Orbitals

The American Chemical Society

From antibiotic resistance to Roaring Twenties poisonings to body farms, you can find chemistry—and a good story—anywhere. Every month writer and host, Sam Jones, PhD, takes on a chemistry tale you didn't know you needed to know.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

46 episodes
Updated Dec 30, 2021

Episodes46

Newest first

Feb 26, 2021 · 17 min
🧪 Solutions 102 | Natural Plant Extracts: From Imposters to Invaluable Ingredients
Natural extracts are in everything from food to medicine to beauty products. But how do we know which molecules from the natural world have benefits? And how can we verify that the ingredients advertised on the outside of the bottle are actually what's on the inside? We'll talk with three scientists who answer those questions with an unlikely case study: shampoo. Solutions is made with funding and featuring scientists from 3M, Ascend Performance Materials, Baker Hughes, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, PPG, Royal DSM, SABIC, Solvay, and W. L. Gore & Associates, none of whom influenced any editorial decisions.
Feb 11, 2021 · 11 min
Can We Make Baby Formula As Good As Breast Milk? | Orbitals 401
Dr. Steven Townsend is a professor of Organic Chemistry at Vanderbilt University, studying the chemistry of breast milk—what makes it so good for babies, and why that's so hard to replicate in infant formula. Dr. Townsend's interest in the field came from a personal experience he had almost a decade ago, walking around New York City with his pregnant wife and seeing inequalities in who was being marketed what information.
Jan 28, 2021 · 19 min
🧪 Solutions 101 | How Eggplants Inspired Sustainable Paint
Welcome to the first episode of Solutions, an Orbitals spin-off podcast for 2021! We need to move people and stuff around the globe, but the options we have to do that aren't great for our planet, and we're the ones who are going to feel those effects. We're talking with experts who are trying to make transportation more sustainable with innovative solutions like temperature reducing paint and new materials to make cars lighter. Solutions is hosted by Alex Dainis, PhD, produced by Mike Rugnetta and George Zaidan, and edited by Garrett Crow. Music and sound design by Michael Simonelli and fact checking by Michelle Boucher, PhD. The Solutions executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. Solutions is made with funding and featuring scientists from 3M, Ascend Performance Materials, Baker Hughes, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, PPG, Royal DSM, SABIC, Solvay, and W. L. Gore & Associates, none of whom influenced any editorial decisions.
Jan 25, 2021 · 1 min
Introducing Solutions: An Orbitals spin-off podcast | BONUS episode
Introducing Solutions, a fun new Orbitals spin-off podcast hosted by Dr. Alex Dainis. Every month of 2021, we'll be releasing an episode that will give you a front row seat to chemists in industry today—the work they do and how it can solve problems in our lives. We've teamed up with chemical companies from around the world to talk about everything from airplane paint inspired by eggplants to new drug delivery systems that can deposit medication only where it's needed. Can't wait for you to listen! Solutions will be made with funding and featuring scientists from 3M, Ascend Performance Materials, Baker Hughes, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, PPG, Royal DSM, SABIC, Solvay, and W. L. Gore & Associates, none of whom influenced any editorial decisions.
Dec 21, 2020 · 19 min
The Pesticide That Launched the EPA | Orbitals 309
In the first half of the 20th century, there were very few environmental laws in the United States. Then, in 1962, environmentalist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, opening the eyes of many Americans to the environmental destruction and detrimental impacts on human health caused by unchecked toxic chemical use and industrial waste. One of those chemicals was the highly effective synthetic insecticide DDT. 8 years later, the Environmental Protection Agency was created.
Nov 17, 2020 · 11 min
Preventing COVID-19: The Science and Scientists Behind Protective Equipment | Orbitals 308
As of November 16, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 1.3 million deaths globally, more than 246,000 of which have been in the United States. Although this country has done very little to control the spread of this virus, there are people out there working tirelessly to get us back on track by developing and improving materials that protect us from the novel coronavirus.
Sep 30, 2020 · 13 min
What If Half of Earth's Soil Disappeared? | Orbitals 307
The only thing that's standing between life and lifelessness is about six feet of loose soil material covering the Earth. In this episode of Orbitals, soil biogeochemist and political ecologist Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe breaks down why soil is a key controller of our climate and essential for our existence.
Aug 26, 2020 · 16 min
The American Chamber of Horrors | Orbitals 306
Imagine buying mascara that makes you go blind, or picking up hair removal cream that causes your teeth to fall out. Before 1938 products like these were all over the place. Legally. The American Chamber of Horrors was a traveling exhibit, created by the FDA, that exposed these atrocities, and it helped push forward a law that changed consumer protection in the United States forever. Want to see some of the products in the American Chamber of Horrors? https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/histories-product-regulation/american-chamber-horrors
