ThE EnD!

..end.. 

SERENDIPITY AND CHEMICAL DISCOVERIES

           

              Serendipity is a concept that may seem unimportant, a ‘pleasant surprise’ as some people call it. It’s a happy and unexpected event or discovery that happens by chance when we are not expecting, and most of the times looking for something else. Moments like this in our daily life are very enjoyable, and fun. The fact that we can experience happiness when we are completely not expecting it makes the whole experience even more fun. However, serendipity is not only this common daily happiness that we may have. Serendipity is much more, and these random and pleasant surprises are, and were very important to the world. These unexpected events made the world we live in today and completely changed our lives.

            In the past, knowledge was limited. People didn’t have the millenniums of understanding and discovery we have now, and didn’t have most of the means to do it, means that we have now. This knowledge we have now we have to thank our ancestors for it, because even though we have it now, they were the ones to obtain most of today’s knowledge, even though most of times their discoveries and breakthroughs were shots in the dark, since knowledge was something that was still evolving and being produced. Due to this, serendipity was a scientist best friend, and most of the discoveries and substances produced in the past, and which are so loved today, were serendipity. Even today serendipity is important in any field of science, physics, chemistry, biology, or any other. All because in science nothing is for sure, everything is a hypothesis, and what we expect to happen may be completely different, and random situations may create things that we could never imagine. Everything scientists do is in fact a strike of luck, of course there are studies and experiments, and a lot of rationality to each hypothesis, but science is one of the most unpredictable fields ever, and it keeps surprising us even today.

            In the book ‘Napoleon’s buttons, 17 molecules that changed history’, we have seen the various molecules, that now seen common, were once factors that had crucial effects in the world, either on people and entire nations, on the environment or even in history itself. Most of these molecules that had such a big impact in our world were also a case of casualty, the proof that serendipity also has the potential to change the world just like the molecules that were accidently originated. The book mentions innumerous events where serendipity has had a crucial role, being driving force of the discovery of saccharin, mauve, and penicillin, for example. Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener to be developed, and its discovery was a lucky strike. When a university student at John Hopkins was eating his bread, he noticed a very sweet taste that was not normal in what he was eating, and when he went back to the lab to taste every sample of the molecules he had been working with that day, he found the intense sweetness of the molecule, which was them eventually produced and used as a sugar substitute, and opened the doors for all the sweeteners that would then be produced.  Another example of serendipity in chemistry was the discovery of the mauve dye, the dye and color that took the world by storm. William Henry Perkin was the student which discovered this amazing die, and it was all a huge case of serendipity because Perkins wasn’t even looking for a dye, we was in fact studying quinine, and trying to produce this antimalarial molecule. However, in his unsuccessful reactions to produce the molecule, Perkins noticed a black substance that was produced with those same reactions and that when dissolved in ethanol it would turn to a purple color, and had the ability to dye fabric. This was the creation of the dye that completely changed the world of dye and made the period be referred to as the ‘mauve decade’. One more example that we can take in account for the various fields that serendipity has been important to was the discovery of penicillin, probably one of the most important and well known cases of serendipity. Penicillin was found by Alexander Fleming, and the fact is, that he was the last one to expect such discovery. When Fleming was studying cultures of staphylococci bacteria, he observed that the culture had been contaminated by a mold from the penicillium family and that the bacteria had undergone lysis, or in other words, the bacteria had died. Fleming then understood that that mold had an antibiotic effect on the bacteria, and for mere luck, Fleming had just found penicillin one of the most important antibiotics today.

            As we can see from all this historic events and discoveries, serendipity has existed for centuries, and luck has always been a plus for a scientist. These are only some of the examples of serendipity, but there have been innumerous cases. In a field where nothing is for sure, and luck is one of the most important assistants of discovery, serendipity is, for sure, a scientist best friend.

Molecules Versus Malaria

            

          Malaria is very well known disease today, even though it is a disease that is no longer a problem in developed countries, it is still a very big problem in less developed countries. This disease that can be caused by four different types of microscopic parasites may have been one of the greatest reasons for human mortality of all time. This disease can be passed very fast and just one person can transmit it to hundreds of people and in the past this disease wasn’t just found in tropical areas, it was actually found in different parts of the world; temperate regions, coastal areas of England and Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, United States, Canada. The disease would develop wherever the anopheles mosquito would develop, because the disease was transmitted from person to person thanks to this mosquito.  The mosquito would eventually bit the infected person and the blood taken would be infected with the parasite. The parasite would then continue its life cycle in the mosquito’s gut and be transmitted to the next person that the mosquito decided to bite. The parasite now in the new victim would invade its blood stream and enter the red blood cells, which could then be available for another mosquito which would again perform the transmission process. Malaria was a world issue, affecting the rich and the poor, destroying populations and putting armies in danger due to its vulnerability to the mosquito. This disease continued a major issue worldwide even until to the twentieth century.  

