Chemistry For Your Life

This week, Melissa and Jam explore the chemistry of antioxidants. What are they? Is it just magical stuff they put in sport drinks and workout supplements? Can you find it in snake oil?

Show Notes

#022

This week, Melissa and Jam explore the chemistry of antioxidants. What are they? Is it just magical stuff they put in sport drinks and workout supplements? Can you find it in snake oil?

References from this episode

  1. Stacy Lowery Bretz, PhD
  2. Organic Chemistry Textbook, Edition 11 - T.W. Graham Solomons

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What is Chemistry For Your Life?

A podcast that helps you understand the fascinating chemistry hidden in your everyday life.

Have you ever wondered why onions make you cry? Or how soap gets your hands clean? What really is margarine, or why do trees change colors in the fall? Melissa is a chemist, and to answer these questions she started a podcast, called Chemistry for your life!

In each episode Melissa explains the chemistry behind one of lifeā€™s mysteries to Jam, who is definitely not a chemist, but she explains it in a way that is easy to understand, and totally fascinating.

If youā€™re someone who loves learning new things, or who wonders about the way the world works, then give us a listen.

Melissa:

Hey. I'm Melissa.

Jam:

And I'm Jam.

Melissa:

And I'm a chemist.

Jam:

And I'm not.

Melissa:

And welcome to chemistry for your life.

Jam:

The podcast will help you understand the chemistry of your everyday life.

Melissa:

Hey, Jim. What's up? What's up?

Jam:

Not a lot. Just hanging.

Melissa:

Well, are you ready to hear about what you're gonna learn today?

Jam:

Yes. I'm ready.

Melissa:

I'm really excited about today's topic, and, actually, it came from a listener. So I learned about this a long time ago and thought it was really cool and have not thought about it much sense, but one of our listeners, Eris, reached out and asked a lot of questions. Some of them will circle back around too, but This one I thought, oh, this is such a good episode. So many people wonder about those science jargony words that are thrown out. So I thought that was a really good one.

Melissa:

So thank you so much, Eris, for reaching Now and even sharing about us. Okay. This one is very cool.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

It's about antioxidants.

Jam:

Nice. I have no idea what those are.

Melissa:

Have you seen them, like, advertised for oh, rich in antioxidants?

Jam:

Yeah. Or, like, I think some sports drinks Talk about it a lot too because they're like, hey. You're playing sports. You wanna have as many antioxidants as you can so you can do the sports.

Melissa:

Do the sports.

Jam:

So It seems like it's related.

Melissa:

Yeah. So today, we're gonna talk about what is an antioxidant.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

What is a free radical?

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And then you're gonna be able to tell me back all those things.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

We're gonna talk about where you can find anti accidents and stuff too.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

I survived the mind blowing.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So just to dig in, do you remember what electrons are?

Jam:

Yes.

Melissa:

You remember electrons? Mhmm. They make up an atom

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Along with protons and neutrons. Mhmm.

Jam:

They're in a cloud kind of thing.

Melissa:

Yeah. They call it a cloud. That Cloud is really the area where they are likely to be present.

Jam:

They're sort of a field. They're a

Melissa:

an aura.

Jam:

They're a, A mist.

Melissa:

Mhmm. They move around in that Okay. Area.

Jam:

A spirit. They're almost like a spirit. A ghost. Yeah.

Melissa:

Well and we've never seen them.

Jam:

Oh, man. That is yeah. That's pretty crazy.

Melissa:

So in chemistry, electrons like to be paired. Uh-huh. And I'm not gonna get into why because it's kind of a spoiler for a later episode. But They like to be paired, and things get a little sketchy when they're not paired.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

They become very unstable. Kinda crazy. Uh-huh. They want to react and find another electron quickly. Very reactive, very unstable when there's just 1 electron.

Melissa:

Normally, they move in pairs.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

When it's 1 electron by itself, it's called a radical

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

Which I think is so funny because they're they're very radical. They're, like, trying to react.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

They're being crazy. They're out there. They're gonna cause problems wherever they care Can, they don't care as long as it gets them another electron.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Like radicals. So I thought that that's a funny instance in which science Almost personifies Yeah.

Jam:

Well, yeah. It does.

Melissa:

Their behavior. Yeah. So radicals are well documented To contributing to aging, disease, they break down the ozone layer. They're not great.

Jam:

Interesting. So they really do go crazy. It's not just that they're, like, Moved around like crazy. They're causing problems Yes. When they're alone.

Melissa:

Mhmm. But

Jam:

Gotta watch the loners.

