History

You Do Not Have a Lizard Brain

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 19:07:10 +0000

Inside you are three animals: a primitive crocodile, a panicky mouse, and a pragmatic human being.

Resveratrol Supplements. Trifling Facts. Lots of Conjecture.

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:32:12 +0000

A quick online search for “resveratrol supplements” finds dozens produced by various companies. They contain anywhere from 50 to 500 mg resveratrol per capsule and sport labels that scream “source of antioxidants.” But there is no mention of any condition that resveratrol is expected to treat or prevent. For good reason! While there is plenty of speculation about what this compound can do based on laboratory experiments that use cell cultures, yeasts, worms, flies or rodents, it is best to remember that humans are not giant test tubes or colossal rodents.

I Would Have Loved to Be There (and Not Just for the Toilets)

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:25:59 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The first sight visitors encountered at London’s Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851 was a 27-foot glass fountain that continuously dispensed Schweppes naturally carbonated spring water sourced from the Malvern Hills in England.

An Ode to Cyanotype Printing

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

I wouldn’t consider myself one to be too artistically inclined. I am unable to draw, I am not crafty, and I certainly cannot make music. It’s not that I don’t enjoy doing crafts; I do. I just was not blessed with this natural talent. That’s why, when I came across cyanotype, I was intrigued.

Should You Worry About a Carcinogen in Your Shampoo?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:54:58 +0000

Our story starts with “surfactants,” a term derived from “surface active agents.” These are molecules with one end being “hydrophilic”, meaning it is attracted to water, while the other “hydrophobic” end is attracted to oily substances or to air. If you like your shampoo to form a luxurious lather, disdain stains on your clothes and dishes and don’t want your face cream to separate into layers, then you want surfactants in your life. But surfactants aren’t grown in fields or harvested from trees, not directly anyway. They have to be chemically synthesized. And therein lies the problem.

The Homicidal Triad Seen on Crime Dramas Is Wrong

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:34:00 +0000

If you have a child who still wets the bed after the age of 5, and if you are a fan of crime dramas, you may be asking yourself some seriously dark questions about your kid’s future.

Episodic television crime dramas love to serve up outdated, simplistic but sensationalistic models of human psychology. Criminals with weird manifestations of OCD get easily profiled by preternaturally competent, fast-talking, genius-IQ law enforcement officers, who bring the perp to justice in 42 minutes tops. Real life this is not.

Handling Receipts at the Supermarket

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:18:08 +0000

I was startled by the comment from the shopper just behind me at the checkout counter in the supermarket. “You really shouldn’t be doing that!” Noting the quizzical look on my face, a further clarification was obviously needed. “I mean you shouldn’t be handling the receipt,” she went on. Indeed, I had taken the thermal paper receipt from the cashier and without looking at it tossed it in with the groceries. I now understood my fellow shopper’s concern.

Let’s Rap About Rapamycin

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:54:52 +0000

Easter Island in the Pacific off the coast of Chile is famous for the giant stone statues that were erected by natives some 500-700 years ago. The thinking is that the statues were designed to honour eminent ancestors by providing a home for their spirits to inhabit. In the 1960s, Easter Island made it into headlines for a totally different reason. Soil samples were found to contain Streptomyces hygroscopicus, a bacterium that produces a chemical with antifungal activity.

The Case of the Missing Coffee Cup

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Where did the coffee cup go?

It is a demonstration that never fails to draw oohs and ahhs from students. Pour a small amount of acetone into the bottom of a beaker and drop in a foamed plastic coffee cup. It instantly seems to melt into the liquid and within seconds just vanishes.

Shedding Light On the Magical Finale of Phantom of the Opera

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:25:50 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“It’s a de Kolta chair!”

The Chemical Legacy of Louis Pasteur

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:01:51 +0000

Louis Pasteur is buried in an elaborate mausoleum at the Institute Pasteur in Paris where mosaic tiles on the tomb commemorate various aspects of the great man's scientific life. A flock of sheep, for example, represents his work on the anthrax vaccine and a dog reminds us of his conquest of rabies. But almost hidden in the ornate tableau is the phrase "une dissymmetry dans les molecules" or, in English, "molecular dissymmetry."

Protein-Rich Bridges and Edible Houses

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

For most tourists in Prague, visiting the Charles Bridge is pretty much at the top of the sightseeing list. The medieval stone bridge, completed in the 15th century, was a part of the royal route – the path Bohemian kings took to the Prague Castle for their coronations. It also served as a key trade route, and now, is perhaps the most international place in Prague. Alongside its immense historical and cultural significance for the Czech Republic and the Bohemian Kingdom, there is one myth around its construction that may warrant some head scratching.

Health Monitoring Has Come a Long Way, From Rolled-Up Paper to AI

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 14 May 2026 21:14:04 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Remember Theranos, the company that promised to revolutionize longevity by making health data instantly available from blood collected from a finger prick, allowing for “alerts” to make lifestyle changes?

The Sparkle in Sparkling Water

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 14 May 2026 18:31:46 +0000

Many consumers today are shying away from soft drinks because of legitimate concerns about their sugar or artificial sweetener content and are gravitating towards plain carbonated water. This has triggered questions about the safety of this beverage. First, a bit of background.

Farmers’ Almanacs Are No Better than a Coin Toss

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:45:51 +0000

A bicentenarian is about to die but I doubt many will notice. Farmers’ Almanac is calling it quits after being in business for 208 years. Its 2026 issue will be its last.