            For centuries people looked for the cures for this disease, using different methods to control them and three specific molecules have shown to very important in this fight against Malaria. The first of these three molecules is quinine, an alkaloid molecule found in the barks of a tree from the Cinchona genus family, located high in the Andes, thousand feet above the sea level. A lot of stories tell who Europeans became aware of the antimalarial abilities of these barks, and the lifes that were coincidently saved thanks the quinine present in it. When the Jesuits became aware of this ability they started to import and sell this barks in big quantities throughout Europe, but in protestant England, they refused to use this medicine given by papists, being unpopular in the region. They preferably used another remedy produced and sold by Robert Talbor a secret formula that eventually was found out to contain the same bark as the one given by the Jesuits. However, even though it was a deceiving business, this saved the innumerous lifes of those who refused to use a medicine given by the catholic. With time and the big demand for the cinchona bark, there was a need for the understanding and production of the antimalarial molecule since the sources for this molecule could eventually be endangered. 

Due to this studies started to be done, in an attempt to better understand this miraculous molecule. In 1820, joseph Pelletier and Joseph Caventou were finally able to obtain and purify quinine from the cinchona bark, the active ingredient in this plant, but further production was met with only failures since only in the twentieth century did its structure become fully determined and understood.  Even without a synthetic method to produce quinine, people still needed it and the demand only increased with time and with the European colonizations, so people resorted to the cultivation of cinchona species in other countries, as to increase the supply as much as possible. This did not happen fast since the governments in Bolivia and other countries had forbidden the export of living cinchona plants, as to protect their profitable monopoly, but Charles Ledger was able to obtain some seed and sold them to the Dutch, which planted them in Java. The production of quinine was also very important for the outcome of the WWII, since the Japanese and German had taken on their power all the quinine supply for Europe, the Allied troops needed some other kind of supply that had antimalarial properties too. During this time chloroquine was produced using synthetic derivatives of the quinine molecule, and these had proven very safe and successful, but the development of malaria parasite resistant to these molecules created a decrease in its use. Quinine molecule was finally really synthesized in 2001 by Gilbert Stork that using a different quinoline derivative, carrying every step of the synthesis process themselves and repeating the processes four times to get rid of another very similar molecule always produced in the process, was then able to synthesize the first real quinine.  

            While chemists searched for the molecule, physicians were more worried about the disease itself, how it developed and how it was originated. It was understood that the blood cells of  the infected were different from the normal ones, and this because the merozoites from the parasite stay inside the blood cells continuously  producing spores, and from time to time break out of the host cells releasing the spores and causing the fever to spike. When later the cycle between parasite, mosquito, human was also eventually understood, people also started to see some more vulnerable moments in the cycle where it could be stopped. The first possibility was to kill the merozoites when they were in the liver or blood, and another way was to prevent the mosquito bites. This prevention of the mosquito was what made the molecule DDT, the Chlorocarbon compound, so important at this time, being this the initial most important use for the molecule. Eventually the improvement of public health and a drained of water and the use of this insecticide had made the rate of malaria greatly decrease during the early twentieth century in the develop countries.

            As for the less developed countries it is harder for them to afford these insecticide molecules or increase the public health related issues, and due to that the rate of malaria is still high in this areas. However the natural process of evolution named natural selection may be having a role in the natural fight and resistance to the parasite. In the Saharan area in Africa a disease named sickle-cell anemia, which is characterized by increased rigidity and sickle shape of the blood cells. Since this blood cells are more rigid they have a higher difficulty in going through the capillaries and may cause blockages, leaving muscle tissues without blood and oxygen which causes a strong pain and eventually anemia with the destruction of these sickle blood cells, by the body. This life threating disease is caused by a mutation in the protein molecule, hemoglobin that is found in blood cells, and which gives it its red color and ability to carry oxygen. People with this disease have a mutant production of hemoglobin, in which the sequence of aminoacids is different from the normal sequence of hemoglobin. In this cases the aminoacid Valine, substitutes the Glutamic acid position and this change is enough to produce the big change. Without the COOH group of glutamic acid, the hemoglobin molecule will be less soluble and will precipitate inside the red blood cells, changing the shape and decreasing the flexibility. The main point is that the people who carry this disease have the some sickling but not enough to compromise their life, and it was observed that the carriers have some kind of immunity to malaria. If this theory proves to be true, the carrier-people will have a higher chance to survive and reproduce and carry the gene, which with evolution may originate a human immunity to this disease.