Melissa:

Gotta watch for those loners. But But I hope you know by now, in chemistry, nothing is black and white. So nothing's all bad or all good.

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

Right? So, actually, radicals are also used for some really cool stuff like making polymers. They kill bacteria, and They're even used in the treatment of some cancers. So they can do damage. Yeah.

Melissa:

They can also Be constructive and do damage to bad things, which is good, ultimately. Yeah. Nothing is all bad or all good in science, but Radicals can contribute to bad things as well as good things.

Jam:

And that's kind of a good rule for life in general. Like, most things are not just all one thing. Yeah. So it Makes sense that it applies in chemistry.

Melissa:

The longer I've been in science, the more I realize that there's a lot of gray. Early on, things are real black and white, and you get taught it's this or it's that. But as you dig in deeper, there's a lot that we don't know. Yeah. Okay.

Melissa:

So often, those radicals appear in nature as part of oxygen.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So that's radicals.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Now antioxidants are called antioxidants It dents.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Because what they do is trap radicals, which is naturally found often on Oxygen. Antioxidant.

Jam:

Oxygen. Okay. Interesting.

Melissa:

Is that a nice oh, I see. Yeah. Moment. You know?

Jam:

So here's a question. Why is it that radicals are, like, really common in oxygen? Is it just, like, it automatically has that amount of electrons to where there's a there's 1 as a solo?

Melissa:

I'm actually I don't have that answer just off the top of my head. The normally, the structure of oxygen o two is Drawn with 2 bonds between it.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Sometimes I've seen it drawn where Instead of having those 2 bonds, there's actually 1 bond and then a radical on each oxygen. So it it actually occurs Maybe it's a diaradical.

Jam:

Oh, interesting.

Melissa:

A radical and it eats oxygen.

Jam:

Yeah. There's tons of oxygen in the world. So Even if it's some portion of the time, that means there's a lot of radicals out there in a very I mean, just in the air where they run oxygen all the time. Mhmm. So that would make sense that this would be the most common and why being named antioxidants instead of just anti radical or something.

Melissa:

Yeah. Yes. Mhmm. I think that's how it naturally came to be.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

I think it could be complicated to explain the answer to your question of why it appears as a diaractical, but we're gonna talk more later about how sometimes molecules have 2 different forms. They can interchange between Mhmm. Sort of, And they exist as something sort of in the middle. So the radicals on oxygen are Unusually stable.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

I think it's the best way to put it. There's an interesting article about this in engineering news. We're actually a professor from UNT was cited. So Nice. Green.

Jam:

Green green.

Melissa:

So but I think it might be a little too complicated to honestly really get into and maybe not super helpful.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So now that's the basics of an antioxidant. An antioxidant is something that Traps radicals Uh-huh. And keeps them from doing moving around, banging around, causing all the damage they can cause in our bodies.

Jam:

Does it give them an electron to be Happy with? Is that how it does it?

Melissa:

No.

Jam:

Woah. I thought for sure it'd be like, hey, fella. You're lonely. Here's a buddy for you, but it's not.

Melissa:

Well, that can happen

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

In radical reaction. Sometimes they use that where 2 radicals come together, and then they're neutral. My Ocum students who just took their final should all know about that.

Jam:

The 2 radicals love each other very much.

Melissa:

But there's something else that antioxidants do.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Okay. And this is a hard topic, but I'm gonna explain it the best I can.

Jam:

Okay. I'm in.

Melissa:

Are you a Marvel fan? Spoiler, we're about to talk about a somewhat recently released Marvel movie.

Jam:

Yeah. Great. You've had a lot of time to see it. So

Melissa:

I actually haven't seen it, but this is the perfect it's the perfect

Jam:

That's though, because then that means you can't really spoil the main stuff. You might be talking about some things kinda ancillary to the the main plot.

Melissa:

Okay. So In chemistry, sometimes molecules are drawn, and this contributes to why oxygen can exist as a diaradical. Sometimes molecules are drawn as possibly having 2 different forms. Either these electrons could be bonded together or they could be off to the side.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

This double bond could be here or it could be here. So there's 2 sort of forms a a molecule could take.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

A good representation of that is Bruce Banner and the Hulk.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

He can sort of take 2 different forms. Right?

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa:

So molecules are drawn as having 2 different forms. But in the end, Bruce Banner and the Hulk come together to become Doctor Hulk.

Jam:

Doctor Hulk.

Melissa:

Doctor Hulk is both Bruce Banner and the Hulk at once.

