627 articles
All articles — Page 6
Every article in the chemistry library, newest first.
What Caffeine Does in the Body
How caffeine works: its structure, why it blocks adenosine receptors, how it's absorbed and broken down by the liver, half-life, tolerance, and how much is too much.
The Chemistry of Ageing: Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress
What free radicals are, how mitochondria produce reactive oxygen species, how they damage lipids, proteins and DNA, the body's defences, and other chemical theories of ageing.
Histamine and the Chemistry of Allergies
What happens chemically in an allergy: IgE, mast cells, histamine and its receptors, why antihistamines work, anaphylaxis and adrenaline, and common allergens explained.
What Happens Chemically When You Exercise
Follow the chemistry of a workout second by second: ATP, phosphocreatine, glycolysis, aerobic respiration, fat burning, heat, sweat and the recovery that follows.
Ghrelin, Leptin and the Chemistry of Hunger
The hormones that control appetite: ghrelin from the stomach, leptin from fat, insulin, gut peptides like GLP-1, the brain's hunger centre, and why dieting is chemically hard.
Cortisol and the Chemistry of Stress
What happens chemically when you're stressed: the fast adrenaline response, the slower cortisol response, how steroid hormones act on genes, daily rhythms and long-term effects.
The Immune System as Chemistry: Antibodies and Antigens
The immune system explained through molecules: antigens and epitopes, antibody structure, binding forces, complement, the oxidative burst, and how lateral flow tests use antibodies.
Venoms and Toxins: How They Attack the Body
How venoms work chemically: neurotoxins that block nerve signals, enzymes that destroy tissue, blood-clotting toxins, how antivenom works, and the medicines born from venom.
How We See: Retinal and a Single Double Bond
Vision begins when one photon flips one cis double bond in retinal. Follow the photochemistry, the G-protein cascade, colour vision and the vitamin A cycle.
Collagen: The Body's Most Abundant Protein
The chemistry of collagen: the Gly-X-Y repeat, the triple helix, why vitamin C matters, cross-links, gelatin, ageing, and what collagen supplements really do.
CRISPR: The Chemistry of Gene Editing
How CRISPR–Cas9 edits DNA at the molecular level: guide RNA base pairing, the PAM, R-loops, the two nuclease domains, DNA repair, base and prime editing, and the limits.
Extracting DNA from Strawberries
A safe classroom practical to extract visible DNA from strawberries with detergent, salt and cold alcohol — with the chemistry of every step, results and sources of error.
DNA and RNA Chemistry Practice
14 practice questions on nucleotide structure, base pairing, Chargaff's rules, replication, transcription, the genetic code, mutations and DNA calculations, with worked answers.
How Drugs Are Designed: Receptors, Binding and Shape
How medicinal chemists design drugs: targets, binding forces, shape and chirality, structure–activity relationships, ADME, Lipinski's rules and famous examples.
Electrolytes in the Body: Sodium, Potassium and Chloride
What electrolytes are, why sodium, potassium and chloride sit on opposite sides of cell membranes, how they power nerves and muscles, and what happens when levels go wrong.
Enzymes Practice Questions
14 exam-style enzyme questions — active sites, temperature and pH, inhibition, Michaelis–Menten, Lineweaver–Burk, rate calculations and practical design — with full answers.
Food Tests: Starch, Sugar, Protein and Fat
A school lab guide to the four classic food tests — iodine, Benedict's, biuret and the emulsion test — with the chemistry, method, expected results and errors.
The Genetic Code: Chemistry of Information
How a four-letter chemical alphabet codes for proteins: codons, the codon table, tRNA and base pairing, wobble, start and stop signals, mutations and how the code was cracked.
Keratin: The Chemistry of Hair and Nails
How keratin builds hair and nails: coiled α-helices, sulfur-rich disulfide bridges, and the chemistry behind straightening, perms, bleaching, dyeing and wet hair.
Ketosis: The Chemistry of Burning Fat
What ketone bodies are, how the liver makes them from fatty acids, why the brain can use them, the difference between nutritional ketosis and ketoacidosis, and 'keto breath'.
The Kidneys as Chemical Filters
How the kidneys clean blood: filtration by size and charge, selective reabsorption, urea from the ornithine cycle, acid–base control, hormones, kidney stones and dialysis.
Lactic Acid and Muscle Soreness: Myth vs Chemistry
Lactic acid is blamed for the burn and next-day soreness. Here are eight common myths about lactate, and what the chemistry of muscle actually shows.
Melanin: The Chemistry of Skin Colour
How melanin is made from tyrosine, why eumelanin and pheomelanin differ, how it absorbs UV, why skin tans, and the chemistry behind freckles, albinism and grey hair.
Metabolism Practice Questions
12 advanced practice questions on glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, ATP yields, Gibbs energy, fat oxidation, RQ and photosynthesis, with full worked answers.
Nutrition Myths: What Chemistry Says
Ten popular nutrition myths checked against chemistry: calories, carbs at night, 'negative-calorie' foods, sea salt, MSG, microwaves, egg cholesterol, protein and more.
Pharmacology Basics for Chemistry Students
The chemistry behind how medicines act: agonists and antagonists, dose–response curves, half-life, pKa and absorption, metabolism, and the therapeutic index.
What Happens to Sugar in Your Body
Follow sugar from mouth to cell: digestion of sucrose and starch, glucose absorption, insulin and glucagon, glycogen, fructose in the liver, and what happens with too much.
Teaching Biomolecules: Food Tests and Models
A teaching guide for biomolecules: a three-lesson outline, food-test practicals, model-building activities, misconceptions to expect and questions to check understanding.
Teaching DNA as a Chemical
A teaching guide that treats DNA as a molecule: a three-lesson plan with extraction, paper and bead models, base-pairing chemistry, electrophoresis, misconceptions and questions.
Teaching Enzymes With Practicals
A teaching guide for enzymes: a four-lesson sequence built around catalase, amylase and trypsin practicals, models, misconceptions to expect and graded questions.