            As the authors have shown malaria is a worldwide problem, something that affect all people and is still a problem today, and demonstrating all the historical events of the evolution of malaria and the impacts that certain molecules have had in history and our human survival completely demonstrates their importance. The molecules quinine and DDT have shown a deep effect on the world, saving innumerous lifes and making nations be able to have their eras of prosperity, and mutant hemoglobin has shown the potential of nature and a promising evolution. Today quinine and mutant hemoglobin are still important, quinine is still used as a medicine for malaria and other areas, and the hemoglobin is still making the change happen and slowly producing the change. However DDT, even though crucial in the past for the eradication of the mosquito, today is not as important due to the decrease of malaria in the developed country and its dangerous properties. This molecules may seem to be not as important today, because most of us don’t deal directly with malaria, however some of them as still as important and crucial to life as they were in the past. 

Chlorocarbon Compounds

           The Chlorocarbon compounds were the beginning of an era of refrigeration, where people didn’t need to worry about rooting food, and excruciating hot weathers. Human now had a source of refrigeration and the innumerous possibilities this represented took the world by storm, completely eliminating the previous cooling source, ice.  

             The refrigeration process involves liquid and vapor phases, in which a liquid evaporates, absorbing the heat of the surroundings. This vapor created goes through compression and goes back to the liquid state, re-evaporating again producing the cooling effect as the cycle of evaporation and compression continues to happen. For this process a refrigerant agent was then need, a substance that would go through the two physical changes. The two first vapor-compression refrigerators tests and successfully used were based either with ammonia or ether, and tests in long voyages, after some failures, both of them had proven to be quite successful transporting frozen meat from one point to the other. This transport of frozen merchandise had shown to be very important for the economic development of a lot of nations since it was possible to bring products to world markets.  

            Even though the ether and ammonia based vapor-compressing refrigerators had shown to be successful, they were not completely perfect since the refrigerant agents mostly used at that point most of the times had a tendency to decompose, to be poisonous, fire hazards, and smelled very bad. So, scientists started to look for other substances that fitted the boiling points criteria but did not a have the flaws of the previous ones. Thomas Migley and Albert Hennen noted that fluorine compounds have never been taken in consideration and started to test these compounds, preparing different molecules with different amounts of fluorine and chlorine atoms in place of hydrogen in carbon chains. The experiments were a complete success and Migley and Hennen had just produced the well-known chlorofluorocarbons, CFC’s (designated as Freons at the time), which had proven to perfect refrigerants and did not have any of the flaws of the previous refrigerant agents. With this big success the refrigeration industry blossomed. There was a huge increase of in home refrigeration, changing the way we dealt and looked at food. Heat sensitive medications and antibiotics could now be shipped around the world, with this compounds the air-conditioning industry flourished and people had a mean to fight the hot weather in tropical areas where the temperatures could be excruciatingly high, and CFC’s since this compounds reacted with almost nothing, they were perfect to serve as propellants in spray cans, and a lot of other uses continued to follow. CFC’s were being used and produced in innumerous areas and it seemed like these were miraculous and perfect substances. However, no substance is completely perfect, and later people would understand that this ‘perfect’ substance and negative effects that could affect the entire world population, and the planet itself. It is true that CFC’s do not react with most compounds, they are not broken with ordinary reactions, so the leaked CFC’s that go to the atmosphere will eventually rise to stratosphere and be ruptured by solar radiation. As we all know the ozone layer made of ozone molecules, O3 is also found in the stratosphere and is responsible for protection of planet earth against the ultraviolet rays from the sun that would greatly increase the temperature and damage all forms of life, increasing the damage to cells’ DNA promoting cancer and mutations. This ozone layer has her own self-management of quantities, never being too much or lower than it should, since it is constantly being made and broken, maintaining a balance. However it was recently found that CFC’s are a threat to this layer, and consequently a threat for human survival. The broken CFC’s due to solar radiation release chlorine atoms which will then react with ozone molecules breaking them in ClO and oxygen molecules, product which will then produce even more chlorine. This creates a very fast destruction of ozone molecules, representing a great danger to the ozone layer. Even when the real dangers of CFC’s were known, their ban wasn’t immediate. The industry of this compounds was so profitable that people didn’t want to give it up, and only years later did its use start to decrease, even though not completely.  

            Just like CFC’s most chlorine containing compounds have shown miraculous and perfect results, to then its dangerous and life-threating effects to be understood and feared. An example of this is the chlorine molecule itself, which was used in the cleaning of water, a very important job, in which chlorine was the cheapest mean to do this process. However as it was found later, chlorine is poisonous which could be very dangerous. A lot of WWI poisonous gases like, mustard gas and phosgene, are made from chlorine, they are chlorine containing organic compounds which adds to their image as ultimately dangerous compounds.

           

            PCB’s, polychlorinated biphenyls, were most commonly used in the late 1920s, in which the hydrogen atoms were substituted by chlorine atoms in the biphenyl main chain. These compounds were again highly prized Chlorocarbon compounds, since they were perfect electrical insulators used in many areas, and its stability at high temperatures and their lack of flammability, made it loved by the industry. However the dark side of this compound was found when health problems started to show on people that worked in the production of this compounds and its poisonous and scary character was found, and its stability which was so loved, proved to be an even more dangerous factor since there was a big risk of bioaccumulation which could endanger a lot of lifes.