Jam:

Yep.

Melissa:

In reality, molecules are not form a or form b. There's something in the middle where both of those forms contribute At once.

Jam:

So it is it really more like we observe it under, You know, some sort of microscope or whatever it is. And we see it in a form, but it's not like it's always in that form No. All the time?

Melissa:

No. It's like Doctor Hulk, it is always both of the forms at once.

Jam:

What?

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Oh, because we're just drawing them on paper trying to render how they're linked.

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

But we're just trying to illustrate what elements make a molecule. Not really Right. Not really, like, Putting in stone Yes. How they stick together. Yes.

Jam:

Got it.

Melissa:

Okay. So and this concept is called resonance. Okay. Yeah. Science word, resonance.

Jam:

I like that too because I'm like, okay. That resonates to me. Okay.

Melissa:

That what?

Jam:

That resonates with me.

Melissa:

Alright. No. So a good the best example of this that I've ever been able to find that is easily explainable is there is a ring that's made up of 6 carbons. So just imagine a hexagon.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And every other side of the hexagon is drawn as having a double bond.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So it's a hexagon. It's like One line, 2 lines. One line, 2 lines. One line, 2 lines. Six membered ring.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

We draw it as a Double bond alternating with a single bond. In real life, all 6 of those bonds are 1 and a half bond lengths.

Jam:

What?

Melissa:

Yeah. So if if it really was, oh, this is a single bond and this is a double bond. This is a single bond. This is a double bond. It would be Single bonds are, say, 2 lengths, and double bond is 1 length or something.

Melissa:

Uh-huh. Everything is 1.5 lengths. There's not actually those alternating things. But we can't draw that efficiently or effectively.

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

It's basically these electrons are shared all the way around Rather than it existing in this solid form of every other one bond.

Jam:

That's crazy. So Mhmm. I mean, maybe I was told to them, like, at some point, but all that ever sunk into My brain, when I was taking, you know, chemistry in high school or whatever

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Was just here's how you draw these together.

Melissa:

Mhmm. Here's where

Jam:

the bonds are.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

And it wasn't really ever I never thought about the difference between what this is on paper versus real life. Like, it wasn't Part of my thinking at all.

Melissa:

This is

Jam:

draw those things where you'd like you have to get it right. Like, okay. What hap how's it formed together whenever these 2 things like Like, what the watermark look like, and you had to learn how to draw the lines the right way Mhmm. And remember the symbols and stuff. Mhmm.

Jam:

And that's as far as I ever got. It never occurred to me that it was gonna be actually different in real life.

Melissa:

Well, what you're describing is a big barrier the science education. Students have a good understanding of what they're supposed to draw on paper or whatever, but they don't have a Great ability to take that and understand that's a model. Mhmm. And this is a way of representing what's happening in real life. Yeah.

Melissa:

And science experts have been exposed to so many models that they can look at that and have in their mind All of the models of that molecule, they know really they have a better idea of what's happening in real life and not just on the paper. Mhmm. But Novices, new students, they don't have that same understanding, and it's a barrier almost between the educator and the student.

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

So I'm so glad that you had that realization. Oh, so exciting.

Jam:

And and it seriously could be that I was told it, and it just never sunk in. Mhmm. That I never got it. So I'm not trying to Make any claim about not being taught the right way. I think it really is just the fact that I wasn't really trying to

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

Learn beyond what I just needed to Pass a test or something.

Melissa:

Right. And that's hard. That it's hard to to motivate students to get that understanding or to communicate it. I had a great Interaction with a professor at the University of Miami in Ohio named doctor Bretz, and there's a very cool article about how she works to get students to actually understand what's what is going on in the molecule and not just on paper. So Yeah.

Melissa:

Okay. So Mhmm. What antioxidants have is that sort of resonance. Usually, they are long chains of Alternating double bonds that can move back and forth is kind of the best way I can describe it to actually give that all of them are More close to the one and a half bond lengths.

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

And when those encounter a radical, They will take that radical in and bring it into the resonance. Mhmm.

Jam:

To

Melissa:

where instead of the radical just being on its own, on an oxygen, or whatever, it's distributed all Along this chain of alternating double bonds, meaning the fact of that 1 radical is distributed by maybe If it's 6 alternating double bonds or whatever, it's distributed, and it's only felt a 6th as much.

Jam:

Oh, got it. So it's like they've got room to share This load, it's not like it's not like 1 person is trying to carry 2 backpacks. It's like Yeah. 6 people, if you can imagine it, carrying 1 point Seven backpacks from my dad.