Jul 22, 2020 · 7 min
Coronavirus Drugs: Where Are We and What's Next? | BONUS episode
Antiviral drugs could help us fight the new coronavirus, but we don't currently have a highly potent and effective antiviral that cures COVID-19. Why not? We called a few virologists to find out.
Jul 8, 2020 · 6 min
Could a Polio Vaccine End This Pandemic? | BONUS episode
The COVID-19 pandemic has scientists considering a few less-conventional options while vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being developed. One option might be the oral polio vaccine. We chatted with one of the researchers proposing the idea—Dr. Robert Gallo—to understand why a vaccine that hasn't been used in the US for two decades might provide short-term protection against this coronavirus.
Jun 26, 2020 · 17 min
What's In the Stuff We Put In Us and On Us?: Ingredients with George Zaidan | Orbitals 305
We're each a big mush of chemicals surrounded by chemicals, and figuring out which of these chemicals are helpful, versus harmful, is complicated. Our executive producer, George Zaidan, takes on that challenge in his new book Ingredients: The strange chemistry of what we put in us and on us. I chat with him about some of what he found, and how he found it. Ingredients is on bookstore shelves now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/599202/ingredients-by-george-zaidan/
May 28, 2020 · 15 min
Cause of Death: Poisons Pt. 2 | Orbitals 304
Forensic toxicologists are frequently portrayed in shows like CSI and Bones, but what do they actually do? In this episode our writer and host, Samantha Jones, PhD, chats with seasoned forensic toxicologist Robert Middleberg, PhD, as he recounts a case that has stayed with him for decades.
Apr 8, 2020 · 6 min
Coronavirus Vaccine: Where Are We and What's Next? | BONUS episode
A potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 went into Phase I clinical trials in Seattle mid-March. So what exactly is being tested? How much longer will these tests take? And when can we expect a vaccine? To answer those questions I chatted with Dr. Benjamin Neuman, one of the world's experts on coronaviruses, and Daniel Wrapp, one of the scientists who mapped the structure of the protein this virus uses to infect your cells.
Mar 23, 2020 · 6 min
Brief Hiatus and...Wash Your Hands | Orbitals 303
Right now our team's focus has shifted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our ACS and PBS Digital Studios series, Reactions, has become the priority and will be our way of getting coronavirus and COVID-19-related content out to the public. You can find our latest videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2pMVimI2bw&t= And follow us on social media: Twitter https://twitter.com/ACSReactions Instagram https://www.instagram.com/acsreactions/?hl=en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ACSReactions/
Feb 24, 2020 · 21 min
The Rise of Forensic Toxicology: Poisons Pt. 1 | Orbitals 302
Early-1900s New York City was a place of utter chaos—a place where poisoners reigned supreme. That is, until a unique duo stepped in and started to win the long-fought battle between scientists and poisoners, creating the field of forensic toxicology in the process. This episode, we'll dive into the history of poisoning, and stories that defined the Roaring Twenties.
Jan 17, 2020 · 18 min
Sabotaging the Nazi Atomic Bomb | Orbitals 301
This week we chat with DC-based author Sam Kean about his most recent work: The Bastard Brigade, a book about a group of scientists and military commanders during World War II who were trying to stop the Nazis from creating an atomic bomb. In this episode, get ready to hear about some eccentric characters, sabotage, and--of course--chemistry.
Dec 16, 2019 · 12 min
How Parasites Sniff Us Out | Orbitals 206
The parasitic roundworm Strongyloides stercoralis crawls through contaminated soil in search of one thing – human flesh. Often no more than a millimeter in size, it's currently estimated to be hanging out in the intestines of over 300 million people worldwide. How it finds us has a lot to do with the chemicals we're giving off.
Nov 6, 2019 · 22 min
Body Farms: What Can We Learn From a Decomposing Corpse? | Orbitals 205
On a body farm, scientists collect information from donated corpses to understand how things like weather and the positioning of a body will affect human decomposition. Why should we care? This knowledge is used to help law enforcement not only find the bodies of victims--who are often murdered--but figure out how they died.
Oct 8, 2019 · 14 min
The Life-Saving Drug That Caused a Pharmaceutical Nightmare | Orbitals 204
In the 1960s the drug thalidomide caused over 10,000 babies across the globe to be born with deformed limbs. Scientist Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey blocked its production in the US, saving countless lives. But since then thalidomide has been approved by the FDA. Why? Today we tackle how thalidomide's chemistry caused a pharmaceutical disaster and why it's still around. You'll hear from two researchers: one in the US and one in Brazil, a place where there are still cases of thalidomide embryopathy.
Sep 5, 2019 · 19 min
Amphetamines: From Troubled Past to Present | Orbitals 203
Amphetamines have a troubled past that has carried into the present, but they can also greatly improve some people's lives. This week on Orbitals, we're asking: What do amphetamines do to our bodies? How are they used in medicine? And when did they become so prevalent in society?