Articles by Sean
New Approaches to Peptide-Based Drugs
Pharmaceutical AbbVie’s Humira for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis recorded sales of USD 16 billion in 2016 alone. As the pharmaceutical industry as a whole looks beyond small molecules to biologicals as therapeutics, there has been increasing interest and investment in research in the biotech sector. In this post, a new approach to synthesizing small peptides is outlined, featuring an abstract written by a chemist doing active research in this area. […]
Chemistry is a Piece of Cake—The Science of Baking
When you think about it, baking involves a ton of precision: measurements, timing as well as a certain poise that all come together to yield a delectable product. All this seems remarkably similar to a chemistry experiment, yet few pastry chefs deem it necessary to understand what happens at a molecular level throughout the baking process. Well, soon enough, you’ll be one of the exceptional few! Also, what in the world is gluten? Welcome to the chemistry of baking. […]
Methane: From Cows to Greenhouse Gas
A cow farts and the earth warms; atmospheric and environmental chemistry is becoming ever more relevant in this day and age. Since the Montreal Protocol in 1989 began to phase out the use of CFCs, people have realized that global climate change is something that we are able to influence. We assess just how big of an impact greenhouse gases such as methane can have on climate change. […]
Life and Light in the Deepest Depths
If asked to imagine a place on Earth untouched by humans, your first thoughts might be to mythical utopias such as Shangri-La and the Garden of Eden. But such a place does exist, almost as inaccessible and no less mysterious: The Deep Sea. How does life kilometers under the surface of the Earth adapt to cope with this harsh environment that never sees the light of day? […]
Understanding Liquid Helium, The Superfluid
The ability of helium in its liquid state to seemingly disobey the laws of physics has been the subject of study for almost a century; what occurs is a spontaneous process in which liquid helium rises up and out of its container. Yet this phenomenon is not commonly taught in schools, or even universities for that matter. In this article, we will attempt to explain the science behind this phenomenon in the simplest terms possible. […]
Sean is a consultant for clients in the pharmaceutical industry and is a lecturer at a local university, where unfortunate undergrads are subject to his ramblings on chemistry and pharmacology.
