Champagne Bubbles Liberate Flavor Compounds

Olivia Estes                                                  Chemistry/block C  

9/30/09                                                       Mr. Ippolito

Matson, John. “Champagne bubbles liberate flavor compounds” Scientific American. September 29 2009.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=champagne-bubbles-smell

After pouring a glass of champagne the bubbles that are penetrating through the glass of champagne also carry compounds that trigger smell receptors and bring them to the surface of the sparkling wine and then squirt them upward. Although champagne is thought of as the only sparkling wine this mechanism occurs in many other wines. During the study of this theory the researchers analyzed the chemical makeup of the wine and the droplets above the liquids surface by adding an additional component structure. These droplets are referred to as aerosols. An aerosol is a gaseous suspension of a fine solid or liquid particle. The aerosols cascade upward into tiny Bubbles of suspended carbon dioxide, which escalate to the surface of the champagne and then explode. A typical 0.75-liter bottle of champagne can hold the amount of five liters of CO₂ gas, which is enough to form tens of millions of bubbles, estimated by the study author. The chemistry of the champagne aerosols are sufficiently different than the chemistry of the liquid champagne itself. The aerosols contain a surface-active compound that is chemically attracted to interfaces between gases and liquids-some of which contribute in assigning the aroma of wine. Surface-active molecules are drawn to the gas-liquid boundary of the champagne bubbles, which are bubbles of CO₂ gas surrounded by liquid, and are then released upward to the surface when the bubble rises. When the bubbles burst, the surface-active compounds are thrusted numerous centimeters into the area where they can reach the nostrils of the consumer. "They are projected into the form of these aerosols, which are overconcentrated with surface-active molecules, some of them showing aromatic properties," Liger-Belair says.  

I chose this article because I found it very interesting in that it educated me about the process in which the aroma of the champagne is produced. This is why champagne is often used in celebration as it not only tastes good but also smells good. Because of the scent of champagne, society widely drinks it and it probably wouldn’t be as popular without its well-known smell.

My criticism for this article is that it was hard to understand because of the scientific terminology that was not yet in my vocabulary. The explanations could have been written to better suite a wider audience rather than those with a scientific background. Although the topic of the article to be interesting I still found the writing of it could have been improved. 

New Species Discovered In The Greater Mekong At Risk Of Extinction Due To Climate Change

Jackie Faselt

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927151724.htm

Review:

This well written article is about the many exotic new spices being discovered in Greater Mekong, an areas that consist of parts of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Southwestern China. Since 2008, 163 new spices have been discovered. Some of these new species are unique and interesting. One new type of animal that is shown in this article is a fanged frog that eats birds. There have also been new plants that have been discovered that have never been seen before in the world. Unfortunately because of climate change these new discovered animals might not survive in the future. The Mekong River Delta will be affected greatly by saltwater intrusion on the coastlines. This creates a problem of major animal and plant extinction. To solve this problem the head of the WWF Global Climate Initiative will talk with the UN to see if any improvements can be made.

This articles talks about a problem that will affect the whole world. Climate change is very a prevalent topic in our world for a reason. Because this area has so many new spices it would be a shame if so many spices would be left undiscovered because they could go extinct form a changing environment. I also think that new plants can be discovered they might hold new medicines that would be able to cure diseases but if they never have a chance to be found then lives could be lost. I think it is import for every one to try to slow the effects of global warming so we can protect all of the species and animals and plants, discovered or undiscovered so they can have a chance to thrive.

I think this article was relatively well written. I like that this article was easy to fallow and had lots of detail. The writer used good language that was easy for me to fallow and I was able to understand almost the entire article. One of the problems with this article is that some abbreviations for programs where not defined which would have made the article better.

With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing a More Colorful World

Chem Brooke Bonfiglio
Current Events 9/24/09

With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing A More Colorful World
By: Nicholas Wade

