All History articles – Page 7
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Opinion
Weininger’s Smiles
The man whose code – and attitude to life – brought much happiness to chemists
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Opinion
Timmers’ towers and Straus’ flasks
The revolutionary system that made labs much less likely to go up in flames
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Research
Blasts from the past – how medieval gunpowder changed over 100 years
Test-firing different gunpowders in a replica 15th century cannon on the firing range at West Point showed how recipes evolved
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Research
Marie Antoinette’s secret messages to Swedish count revealed by chemical analysis
Spectroscopy deciphers censored passages in 200-year-old letters between last French queen and the man rumoured to be her lover
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Opinion
Science as a product of culture
The role of background beliefs and assumptions in the development of science
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News
Explainer: The science of alkyl nitrites aka poppers
From their origins as 19th century angina treatment to becoming an important part of gay subculture, these recreational drugs exist in a legal limbo
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Opinion
The lifesaving work of Evelyn Hickmans
Anne Green tells us how a female chemist almost single-handedly established paediatric clinical chemistry and led to a first in global health
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Research
Isotope analysis of Vesuvius victims reveals how ancient Romans dined
Herculaneum’s men had greater access to fish, while women relied more on terrestrial animal products
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Opinion
Hidden details in iconic portrait of Lavoisiers reveal fears of coming revolution
As the French Revolution neared the Lavoisiers were reimagined as scientific progressives rather than out of touch aristocrats
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Opinion
Podbielniak’s contactor
How a new spin on separation produced petroleum, penicillin and much more
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Opinion
Clara Immerwahr – out of her husband’s shadow
The tragic story of the chemist best known as Fritz Haber’s wife might not be as clear cut as many believe, finds Bárbara Pinho
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Article
Peptones: over 100 years of life-saving innovation
After a century, peptones continue to play a vital role in biopharmaceutical innovation
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Opinion
Insulin as a murder weapon
Forensic experts can tell if high insulin levels have a natural or criminal cause
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Opinion
Letters: August 2021
Readers discuss etymology and national service, and question if we should celebrate someone with Nazi links
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Opinion
Kathleen Culhane Lathbury – an industrial pioneer
Nina Notman tells the story of the interwar industrial chemist whose analytical skill and persistence saw her outmanoeuvre sexism and prove her research aptitude
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Feature
One hundred years of insulin
Mike Sutton looks at the journey the diabetes treatment took from the Toronto miracle to mass-production – via a controversial trip to Stockholm
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Opinion
What’s revolutionary about the Chemical Revolution?
How an event in chemistry shaped philosophy
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Opinion
Mabel FitzGerald and the mystery of oxygen sensing
Katharine Sanderson celebrates the tenacious and brilliant researcher who came tantalizingly close to describing oxygen sensing, a concept that earned the Nobel prize over 100 years later