Happy Halloween! Do you want to look death in the face today? Probably not, but you can take a look at DEAD without suffering any loss of life. DEAD is ... Read More

Rubbing certain fruit extracts on your skin may help reverse the skin damage that leads to skin cancer. In particular, pomegranate fruit extract, resveratrol (found in grapes and wine), and ... Read More

Black lights emit ultraviolet radiation, giving certain materials an eerie glow. Which materials? You can do a little experimental research or you can check out this list!The Glowing List|Candy Triboluminescence

Here's a worked example of a coffee cup calorimeter problem and a bomb calorimeter problem. In addition to calculating heat flow, you can get a good idea of the enthalpy ... Read More

My husband has taken to carving produce for Halloween. His carved cantaloupe (jackalope... get it?) was eerie and cool, but a bit hard to illuminate with a candle. A chemiluminescent ... Read More

Can you name the most abundant element? The correct answer depends on whether we are talking about the universe or the earth. The elemental composition of the universe and the ... Read More

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) is a common flame retardant used to reduce the risk of fire in a wide variety of products, such as children's pajamas and your computer. PBDEs ... Read More

Researchers at the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been able to use mass spectrometry to identify pesticide metabolites in the saliva of rats exposed to known ... Read More

Bryan Brooks, a Baylor University toxicologist, has determined that fluoxetine (the active ingredient in the antidepressant Prozac) and a related metabolized compound are present in a lake in the Dallas ... Read More

Here's a look at some of the most popular search terms within the About Chemistry site this past week. It looks like playing with fire is popular. Have fun, but ... Read More

Do you know the chemical composition of the human body? Here's the list of elements, given in percentage according to weight.Periodic Table|Chemistry Charts & Tables

Is a burning reaction between a tattoo and magnetic resonance imaging (an MRI) based in fact or is it an urban legend? Here's the answer. Tattoo Ink Chemistry|How Things Work

This hangman chemistry game is based on the articles and information available throughout the About Chemistry website. I'll give you a hint and also the link to the article that ... Read More

Lava lamps are so cool (even though they are hot to the touch)! This is the 40th anniversary of the lava lamp, which has gone by the names of Astro ... Read More

Of course, we're not talking pencil lead. The super-hard graphite was formed by focusing an intense x-ray beam onto a small area of graphite, applying pressures on the order 170,000 ... Read More

Here's a look at some of the most popular internal searches at About Chemistry this past week. For those of you seeking the Periodic Table, there is a convenient link ... Read More

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall on the book entitled Candle and Soap Making For Dummies, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Apparently, the book ... Read More

It's been a while since I've read about a potentially positive side effect of drinking coffee (except for its well-established ability to wake me up in the morning). A group ... Read More

Over 75% of women and a growing percentage of men color their hair. Learn about what happens when you bleach hair or use natural, temporary, or permanent haircolor.Hair Color Chemistry|How ... Read More

Do you want to know how to make spooky Halloween fog? You can use water, dry ice, liquid nitrogen, or atomized glycols. Learn about the science behind the scenes in ... Read More

Historically, the lion's share of Nobel prizes in science go to U.S. researchers. This week, 6 of the 9 persons receiving Nobel prizes in science were Americans. Overall, there have ... Read More

Here's a look at the top search terms within About Chemistry. The chemistry scavenger hunt must be a popular homework assignment. Also, a very large proportion of the terms were ... Read More

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded half of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Peter Agre (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, US) “for the discovery of ... Read More

A calorimeter is a device used to measure the quantity of heat flow in a chemical reaction. Learn about two of the most common types of calorimeters, the coffee cup ... Read More

October 5-11 is Fire Prevention Week in the United States. Have you checked your smoke detector and fire extinguisher and made sure you have a planned escape route in the ... Read More

Are you looking for a job relating to chemistry? Check out these chemistry employment resources, which include salary surveys, sites that post job listings, work-from-home information, career development, and more.

Is it true that you can ignite farts? Yes, although the practice can be dangerous, as the flame could enter the colon or catch clothing aflame. Intestinal gas contains hydrogen, ... Read More

Here's a look at some of the most popular searches within About Chemistry this past week. In addition to the usual terms, there were an unusual number of searches for ... Read More

It's yet another case of 'you are what you eat'. This time, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have determined that a molecule from red ... Read More