This article, With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing A More Colorful World, is mainly about the vision in which monkeys have and why they have limited vision. Tests were recently done in the lab of the Neitz on two squirrel monkeys, Dalton and Sam, to detect their vision limitations. The Neitzes currently have endowed these two male squirrel monkeys with the ability to see the world in full color vision. Male squirrel monkeys like, Sam and Dalton only have two color pigments unlike humans who have three opsins or color pigments. The Neitzes with colleagues were able to give them color vision by using the technique of gene therapy to give monkeys, in the cone cells of their retina’s, a missing red pigment. For example after this test was done in a few months Sam and Dalton were fully capable of telling an orange from a lemon. They of course could not report they saw in color but through performances on eye-color test we know their vision is now full colored. The way in which this third opsin affected the monkey’s vision is, the extra opsin would have changed the signal affected cones and sends a message from the retina to the visual cortex of the brain. In other words the extra opsin would be transferred through the mind and alerted in the visual part of the brain.
Another scientist, a molecular biologist Dr. Nathans said this monkey experiment would help researches understand the analyzing of color in the monkey brain. And after they had figured this out then move onto how the cells in the monkeys’ visual cortex respond to the new signals being sent from the retina.
Lastly this experiment was to figure out a way in which new world monkeys could have color vision. New world monkeys had ancestors who were from about 150 million years ago who split of from old world monkeys before full color developed therefore causing monkeys like Sam and Dalton difficulty in having more than two visual pigments. Although there is a chance of the two pigments male monkeys only receive one either green or red or a blue shade depending on what gene is inherited. On the other hand female monkeys have full vision because the red green opsin lies on chromosome X which females inherit automatically the green/red pigment because one from each parent and the blue pigment because it is on another chromosome. Unlucky for males their genes only allows them to inherit one variant of the green/red pigment because they get passed on one X chromosome.

This article affects humanity in many ways in which you would never think an article about a monkey could. Primates are a significant part of our evolution and therefore by learning about the under developments and in capabilities monkeys like the spider monkeys Sam and Dalton have we learn about our development and what was done differently. From this article scientist can see how we were able to develop full color vision unlike monkeys and why only certain genes are passed on. I personally believe this article can help the understanding of why some features of ours more sophisticated with proof now.

This article although I believed contained important information it was poorly written. I believe Nicholas Wade used many advanced vocabulary words in which I did not know and therefore had difficulty comprehending the entire article. I also realized the amount of scientific terminology there was in here and how I knew minimal amounts. The article also involved little about the two monkeys in which they have a large picture of and contain in the title. I was upset by this because the article was purely lab related and experimental and no interesting relation to the anything else in the world. So without the relation to anything else I had a hard time reading this without being confused a majority of it.

Wade, Nicholas . "With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing a More Colorful World." New York Times 21 Sep. 2009: 1-3. Web. 24 Sep. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/science/22gene.html?_r=1&ref=science>.

In Surprise, Moon Shows Signs of Water

Allison Cane September 24, 2009
Chemistry Current Events

CHANG, KENNETH. “In Surprise, Moon Shows Signs of Water” New York Times
September 23, 2009
< http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/science/space/24moon.html?_r=1&ref=science>


Three spacecrafts have indicated signs of water on the moon. Although it is not the kind of water we are used to, it is called hydroxyl. This is a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom, as apposed to two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The moon has always been thought of as a dry planet, even ice cold on the dark side. But where there are permanently shadowed craters, by the poles of the moon, there have been signs of hydrogen, according to NASA. If there is water on the moon, that could make future settlement of the Moon easier. Oxygen is a key component for breathable air for astronauts, and hydrogen and oxygen could also possibly be used for rocket fuel and power generation. Similar discoveries were made decades ago on other missions, but were written off as accidents. The thought is that water is being created when protons from the solar wind slam into the lunar surface.
This discovery, written about in this article, really does mean a lot to the future history of humanity. If there is water on the moon, this means that living beings can survive on it. We could, in the future, start to settle on the moon, and do further experiments to gather information about it. If there is oxygen, which is need to make the air, then there is breathable air for astronauts and future humans. Also if there is hydrogen + oxygen it can be used for rocket fuel or power generation. Breathable air, power generation, water, and fuel are all very important components to a civilization. This discovery also impacts humanity because if we have just found water on the moon, then we could have missed other living things on other planets. We need to explore more, and be open to any idea.
I liked this article a lot. It was interesting, because I didn’t know, along with many others, that there was water on the moon, or that we had previously found water on the moon, and passed it up. Also it did not wonder off into other, unneeded, ideas. In a lot of other articles, the will go off rambling about confusing and unneeded details, or stories. It stayed right to the point and told the reader all of the details that were needed. The only thing I would change about this article is that it did not illustrate how water is made with a modified number of molecules of hydrogen, I always thought that water was only made with a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen and oxygen.

