Molecular architect

EDUCATION

Samantha Smith of the University of Toronto­ is devising­ new catalysts and ligands­ to enhance the creation of chemicals in industry and the pharmaceutical sector.  Samantha Smith sees many similarities between an architect who designs buildings and a chemist who undertakes molecular architecture. Smith, who is nearing the end of her PhD studies in organometallic...

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Dangerous chemicals lurk in holistic medicine

CHEMFUSION

Divide some laboratory rabbits into three groups. Feed one group normal rabbit chow, the second group a high-cholesterol diet and the third a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with 0.2 percent curcumin. After eight weeks take blood samples, sacrifice the bunnies and examine their aortas for atherosclerotic deposits. That’s a typical animal experiment to test the potential...

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A teaching moment

EDUCATION

College and university professors need to collaborate­ with high school teachers­ to better prepare students for post-secondary education. First off, let me say how absolutely fabulous it was to receive the 2017 Beaumier Award for High School/CEGEP Chemistry Teachers. It is a huge honour that will stop me from slacking off any time soon. To...

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CSC celebrates 100 years of chemistry in Toronto

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Canada’s premiere chemistry event, the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, celebrated 100 years this past May in Toronto, attracting 3,500 attendees from more than 50 countries and chemical society representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and China. Nobel laureate John Polanyi, HFCIC, of the University of Toronto...

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Driven Snow

CLASS DISTINCTION

At the Newfoundland and Labrador Boreal Ecosystem Latitudinal Transect (NL-BELT) more than two dozen scientists and graduate students...

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The fancy fast-food wrapping that gets a bad rap

CHEMFUSION

We feel a bit guilty biting into a hamburger, pizza or hotdog. They comfort the taste buds but not the body, with all the fat, salt, cholesterol and various additives. There is another issue: fast-food packaging. The hamburger is wrapped in some form of paper, fries come in a cardboard container and pizza is delivered...

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