Chemistry in its element podcast – compounds
Telling the scientific and personal stories of the chemical compounds that make up our world
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PodcastCinnamaldehyde
How did a tree bark from Sri Lanka become one of the essential flavours of the festive season?
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PodcastAzidoazide azide
A compound so explosively unstable that nobody has been able to measure how sensitive it is without it, well, exploding
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PodcastIonic liquids
Liquid salts, ionic melts, fused salts, or ionic glasses – call them what you like, these much-hyped solvents show great promise
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PodcastChlorhexidine
An antimicrobial compound that kills bacteria and viruses quickly – found in some of the most colourful antiseptic solutions
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PodcastAsparagusic Acid
Does asparagus give you foul-smelling urine? Helen Arney investigates asparagusic acid, and the lavatorial genetic lottery that controls whether or not you can smell its distinctive aroma
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PodcastGlycyrrhizic acid
A sweet treat with a deadly trick for Halloween – glycyrrhizic acid is found in black liquorice and sweeter than sucrose, but can cause heart problems and even prove fatal if consumed in excess
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PodcastSofosbuvir
The hepatitis C drug that made waves when first launched – quicker to work and with fewer side effects than existing drugs, but it came with a hefty price tag
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PodcastBedaquiline
The first TB drug approved in 40 years gave hope to sufferers of drug resistant tuberculosis and ushered in a new class of antibiotics
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PodcastOxybenzone
This summer’s extreme weather prompts Katrina Krämer to investigate the history of sunblock and the ingredient blamed by some for bleaching coral reefs
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PodcastFavipiravir
Originally developed to treat flu and marketed in Japan as Avigan, promising Covid-19 trial results have seen countries stockpiling this medication by the millions
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PodcastTannic acid
Tannic acid in green acorns can kill wild animals and livestock, but you can prevent poisoning with pannage pigs
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PodcastRactopamine
Common in the US but banned in the EU, this animal feed additive makes for muscular pigs and beefy international trade disputes.
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PodcastHexasilabenzene
Brian Clegg discovers what a six-membered silicon ring can tell us about alien life
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Podcast2AP (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline)
Frances Addison on the aromatic compound found in both buttered popcorn and the bearcat’s scent glands, and responsible for the distinctive smell of both
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PodcastDexamethasone
News that this cheap, ubiquitous steroid drug may reduce deaths in Covid-19 cases has been greeted with cautious optimism
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