"U.N. Sets an Example by Offsetting Its Carbon Emissions"- Current Events

U.N. Sets an Example by Offsetting its Carbon Emissions"

Amanda Austi                                                                        9-23-09

Chemistry Lab 9                                                               Current Events

 

“U.N. Sets an Example by Offsetting Its Carbon Emissions”

 

          Recently, the United Nations had its summit meeting in which it generated a huge dose of greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of this week was to reduce the global emissions that have been linked to global warming. With a new and expanding program, the UN calculated that the meeting would engineer 461 tons of carbon dioxide, by using air travel. To do this, they bought carbon offsets. The offsets are designed to cancel out the carbon dioxide emissions created by airline travel, or drying by financing green projects. By doing this, they are able to eliminate as much CO2 as polluting activities produce. The emissions are directing money to a power project in Andhra Pradesh, India. The U.N. first tried the offsets two years ago, and now over time they have become more sophisticated. Although this is a great way to help the environment, it is very difficult too. This is because it is hard to monitor how the money for offsets is used and to calculate how much carbon dioxide is actually saved. But it is a great project that the United Nations is working on.

 

         In this article, the main goal is to help the environment, by using carbon offsets to clean up the polluted air. This helps humanity because it shows that the U.N. is taking action on saving our habitat, which is shown because the Clean Development Mechanism now certifies it. But, it really affects humanity in the poor part of rural India, because it is brought jobs and electricity there. Making this possible for India, is one of the main goals of the United Nations. I think that this article affects my life, because it shows that the U.N. is saving our environment, and is the hope that we will once have a clean and healthy habitat, and that global warming will soon end its course.

 

         By reading this article, I have learned about our environment, in particular global warming, and the projects our world is going about it. I think that this article was written very well, because I learned something from it, and goal of the article was very well addressed. I thought it was written well because it showed the pros and cons of the carbon emissions. But what I didn’t like about the article was the fact that the author didn’t discuss previous projects that the U.N. has attempted in saving our environment. But, overall I thought this article was very clear, well organized, and beneficial.

 

 

 

CITATION:

 

Rosenthal , Elisabeth . "U.N. Sets An Example by Offsetting Its Carbon Emissions ." The New York Times 23 Sep. 2009: 1+. Web. 24 Sep. 2009

 

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"Ice Cream May Target The Brain Before Your Hips

Works Cited:

UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Ice Cream May Target The Brain Before Your Hips, Study Suggests." ScienceDaily 19 September 2009. 23 September 2009 /releases/2009/09/090914110533.htm>.

Clara Barth 9/23/09

Chemistry Current Events Article

Everyone knows that if you eat too much ice cream, you’ll get fat. But what you probably don’t know is that when you eat something good and fatty, that you really like the taste of, the fats in the food actually send messages to your brain saying that you aren’t full yet, so you keep eating. At least that’s what a recent study from UT Southwestern Medical Center suggests. "Normally, our body is primed to say when we've had enough, but that doesn't always happen when we're eating something good," said Dr. Deborah Clegg. Your brain will get “hit” by the fatty acids in the food, and become resistant to insulin and leptin. Insulin and leptin are what normally tell your brain when you’ve had enough to eat. But because of the absence of these “senses” in your brain, you will probably overeat when eating fatty foods. In tests done on lab animals, they found that palmitic acid – a fatty acid found in foods such as cheese, milk, beef, and butter – especially triggered the illusion in your brain of not being full. The study claims that most saturated fats will have this affect on you. One of the main problems is, though, that the affects happen in your brain much faster than they will in visible parts of your body. In other words, you will see signs of obesity long after the mechanism is triggered in the brain. “The next step, Dr. Clegg said, is to determine how long it takes to reverse completely the effects of short-term exposure to high-fat food.”

This article, entitled “Ice Cream May Target The Brain Before Your Hips”, obviously discusses the problem of obesity. It says that obesity is really a problem in your brain, stating that when you eat high-fat foods, you are actually more likely to overeat than you would be if you eat less-fatty foods. Anyone who has a sweet tooth might have this problem, and probably even notice it. Obesity is a big problem in this country, and we didn’t even know it was a problem that all probably resulted in a misreading by your brain. The big problem with the food in this country is that we love to pack it with fat. If you put lots of fat into foods, then people want them more and more, without realizing that they’re full when they’re eating them. Perhaps all the fast-food chains and junk food companies knew this already, and it’s all just part of their marketing scheme to get you to eat more of their foods. But regardless of weather or not they knew about it, we all know about it now. We now have the advantage of waiting and thinking of weather or not we’re actually full, if we really want that last Oreo or not.

Personally, I didn’t like the article very much. I thought that the content and the subject matter were very interesting, but the actual article wasn’t written very well. Some of the information they put it was confusing to the average person, as they used terminology that I didn’t understand, and they didn’t explain. I didn’t feel that the article ended very well because I thought, after I finished it, that there was more to read and that I had missed something. But the topic the article covered was very interesting.

