Ebola Virus

Incredibly Fast Spreading Virus: Ebola

 Today, for my Chemistry post, I want to integrate some Biological news that is becoming one of the hottest issues  these days. It is the Ebola- a virus that is currently making people in Africa, Europe, and even in Asia afraid of being infected from the virus. Since, there were numerous news about this virus and people really don't know about the virus itself, I personally researched about it and I want to share it on my blog.

 Ebola virus, as seen in the picture above from DailyMail, Ebola is not a new virus. It was first discovered in Sudan and Congo in the mid 1970s. Despite of its early discoveries, there are no ideas of the cause nor the cures for it. However, in February, the outbreak of Ebola started to spread out in an exponential rates and unaffected countries halted all their people from traveling into infected nations. DailyMail furthermore reported that about 10,000 people have been killed by this uncertain virus. 

 Some scientists, however, think that Ebola virus might be demolished easily, saying that virus needs some type of host to be settled in a body system, but since it is rare and hard to find a new host before the old host dies, virus cannot live that long. Thankfully, the Ebola virus is not spread through the air, but through the physical touch with the affected patients. So, it is imperative for people to eschew saliva, blood or any type of contact. In addition, it would be the best idea for people to drink boiled water, and cleanse themselves after they come back from outside.

 Many scientists and researchers are now trying to make a prevention of spreading Ebola Virus by testing different vaccines to the primates. I know many people are still skeptical about the development of the vaccine, but as a strong advocate of chemistry, I just strongly hope that they make a vaccines so that every people can live in a satisfying lives.

The Chemistry of Rice

The Chemistry of Rice

  

  I love rice. I just can't live without eating rice. I think it's because I've been eating it since I was a young boy living as a Korean family. I wonder how I am going to live in America without eating it. Of course, there are American rice, but they just would not taste like the rice that I would usually eat.

  In Korea, people- usually teen girls- are quite obsessed with their complexity since Korean society is now picking people's appearances as a prime factor for many different aspects. So they tend to skip meals, thinking that the rice has too much calories, which would make them hard to lose weight. In fact, according to the Statistics, the rice consumed per family in Korea is actually dropping in fast rates even though their main dish is rice. 

In this post today, I am going to post about the chemistry about rice and how it is effective on our health.

  According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture,most rice contains about 7% of protein, and consists of Carbohydrates, and various vitamin Bs on the rest of the part. On the other hand, it is known that Vitamin A and Vitamin C are not the main minerals consisting  the rice. 

 There are many good effects of rice. First of all, it is known to lower the cholesterol in our body. Cholesterol is known for blocking our blood vessels, which would eventually lead to the high blood pressure and a shock. However, since rice is good for lowering it, it is quite important for us to eat it. In addition, as I mentioned above, rice contains many vitamins, which would allow people to have better memories and conditions.  Lastly, rice is renowned for fiber, which would allow people to digest better, and make enough energy for us to use for a day.

 Some people, of course, have different opinions about the rice consuming. But I strongly believe that rice is one of the most important food that we must consume not only for our physical health, but for our mental health. I hope, through the blog and the researches that I have done, you guys would have better understandings of effects of rice.




 

Information used from http://blog.naver.com/halvty51/220081477583
Information used from http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=579144&cid=46640&categoryId=46640

History of Chemistry (Republished)

History of Chemistry

(The post should've been posted on February 26th, but with some technical problem, the post was not poublished. So, this is the republished post.)

 

 As I have posted and mentioned several times how I much love to study Chemistry, I want to post about the history of Chemistry today. Many people think that the history of chemistry is fairy short, but they are absolutely wrong. The history of chemistry can be traced from nearly 3000 years ago, from ancient civilization.

In this post today, I hope you will get to know larger perspectives and ideas about the history of chemistry through important events that scientists have achieved.

 During 300 B.C. most people in Greece thought that the universe is consisted of a single cell, or atom. They thought that the universe was as simple as possible. However, it was Aristotle soon repudiated that idea, saying that the universe is made out of 4 main factors- fire, soil, water and air. Of course, Aristotle's idea was also wrong. However, his influence was so large, that his ideas was believed as fact until late 17th century.

 Since 17th century, the chemistry studies started to bloom. Scientists and chemists such as John Dalton, Joseph John Thompson, Henry Moseley, Rutherford, and etc. have been renowned for accomplishing many achievements in the field of chemistry.

 Nowadays, the studies of chemistry has enlarged and expanded that there are various fields for people to study in chemistry. Also, as chemistry studies advance, there have been many problems such pollution. So, I think what the chemists have to do these days is not only to improve chemical engineering but also not to affect the environments. 

My dream is to become a chemist, possibly a teacher. Since I was young, I've seen many of my friends failing to study science because they thought it was too abstruse. However, by becoming a teacher, I want to encourage future generations of students to study science by teaching with fun and active teaching skills. In addition, through experimenting and researching what I want to study- I don't know what I want to research about yet, but I am certain that i would- and achieve some great accomplishments as other chemists in the past have done.

