Aroma, Colour, & Toxicity

In late May and early June, the winding pathways of the English countryside arefestooned with the delicatewhite blooms of the elderflower. As the end of the summer eventually arrives, these blooms will have been transformed, and the bushes will be heaving under the weight of clusters of ...

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It’s reaching that point in the year where warm weekends mean it’s timefor barbecues out in the sun. Here’s a topical graphic looking at the chemistry behind barbecuing food, and the compounds behind the smoky taste and flavour.

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The second in the ‘Aroma Chemistry’ series, this graphic examinesthe smell of fresh-cut grass. This is oft-mentioned when discussions of favourite smells come up, so what are the chemical compounds behind it? Grassemits volatile organic compounds normally, even without being cut. Research has ...

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Jeder kennt den Geruch nach einem heftigen Regenschauer im Sommer - oder gar den ominösen Geruch eines aufziehenden Gewitters. Im dritten Teil der Reihe Aromachemie betrachtet diese Grafik die chemischen Verbindungen, die am meisten zu diesen Gerüchen beitragen, und wie sie entstehen.Je nachdem, ...

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Everyone’s familiar with the smell of old books, the weirdly intoxicating scent that haunts libraries and second-hand book stores. Similarly, who doesn’t enjoy riffling through the pages of a newly purchased book and breathing in the crisp aroma of new paper and freshly printed ink? As with all ...

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The summer holidays are here, which means there’ll soon be crowds flocking to the coast to spend the day at the beach. The supposed benefits of ‘fresh sea air’ are commonly extolled, but its origins might not be what you think:it’s the chemical compounds produced by algae and seaweed that ...

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The aroma of pine trees is one that’s evocative of Christmas; one of the responsible molecules, alpha-pinene, has already been featured on the Chemistry Advent Calendar, but here we take a more detailed look at the chemical constituents of the aroma. One of the most important contributors to the ...

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Today’s postmarks a slight detour for the aroma chemistry series. So far, we’ve look mainly at pleasant aromas, but today we turn to a major malodour: that of toilets, and, more specifically, human waste. It might seem like something of a childish subject, but there are some interesting chemical ...

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If you’re a dog owner, hot weather inevitably leads to wet dogs, particularly if you live near the sea, a river, or basically any other body of water that looks appealing to your canine companion. It’s probably not escaped your notice that dogs tend to smell pretty awful after getting wet. Why is ...

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The Smell of Freshly-Baked Bread

As we took a look at the complex chemistry of bread-making last week, this week it seemed to make perfect sense to look at some of the chemistry that results from putting the end result of that process into the oven! There are a host of compounds that contribute towards baked bread’s aroma; here ...

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