-Clara Barth

H1N1 Vaccine

Henry Arcano                                                                                                            9/21/09

Current Events                                                                                                Chemistry

  The recent outbreak of H1N1 virus has countries scrambling to get some of the vaccine for the flu that is being created by scientists. But are Americans obligated to protect people in other countries? That is the center of the debate on whether to use adjuvants in the vaccine that the US is going to use to stop the advance of the H1N1 virus, also known as Swine Flu. The world is facing possible shortages of vaccine because many of the richer countries are contracting for a lot of the vaccine. Not only can adjuvants lessen the dose needed for a vaccine, but they also can increase the potency of a vaccine.  However, if adjuvants, which can make the vaccine more effective and allow more of it to be created for the poorer nations of the world.  Despite the fact that there are no known health risks, the adjuvants aren’t being used in the US because there is some uncertainty in using them. The fears are that with the uncertainty of the adjuvants, the public may be dissuaded from getting the vaccine. But America will have to get used to adjuvants pretty soon. Adjuvants are probably going to be the future of vaccines because many of the new vaccines simply don’t work well without any adjuvants. The adjuvant created with aluminum salts, alum, is the only adjuvant being used in the US after 80 years. Flu and bird flu shots with adjuvants have been in use in Europe for years, unlike the US. An adjuvant was needed in the bird flu vaccine because without adjuvants, the vaccines wouldn’t work well. Because officials thought swine flu might be the same, federal officials ordered 700 million dollars of adjuvants. However, the FDA is not allowing the adjuvants to be used except in emergencies, despite the fact that the vaccines with adjuvants would only need one fourth of the vaccine used in a regular vaccine. The FDA has stayed by their decision, despite the evidence that there is no reason to do so because they believe that adjuvants may cause autoimmune disease.

            The information in this article affects humanity in general because if all countries used adjuvants, then there would be enough vaccines for the poorer countries of the world. But with many wealthy countries contracting regular vaccines, there will be a shortage of vaccines in the poorer countries of the world. Those countries will have to receive the vaccines later on, as there is a clear shortage of vaccine supplies. We Americans will be using the regular vaccine, without an adjuvant.

            I believe that this article was not only clear and well written, but that it also made excellent explanations of all the terms that I didn’t understand. For example, I had no idea what an adjuvant was, or had even heard of it, but now I know that an adjuvant is an addition to a vaccine that is needed when not all parts of a pathogen in a vaccine are used. I now know the importance of adjuvants and why they are not being used in the US and why they are being used elsewhere. However, the article did not do a good job explaining what an adjuvant contains, for I still do not know.

 

Pollack, Andrew. "Benefit and Doubt in Vaccine Addictive." The New York Times 21 Sep. 2009. Web. 22 Sep. 2009 .

NASA Unveils New Images From Repaired Hubble Telescope

Chemistry Declan Considine
Article Review in September 9/21/09
Overbye, Dennis. "NASA Unveils New Images From Repaired Hubble Telescope." NY Times 2009. Web. 21 Sep. 2009 .

This article tells us about a space mission in which astronauts in May installed a new camera lens in the 19 year old Hubble space telescope. Also, last Wednesday, NASA reviled new pictures from the Hubble, including a high resolution photo of a dying star emitting gas clouds in the shape of a butterfly. Overbye discusses how important it is that the Hubble is put under repair, and what kind of things the Hubble is helping Astronomers find.
The Hubble greatly affects the world in general because it has shown images of the far universe that no other telescope could. Also, it is now helping scientists study dark matter which is unknown matter at the edge of the universe. Also, the main reason the Hubble is important is that it can see much farther than any earth based telescope because our atmosphere interferes with image resolution, and entirely blocks certain things such as ultraviolet rays, that are frequently measured by the Hubble. These images have also helped increased public interest in NASA which has sagged since the Mission to Mars. One extremely exciting image was one found by Paul G. Kalas of the University of California and his colleagues which was a planet orbiting the star Formalhaut.
I think this article is very insightful and has a rightful place in the Science Times. This is because it discusses the primary uses of the Hubble, why its upkeep is important, and what the most recent discoveries have been. Also, I think it’s important that we know what’s going on at NASA since they are spending billions of taxpayer dollars and we should be aware of their success and progress.

Why Flamingos Stand on One Leg

Chemistry Current Events 9/22/09 Cyrus Adamiyatt

Thompson, Andrea. "Why Flamingos Stand on One Leg." msnbc.msn.com MSNBC, 17 Sep. 2009. Web. 19 Sep. 2009 .