Melissa:

Okay. I think a that's that's a good initial response. Uh-huh. Just as a clarifying point, If 1 Adam is carrying something really heavy, very reactive, it's, like, gonna be crazy Uh-huh. Trying to deal with that one thing.

Jam:

Like a lot of, like, acid or something or that you I

Melissa:

don't know. Yeah. Doesn't matter. You got 1 Adam that 1 person, person being an Adam holding something that, like, this is gonna cause a lot of damage Uh-huh. Right now, and I can't get it to stop Uh-huh.

Melissa:

Then it brings in 6 other atoms to share the load, sort of. So then we're all working. All the atoms, all the people are working to calm this one thing down.

Jam:

Paul bearers kind of

Melissa:

Paul bearers. Yeah. And that then the load is shared.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And so instead of an insanely reactive radical that's gonna bang around your body doing damage to your DNA and making you look old and all these things, causing cancer, doing all this crazy stuff. Yeah. Instead, it's just hanging out with a bunch of other atoms that can sort of disperse that crazy reactivity and chill it out

Jam:

quite a bit.

Melissa:

So it's not 1 crazy hulk. It's now doctor Banner.

Jam:

Nice. What?

Melissa:

That's now doctor Hulk.

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah. Dang. Interesting. That's crazy.

Jam:

So our antioxidants is the the structure you gave earlier of 6 carbons in, like, a Hexagonal kind of shape. Mhmm. Is that the antioxidant molecule?

Melissa:

There's not one type of antioxidant molecule. So That's not that is an option. Uh-huh. But there are a lot of different ones. Usually, what you'll see is alternating double bonds.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

They can be on a long chain. They can be in a ring. Mhmm. Alternating double bonds have that going on. Really, I think a better way to even describe alternating double bonds is you have a chain of carbons bonded and then a whole cloud of electrons around them.

Melissa:

Uh-huh. And, radical can just join in that cloud, and it's not a big deal as much.

Jam:

Got it.

Melissa:

So any alternating double bonds, That's gonna be a good resonance thing going on. This is and this is a hard concept to communicate. Uh-huh. It's a hard concept for students to understand even if they can draw the right structures to represent resonance. Sometimes they don't really know.

Melissa:

Actually, this isn't exactly What it looks like in real life, it's really an average kind of a that's not something that is easily understood. So

Jam:

Got it.

Melissa:

If you're feeling a little like, this is, this is kinda complicated, that's that's really normal. So don't Don't get too worried about that. It's just the general alternating double bonds are usually going to have The ability to distribute the effects of the radical to make it more stable, and they'll be able to Sort of diffuse the effects of the radical.

Jam:

Okay. Interesting.

Melissa:

And That alternating double bond property does something else. It makes compounds very colorful.

Jam:

Oh.

Melissa:

A molecule that has alternating double bonds, we'll talk about why in another episode, is usually going to be highly colored. What? So if you have food that's red or blue or whatever Uh-huh. It probably has antioxidants in it.

Jam:

Interesting. What?

Melissa:

Moral of the story, eat your blueberries and your tomatoes. Yeah.

Jam:

That's weird. That's That's really weird. I have a lot of questions, but you already said we're gonna do it upside down.

Melissa:

Do it in episode. We cannot talk about colors and radicals and antioxidants all in 1 episode.

Jam:

That's so crazy because colors, Oh, they're pretty radical.

Melissa:

Oh, no.

Jam:

Know what I'm saying?

Melissa:

Well, here's a little little tidbit for you, a little science Actually, colors are not radical. Because if a radical ends up interacting with a dyed fabric, it can disrupt those long chains of double bonds and remove the color from the dyed fabric. So

Jam:

Bleach?

Melissa:

Have you ever washed your face with Benzoyl Peroxide?

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

Benzoyl Peroxide generates radicals to kill the bacteria on your face.

Jam:

We're using them we're using the good in them. Mhmm.

Melissa:

And then you wipe your face with your mom's blue towel. Uh-huh. Then it's pink, and she hates you forever. Yeah.

Jam:

Even I have it put down, I don't even have to go as far as my mom's to

Melissa:

And then it's bleached, and that's because radicals have disrupted the dye in that Fabrics.

Jam:

Man, it's crazy. What the heck?

Melissa:

Isn't that have you always wondered why when you wash your face and then you dye those towels weird colors?

Jam:

Well, I just always thought that, like I mean, I thought it had some bleach like property to it in it. I didn't think about, like, molecularly. I just thought, okay. Obviously, we know that other things that clean stuff can also take color out like bleach.

