In the 19th century, a healthy fraction of the worlds attention revolved around poop. More specifically, bird turd islands.
From a modern frame of reference, this certainly raises a few questions:
So what gives, why the poop obsession?
Continue readingThe use of radioactive compounds as medicines is starting to have it’s moment in the sun. Currently over 60 of these radiopharmaceuticals are approved worldwide, primarily for the purpose of diagnosing and treating cancer. Billion dollar acquisitions have a funny way of getting investors excited, though the specialized nature of these compounds leaves many companies struggling to fill a “significant talent shortage.” Of course, the story of radioactivity in medicine didn’t begin with billion-dollar deals, it began with the curious case of uranium.
Our story begins in 1789, when the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth decided to take a deeper look at what was essentially mining waste. A self taught expert in mineral analysis, Klaproth was busy doing analytical chemistry before it was cool. The hipsters among us may know him for his work on zirconium, but his early work on uranium is definitely one of his greatest hits. Klaproth had started some early work on the mineral torbernite, but eventually switched to working on a mineral that gold and silver miners knew well: pitchblende. This black substance typically meant that the gold and silver had been exhausted and that it was time to move elsewhere.
Continue readingThere are some things humans do better than bacteria. We, generally, are better at writing novels and constructing screenplays. That said some individuals are only marginally better at communicating their needs to others. Some bacteria communicate quite effectively chemically, while some people may not have such a record for clarity.
There is one area bacteria, such as E. coli and Bacillus subtilis, indisputably have us beat and that is in metabolism. These organisms can take a few simple salts, a carbon source (sugar), and just a few trace metals on the glass wear and readily grow. You or I … not so much. Though I’m sure if you carbonate that mixture and ad caffeine it would probably make a simply disgusting energy drink. You could market it as “Basal Media: It’s got what bacteria crave.”
Continue readingI’ve never done LSD. It’s not that I haven’t had the time, it’s just I’ve never really had a desire to have hallucinations. I have enough trouble keeping track of what size bed sheets I need to buy. I am pretty sure auditory and visual hallucinations would just induce me to buy extra king sized sheets for my queen sized bed.
Despite my reluctance, there is definitely a market for psychedelic drugs. There is even a recent trend to write articles about how taking low doses of LSD might enhance work performance, make you more creative, and save your marriage. To be perfectly honest Continue reading
The Retro Scientist 
