129 articles
Biochemistry & the Chemistry of Life
Proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, DNA, enzymes and the chemistry happening inside living things.
Amylase and Starch: Timing Digestion
A school practical timing how fast amylase digests starch using iodine and a spotting tile — the chemistry, a full method, rate calculations, graphs and sources of error.
Separating Leaf Pigments by Chromatography
A school lab guide to separating chlorophylls and carotenoids from spinach by paper or thin-layer chromatography, with the chemistry, method, Rf values and sources of error.
Enzymes vs Hormones
Enzymes vs hormones compared: catalysts vs messengers, where they act, chemical types, speed, specificity, how they're controlled and how the two work together in the body.
Fats vs Oils
Fats vs oils side by side: the same triglyceride chemistry, why chain shape decides solid or liquid, sources, stability, cooking, hydrogenation and health.
How Your Body Uses Dietary Protein
What happens to the protein you eat: digestion into amino acids, absorption, essential amino acids, protein turnover, nitrogen balance, urea, and how much protein you need.
Saturated vs Unsaturated Fats
Saturated vs unsaturated fats compared: C–C vs C=C bonds, cis and trans, mono vs poly, melting points, the bromine water test, omega numbers, food sources and health.
Vitamin Myths: Megadoses and Supplements
Eight popular vitamin myths checked against chemistry: vitamin C for colds, 'you can't overdose', natural vs synthetic, more is better, and which supplements actually help.
Biochemistry Myths (Chemicals Are Bad, Natural Is Safe…)
Nine popular biochemistry myths — 'chemical-free', 'natural is safe', detox, alkaline diets, 'you are what you eat' — and what the chemistry really says.
Biomolecules Practice Questions
15 beginner practice questions on carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, food tests, condensation and hydrolysis, with a full answer key and explanations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Water in the Human Body
Why water makes up about 60% of your body: where it is, how its hydrogen bonds control temperature and dissolve nutrients, how kidneys balance it, and how much you need.
Aerobic vs Anaerobic Respiration
Aerobic and anaerobic respiration compared: equations, ATP yield, where they happen, lactic acid fermentation in muscles, alcoholic fermentation in yeast, oxygen debt, and why cells bother with a process that makes so little ATP.
The Four Major Biomolecules
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids compared: their elements, building blocks, bonds, structures, functions and food sources, with a summary table and the condensation–hydrolysis idea that links them.
The Biuret Test for Proteins
A school-lab guide to the biuret test: how copper(II) ions form a purple complex with peptide bonds, a safe method for foods, using a colorimeter to estimate protein concentration, results, limitations and sources of error.
Calcium, Phosphate and Bone Chemistry
What bones and teeth are made of: hydroxyapatite and collagen, why bone is both strong and tough, constant remodelling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts, how hormones control blood calcium, tooth enamel and acid, fluoride, and osteoporosis.
Carbohydrates: Sugars, Starch and Fibre
A beginner's guide to carbohydrates: what they are chemically, monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, how the body digests and uses them, fibre, glycaemic index, and common myths about sugar and starch.
Digestion as Chemistry: Enzymes from Mouth to Gut
A chemist's journey through the digestive system: hydrolysis of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, the enzymes at each stage, stomach acid and pH changes, bile as an emulsifier, absorption, and the fermentation work of gut bacteria.
The Chemistry of Attraction: Oxytocin, Dopamine and More
What chemistry can and can't tell us about attraction and love: dopamine and reward, oxytocin and vasopressin in bonding (and what the prairie vole studies showed), sex hormones, stress chemistry, pheromone claims, and why 'love is just chemistry' oversimplifies.
The Chemistry of Sleep: Melatonin and Adenosine
Why you feel sleepy: the two-process model of sleep, adenosine building up from ATP use and caffeine blocking its receptors, melatonin made from serotonin in darkness, cortisol and the circadian clock, orexin, sleep medicines and why screens at night matter.
The Chemistry of Taste: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter and Umami
How taste works at the molecular level: taste buds and receptor cells, the five basic tastes and the receptors and ions behind each, why sweeteners are so potent, why bitter tastes warn us, the tongue-map myth, and how smell creates flavour.
DNA vs RNA
DNA and RNA compared side by side: sugar, bases, strands, stability, location, types and jobs, with the chemistry behind each difference, why RNA is less stable, the RNA world idea and a quick-check quiz.