Melissa:

But I don't think bleach is radicals, and this is radicals.

Jam:

So Right.

Melissa:

They're kinda different. So that's radicals. That's antioxidants. That's what is going on in all of that.

Jam:

Okay. So?

Melissa:

The next time you hear it on TV

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

You know what those buzzwords are talking about. And it's you can just get them from blueberries. You don't have to buy fancy or whatever. Do you

Jam:

remember that campaign that was, like, Gatorade was, like is it, like, Gatorade, is it in you? They could've just been, like, radicals. Are they in you? Here you go. We've put some Then

Melissa:

they'll have to explain what radical Yeah. That's not good marketing. Yeah. It's really bad.

Jam:

Yeah. Confusing your consumers. Really good start. Very, very good beginning.

Melissa:

I mean, that's what I do every week. So just kidding. I hope to clarify, not confused.

Jam:

So Radicals are stray electrons.

Melissa:

Yeah.

Jam:

They occur often in oxygen where there are just leftover electrons that aren't bonded together for some reason.

Melissa:

Mhmm. In other places.

Jam:

In other places. Not just the oxygen. That's why we get the ox part of the name.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

So, Those can cause damage.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

And they can also be used for good things. But either way, they're just intense. Mhmm. Those those stray electrons are all over the place. Whether they're doing good or bad, they don't care.

Jam:

They're gonna do crazy stuff either way.

Melissa:

A 100%.

Jam:

And so Antioxidants are, a a category, I guess, of molecules

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

That Have

Melissa:

It almost is more a property that some molecules have.

Jam:

A property that some molecules Yeah.

Melissa:

I wouldn't say, like, this is a category. Antirexomes, whatever. It's like Mhmm. These are molecules that do these, Usually, other things, but they also are nice because they can neutralize radicals.

Jam:

Okay. So they have Not one type of, like, structure

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Except that it does have to have that alternating double bonds thing you talked about. Resonance, where it's Mhmm. Got a not like perfectly evenly distributed bonds structure.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Not everything gets 1 or everything you think is 2. It's constantly going back and forth. And because of that, Because it's a team. Mhmm. The team of molecules at least a few.

Jam:

I mean, was it like a number? At least 3 or 4, like, elements making up that molecule?

Melissa:

Well, it's usually a lot of elements making up the molecule.

Jam:

It's just server.

Melissa:

Well, even 7? It's usually there's all kinds of

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Atoms and elements on everything, but It usually is a carbon chain

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Of 6 even 4, but with alternating double bonds. That's really important. And there will be hydrogens around there and stuff too, but the alternating double bonds are usually demonstrated to appear On the between the carbons.

Jam:

Okay. So there's a lot of them, and they have the this that bond structure Mhmm. That's alternating. And so they can handle a radical in their midst because it's not like Any one of them is bearing this crazy load.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

They're they're able to kind of bring it in to the group

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

And Have its craziness kind of, shared across all of them

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

And kept at bay. And so, like, here, come come hang out with us, you crazy

Melissa:

idiot. Yeah.

Jam:

And

Melissa:

then they chill it out.

Jam:

Yeah. They

Melissa:

chill the idiot out. Yeah. That's a really good understanding. I do wanna say one thing.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

You talked about how they go back and forth between the 2 forms. Uh-huh. It's drawn that way a lot of times to represent, but it actually is an average of the 2 forms. It's not 1 or the other. It doesn't.

Melissa:

We don't ever catch after he turns into doctor Hulk, we don't ever catch Bruce Banner or Hulk.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

There's always both of them present together.

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

That's a good way to describe the rest of

Jam:

the show. The average?

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And the average is what shares.

Jam:

And I do hope he stays after hope. I don't know if we know what it's gonna be like in the future. But

Melissa:

I don't either. But If he changes back, then that kinda messes with my whole Mhmm. Analogy here.

Jam:

Well, the future is uncertain in more ways than one. Like, We don't know that chemistry won't decide to change, honestly, at some point.

Melissa:

That I mean, the chemistry won't change, but our understanding of it definitely could. Right. Right. Definitely good. And I'm fine with that.

Melissa:

I'm comfortable with that. Yeah. So that's it. You got it. That was a great understanding.

Melissa:

And now next time you Here's somebody talk about antioxidants. You know what they're talking about. Yeah. And they really are good. That's not one of those weird buzzwords that they put on things.

