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Want to cuddle? Personality is likely to get you further than oxytocin.

10 Dec 2021

Why do people cuddle? According to a slew of media reports, that answer lies in oxytocin, dubbed either the 鈥渃uddle chemical鈥 or the 鈥渓ove hormone.鈥 English pharmacologist and neurophysiologist Sir...

The Sweet and Sticky Science of Sugar

3 Dec 2021

Sugar is sweet and sticky.聽聽That鈥檚 a fact.聽聽In fact, during the reign of Edward the Confessor in the early eleventh century, "ale tasters" were employed to check on the work of brewers.聽聽They would...

Would the Lone Ranger鈥檚 silver bullets have tarnished?

26 Nov 2021

We do get some interesting questions. The Lone Ranger was a television series that ran from 1949 to 1957 and recounted the adventures of a former Texas Ranger who with his companion, the Native...

What is Rayon?

19 Nov 2021

Cellulose is the most abundant organic chemical in the world, being the structural component of the cell wall of green plants. In terms of molecular structure, it is composed of anywhere from...

The Word 鈥淐isgender鈥 Has Scientific Roots

13 Nov 2021

In 2015, the Oxford English Dictionary added the word 鈥渃isgender鈥 to its ever-evolving listing. It defines the adjective as 鈥渄esignating a person whose sense of personal identity and gender...

Leprosy and Its Stigma Are Both Curable

6 Nov 2021

How is an infectious agent transmitted? How does it jump from person to person and sometimes from animal to person? We can breathe it in or swallow it. We can get bitten or scratched, or rub...

Chemical Witchcraft in Salem

28 Oct 2021

Could there be a more interesting place to visit on Halloween than Salem, Massachusetts?聽聽The town's stores are filled with witch memorabilia, witches are ready to tell fortunes and a sound and...

Happy Ether Day!

22 Oct 2021

This past week on October 16 we celebrated National Ether Day. If you missed it, here is why you should not have. Rarely does a single event alter the course of medicine, but that is exactly what...

Is it true that the Beatles wrote a song about LSD?

15 Oct 2021

"Tangerine trees and marmalade skies" are to be found in the lyrics of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," one of the Beatles' greatest hits. Some have claimed that the first letters of Lucy, Sky and...

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