Chemical Elements

Etymology of Chemical Elements

 For my Advanced Chemistry class at school, I had an assignment to research some element's etymology- the origin of the word. Most of the elements' names were based on Latin and Greek words, which was strange for me as learning English as a second language. Here are some examples of some of the elements' name, original name and their meanings and I thought they are quite interesting for sharing to the people through this blog post.

 As a Korean, it was really hard for me to understand chemical elements in English because the name of elements in Korean is significantly different from that in English. But, the etymology of the elements that I have learned in class have gave me a better understandings and helped me to

Antimony (Sb)

The element Antimony’s name come from the Latin word ‘Stibium’ More specifically, the current word of the element came from the Greek word ‘anti+monos’ which means ‘not alone’. 

Copper (Cu)

The word copper comes from the Latin word ‘Cuprum’, after the island of Cyprus because the Cyprus was one of the major suppliers of copper during the Roman Empire era. 

Gold (Au)

Gold was oriented from the Latin word ‘Aurum’, which means relating to gold, or gold colored.

Iron (Fe)

Iron’s elemental name comes from the Latin ‘Ferrum’, which means strong, sword, or steel.

Led (Pb)

The element Led comes from the Latin word “Plumbum” which means led. I tried to find more meaning about Plumbum, but only meaning it had was nothing but ‘led’.

Mercury (Hg)

The Latin word for Mercury is called Hydragyrum, which is reason that the symbol for Mercury is Hg. According to the online dictionary, the word Hydragyrum means liquid silver in latin. It is quite reasonable because Mercury is the only metal that exists as a liquid form, and its color looks like the color of a silver. 

Silver (Ag)

The Latin word for silver is called “Argentums” which leads Silver’s chemical symbol as Ag. There is no information founded about the origin and the meaning of Argentums but the the word ‘Silver’ derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “Seolfor".

Sodium (Na)

The origin of the name for Sodium comes from the old Latin word Natrium. Natrium is the official word that use in Korea that refers to Sodium. The meaning of Natrium is an “obsolete name for sodium” and “washing soda”.

Tin (Sn)

Tin’s rood word, Stagnum, is a Latin word that had a multiple meanings. However, most of the meanings were not reasonable and did not make any sense. There was one satisfying definition for the meaning of Stagnum, which was “alloy of silver and lead”. 

Chemistry in Tomato

Chemistry in Tomato

  Who doesn't like Tomatoes?
 Actually I don't like tomatoes. I just didn't like it since I was a little kid. My mom used to force me to eat tomatoes, saying that it is really good for my health. Back in those days, I just sneered at her opinion and ignored. I thought the tomatoes just tasted horrible - not only sour, but it has a unique flavor that was just not satisfiable for my taste. But now, as a learn chemistry and read many articles about chemistry, I now learn that my mom was actually right.  And I, these days, enjoy eating tomatoes a lot after studying and researching about them, and I want to share what I have researched about them in this blog. So, how is tomatoes related to chemistry?

 Tomatoes, first of all, are one of the most popular "vegetables"- not a fruit- in the world. Many people consume them for various reasons: for their improvement of skin, healthy body shape, and diet. Knowing the advantages of tomatoes, my parents enjoy eating them 

 One of the interesting chemicals that tomatoes contain is 'Lycopene'. Interestingly, Lycopene is a liposoluable-a substance that dissolve into fat rather than into water- substance. It does not embrace any toxins, and it does not have any odor. If we look at the chemical model for Lycopene, it is made up of only with Hydrogen and Carbon (C40H56) as shown in the picture below, and we can tell it is related to an organic chemistry. (the black circle represents Carbon atom and the white circle represents the Hydrogen atom.)

                                                                    (Chemical diagram of Lycopene)

 Lycopene has several fixed properties. When transferred and absorbed into our body, Lycopene is directly transmitted to the liver and testicles, if men ingests it. So, it is well known among experts and doctors that it is effective for preventing prostate glands certain diseases it may incur. In addition, according to some researches that scientists have done, Lycopene was substantiated that it has a potent of  about 100 times stronger than that of Vitamin E. (In fact, according to Andrew Weil, a health advisor, Vitamin E is necessary for structural and functional maintenance of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle and protects against the heart disease,cancer, and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. But, if Lycopene has 100 times affected than  Vitamin E, you would now know how strong and good Lycopene is for our lives.

  Furthurmore, there are some 'superstition' that people believe that if they grind tomatoes to make juice, the nutrients in them will be terminated. However, it is not true. If eaten as juice or a sauce, there are more possibilities the Lycopene will be absorbed into the body. So, for people who felt reluctant to drinking tomato juices, should now try some for their more healthy body.

Information credited to navercast.naver.com

Information credited to http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02813/facts-about-vitamin-e