Melissa:

Antioxidants are really good for you. Uh-huh. But they're also naturally occurring in a lot of highly colored food. 2 of my favorites, blueberries, tomatoes.

Jam:

Nice.

Melissa:

Very rich in antioxidants.

Jam:

Interesting. It's crazy.

Melissa:

And if you want, we can put up a picture of some of the structure of those, but they will be the drawn representation and not the true average resonance.

Jam:

That'd be sweet.

Melissa:

Okay. Well, that's all for chemistry today. Do you wanna share about something this week that brought you joy?

Jam:

So something that brought me joy was, kinda shared something like this, who knows, like, 10 episodes ago or whatever. It's that I'm not sick anymore. I was sick. It delayed our recording schedule.

Melissa:

Yeah. Oh my gosh. You were sick.

Jam:

I had the had the flu. It feels so good not to be sick. So I'm just thankful. Like, it sounds like I'm complaining because it did suck hard to be Sick. But once you're well again, it's like, oh, man.

Jam:

It's so nice. It feels great. So I'm thankful for that. Probably Joy.

Melissa:

I'm thankful that you're healthy again too because my life was significantly impacted.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Church on Sunday.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

You being I came to your house and literally shouted at you from across the house to greet you because I couldn't be in the same room as you. Yeah.

Jam:

I had quarantined myself. Mhmm. Yeah. Ever accused myself from the

Melissa:

From life. Yeah. One thing that really brought me joy this week is my students. I teach organic chemistry, which is not a fun class for many people, although it's My dream in life is to change that.

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

And a few of my students had a really hard time and worked really hard, and They were in the end successful, and they it was just really good to see that from them and Mhmm. To get to share in that joy with them. And now they're gonna go into Break knowing that they were successful. And and success looks different for so many people, but I just loved getting to be a part of their journey Mhmm. And demystifying some of organic chemistry for them.

Melissa:

And It there is nothing as rewarding to me as knowing that someone Was intimidated by chemistry and then seeing the light bulb come on and the joy and the understanding. And, it was just really nice to get to be a part of that. So I'm really thankful that I've got really good students this semester who are communicative. And Mhmm.

Jam:

It

Melissa:

was just a really good end of the semester, and I really hope I get some of those same students again next semester.

Jam:

Yeah. Hey.

Melissa:

That's great. Thanks, students. I know some of this them listen to this show. So

Jam:

Bonus points, guys.

Melissa:

Mhmm. Not actual bonus points. Just bonus points in my heart. Right.

Jam:

And in life, just, you know, you're learning additionally. Mhmm.

Melissa:

So Well, thank you guys so much for listening, and We wanna take a chance to tell you that we hope you have a good holiday season. We know there's Christmas and Hanukkah going on right now, and Even if there's not something that your family celebrates, a lot of stuff is closed around this time, and you get some breaks. And we just hope that everyone has a nice restful season with the ones that they love.

Jam:

Yep. Whether you're hanging with family or friends or whatever or taking some time to yourself, hope it's an enjoyable time and a chance to rest a little bit.

Melissa:

That's right. Have a good safe holiday. We did a poll about references on Instagram, and It was hysterical to me to watch the results come in because the scientists all said, keep those references in your show. Every single person who said to keep the references in the show was a scientist. And every person who said take them out and put them only in the notes for a non scientist is so funny.

Melissa:

I was really thoroughly entertained. But Because of that and because our show is mostly aimed at people who don't already have a good understanding of science, We are going to change the way we do our references. They will always be in our show notes. Yeah. And if they're a major reference that I use a lot, we're gonna I'll mention them as I talk about it, but we will no longer have a references section.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

But I'm always really thankful to all those people whose work contributes to this show.

Jam:

And I have a lot of ideas for topics of chemistry in everyday life, but we wanna hear from you. So if you have questions or ideas, you can reach out to us on Gmail, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook at Kim for your life. That's Kim, f o r, Your Life, to share a 1,000 ideas. If you enjoy this podcast, you can subscribe on your favorite podcast app. If you really like it, then you can write a review on Apple Podcasts.

Jam:

It helps us to be able to share chemistry with even more people.

Melissa:

This episode of Chemistry For Your Life was created by Melissa Collini and Jame Robinson. Jim Robinson is our producer, and we'd like to give a special thanks to a Colini and in Newell who reviewed this episode. If you'd like to help us keep our show going and contribute to the cost of hosting fees and other material, go to www. Kofi.com/chem for your life. That's kodashfi.com/chem for your life, and donate the cost of a cup of coffee.