Flamingos are known for their awkward standing on one leg. In this article theories of why this is were discussed and explored. Many people had wondered why flamingos stood in such a way, but it had never been explored before. That is, until Matthew Anderson a psychologist at St. Joseph’s University decided to find out. At first it was thought that the one legged posture helped reduce muscle fatigue and that it was crucial to maintenance of body temperature. Scientists thought that standing on one leg prevented the stiffening of both legs and therefore the flamingo would be able to move faster in the event of a predator approaching. To test the muscle fatigue theory researchers watched flamingos and timed how long it took for them to start moving from a one legged and two legged stance. For the theory to be true the birds should be able to move faster form a one legged position. The birds though, were faster coming off two legs, which proved the theory to be untrue. The other explanation was for thermoregulation. It was a theory because birds lose significant temperature in the legs and feet, and keeping one leg up would enhance the retaining of body heat. To put the idea to the test the team noted weather and temperature conditions when the flamingos were in resting position. It was found birds would stand on two feet when warmer and one foot when it was cooler. It appears as of now that flamingos stand on one leg to conserve heat because they spend a lot of time in water.

This article affects humanity because it adds to the knowledge of people. After reading this article I now know why flamingos stand on one leg. Now if I am ever asked by someone why this is I can tell them a real scientific answer. I am sure many people have wondered why it is that flamingos stand on one leg. Reading this article allows me and others to be able to answer their questions. It affects my life because I have always wondered why flamingos stood in such a position. Now I know the reasoning for this absurd resting position.

I thought this article was very well written. Before reading this article I had very little knowledge of the flamingo. All I knew was that it was odd that it stood on one foot. The writer did a very good job of explaining a complicated theory in a very simple way and explaining the entire idea without making the article too lengthy. He also did a great job of identifying unusual terms and defining them. He defined thermoregulation and if he had not done so I would not have understood much of the article. I do think though that the writer could have elaborated more on a few other theories. Only two were described, but I would liked to have heard about a few more theories that were disproved or still remain unsolved. All in all I liked the way the article as written and I thought it was successful in teaching me a lot about flamingos and their strange one footed stance.

Chemistry Change in Batteries Could Make for Safer Electric Cars

Alex Adrian 9/20/09

Chemistry Current Events

Works Cited

Mandel, Jenny. “Chemistry Change in Batteries Could Make for Safer Electric Cars.” The New York Times 24 Aug. 2009: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 20 Sept. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/‌gwire/‌2009/‌08/‌24/‌24greenwire-chemistry-change-in-batteries-could-make-for-s-34626.html?scp=2&sq=chemistry&st=cse>.

Commonly used objects like cell phones, laptops, and vehicles are all powered by a lithium-based battery which are subject to overheating and also blowing up. One gram of a new substance can be added which will sustain a cool temperature for our batteries which will prevent us from having to buy a new battery! Two geniuses named Khalil Amine and Zonghai Chen, who work at Argonne National Laboratory, have developed a molecule to do such. This molecule will be added to the electrolytes of lithium batteries resulting in the batteries voltage staying low. Having this quickly and easily added to your battery will only cost $100 to $200 saving you a lot of time and money. This molecule is reliable and will be responsible for keeping your electronics working smoothly instead of powering down after being in use for a long time.

Imagine a life without having to let your computer or cell phone cool down which will allow you to continue using it for a long period of time. Having the molecule added to your battery will affect your life overall. Your cell phone would always be working whenever you need it and you will not need to let it cool down after a long day of phone calls or texting. Also when you do your homework on your laptop that too will not need a rest because it has been in use for too long. My life would be changed because I will get things done faster without having to let my electronics take a break. Also, having one of these molecules will prevent me from having to buy an entire new battery! Just purchasing this addition to your battery will save you time and money down the road.

This article written by Jenny Mandel for the New York Times was a clearly written article. There was some science terminology that was incomprehensible for me so that made this read a little bit difficult at times but I could understand the gist of it. The author kept me sort of interested throughout the reading. Because the article was not too long she didn’t ramble on and on. I did get uninterested when she talked about how the molecules were formed. Another thing that I noticed is that the title “Chemistry Change in Batteries Could Make for Safer Electric Cars” would make you think that you will read specifically about how the molecules will make for safer electric cars but the article only briefly talked about how the molecules could impact cars. It mainly focused on how the molecules could help cell phones and computers or other small electronics. But, on the other hand I would suggest this article to people because we can get something out of it. We all use electronics so this article was a fascinating read for me.

~Alex Adrian