime use of alfalfa is to produce hay for feeding dairy and beef cattle. Being a legume, the roots harbour bacteria which can convert nitrogen from the air into nitrogen compounds the plant can use. This provides for a hay with an exceptionally high protein content. There is always room for improvement though.</p> Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:31:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1581 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/organic-food-and-nutrition <p style="text-align:justify">The battle has been raging back and forth ever since pesticides and synthetic fertilizers were introduced into agriculture. Is organic produce safer and more nutritious than the conventional variety? Curiously, organic really used to be conventional. That was the only kind of farming that was practiced. If you wanted to fertilize your fields, you used sewage or decomposing plant material. If you wanted to control insects, you used toxic, but of course “natural,” compounds of arsenic, mercury or lead.</p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:30:01 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1580 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/composting <p>Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. The ultimate natural recycling process. Bury a body and after a while only the skeleton remains. What has happened to the rest? Well, the flesh served as a feast for a variety of bacteria, fungi, insects, mites and worms which use its components to build their own bodies and as a source of energy. What they don’t use, they poop out, enriching the soil with minerals and humic material, a mixture of carbon based compounds that helps hold water in the soil. Plant some daisies on top, and you have everything needed to push them up.</p> Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:51:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1599 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/methyl-iodide <p>Now it’s toxic strawberries from California! “Will strawberry shortcake be known for causing cancer, birth defects and miscarriages,” asks a widely circulating article on the web. Well, no. Not unless you make a habit of eating that shortcake in a strawberry field that is being fumigated with methyl iodide. What we are being subjected to here is yet another case of some chemically ignorant person taking a legitimate concern and twisting it into an unrealistic and naive warning.</p> Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:39:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1679 at /oss