Crystals And Catalysts

After my previous blog post Science: It's a Girl Thing  I have decided to start a new segment where I will be featuring one scientist from different branches of science and could be male or female and provide a profile / case study dedicated to that scientist every week. This segment will be: Scientist of the Week and will be posted every Friday  commencing from Friday 6th March 2015 ! Can you guess which scientist I will be starting with?

( Disclaimer:  I maybe two or three years late, but this is still an important issue, so it wouldn't hurt to address it today.) I was “googl-ing” other science and/or chemistry blogs to read and I came across this video here: This video was published by the European Commission for a campaign designed to attract more women to a career in science. The commission said that the video had to "speak their language to get their attention" and that it was intended to be "fun, catchy" and strike a chord with young people. "I would encourage everyone to have a look at the wider campaign and the many videos already online of female researchers talking about their jobs and lives.”The original video was taken down after it received so many negative comments.

J ust recently my Instagram feed became flooded by acai bowls. Acai bowls are becoming increasingly popular day by day because of their main component: the acai berry. Acai berries are now famous for their super-power antioxidant properties and other super health benefits. Acai berry (pronounced Ah-sah-yee) is a tropical berry that comes from the Amazon region in Brazil. The purple berry grow on a palm tree; the fruit has a hard skin so therefore the fruit is pureed to a purple puree which you can drink or eat in a bowl with other fruit, called an acai bowl. So far it is known that acai can increase your antioxidant levels, boost your energy levels, support your immune system and promote a healthy digestive system.

Image from gallery-hip Everyone remembers from their childhood Popeye the sailor-man who used to eat spinach. We also know Popeye loved the green stuff, but the question is, why spinach? Was it just so he could be strong and fight of villains with one mighty-spinach-infused punch.  So what is the key element in spinach that makes it Popeye's super-food? IRON. 

Pineapple is almost everyone's favorite fruit and favorite juice. but not only is it good to consume, its also great for chemical reactions and green chemistry; cleaner ways to make pharmaceutical products.  An efficient and greener synthesis of a series of dihydropyrimidinone (DHPMs) derivatives were accomplished via three-component one-pot cyclocondensation between substituted aryl aldehydes, diketone/ke- toester and urea. This solvent free approach is totally nonpolluting having several advantages such as shorter reaction time, mild reaction conditions, simple workup and reduced environmental impact.