            Another very used Chlorocarbon compounds are the DDT, the dioxin, and hexachlophene. All this compounds used as pesticides and germicides were thought to be very useful since their stability was again seen as something good, because it would stay in the air longer and this was believed to be a good thing to kill  the bugs, making the compounds good pesticides. But all this compounds have very strong side effects, threating both animals and humans, which led to its eventual ban.

            Chloroform was another Chlorocarbon compound that changed the lifes of people, either for worse or for the better, having big advantages for medicine but also strong side effects. This compound was the substitute of ether in surgery, serving as an anesthetic and proportioning unconscious and painless surgeries. This compound had been preferred over ether because it wasn’t as flammable as ether and the recovery of the patient when using chloroform was faster and less uncomfortable. Chloroform became the an universally recognized anesthesia, and the anesthetic of choice in Britain and much of Europe. However, as much as it was revolutionary for medicine, it was also found out the strong flaws of chloroform which was found out to increase the risk of cancer, and cause liver and kidney damage, between many other negative effects, but at the time this compound was a blessing, and the negative effects seemed small in comparison to its anesthetic power that was so adored by many.

            As the authors have shown throughout the chapter, there are innumerous Chlorocarbon compounds that have affected our lifes. They have such miraculous effects, and even stronger negative effects, able to endanger the whole planet. Such powerful compounds have for sure changed the world, either for the better or worse, but for sure a lot of the things we have now and the especially, the refrigerating commodity, is all due to this chlorine containing compounds. Chlorocarbon compounds, most probably are still used today, even though most of the times they are avoided due to the knowledge over its big dangers, so they are not as important since people try to avoid it.  

Salt

             Salt, also called sodium chloride, is a very well-known substance used by many and very common in today’s world, but would have thought that this molecule could influence history and change the world. Salt is something very cheap nowadays, that we tend to mindlessly use as we please, and end up forgetting that in the past this molecule was a very valuable treasure and very expensive. Its uses were so important that its trade influenced innumerous changes in society.

            Sodium Chloride is formed of a regular arrangement of two differently charged ions, the sodium ion, which is positive, and the negatively charged chloride ion. This are held together by strong attractive forces due to the opposite charges, and form a crystal lattice structure.

Salt is an ionic compound, and the too charged sides of the molecules will create strong attractive forces with water, which will account for both, salt high solubility, and its ability to preserve food. The ions in sodium chloride have a tendency to randomly disperse, and with the strong attraction with molecule water, the ions of NaCl will separate and dissolve. As for salt’s preservative characteristics, this is also due to the attraction it has with water, because the salt will remove the water from the food tissues, and the bacterium which promotes the decay won’t be able to survive in the salty and anhydrated environment and the food won’t spoil as fast.

Salt is very important substance for the well-functioning of our body, in pre-historic times humans would satisfy their need for sodium chloride by eating large quantities of meat, however with vegetables being a bigger and bigger part of the diet in future times, people started to need another source of the molecule. Salt is important for the body because its components have extremely important roles in the functioning of the nerves, in the muscle movements, and also in the production of hydrochloric acid, which is a very important digestive juice in the stomach. Salt is then very important for our bodies, and the lack of it may create negative effects on our system, but the excess of salt can also cause this negative effects, so there should be a control in the amount of salt taken so that we can stay healthy.

            The main means of production of salt used in the past were the evaporating of seawater, boiling down salt solutions from brine springs or mining rock salt, all processes still used today, being the evaporation of sea water the most common process even though the salt produced was not as good as the one obtained in brine springs and rock salt due to being contaminated with magnesium and calcium chloride, which lowered his ability as a preservative. The production of salt was a very profitable business in the past thanks to its great demand, and a lot of cities grew and developed with the extraction activities of this ‘white gold’. The trading of salt has existed for centuries being dated to ancient civilizations that used salt in the mummification process. Later salt become the vital substance in one of the greatest trades triangles, and many tons of gold were sent to Europe through the gold and salt trade routes. Now that salt could be globally available, and could be used in ships to preserve the food, the voyages could be a lot longer, and sailors could adventure in more unknown seas and lands. However not everything was perfect in the salt trade, due to the elevated taxes that were used and that made the salt extremely expensive for some areas, while for others it wasn’t as much. The salt trade was the perfect way for the government to create a regular source of income, because salt was so ultimately needed, and there was no other substance that could replace it. It is even believed that these high taxes on salt may be one of the main driving forces for the French revolution. The big necessity for salt at this time was the source of a lot of misery for people around the world, which not only had to pay the salt, but also its high taxes. This led to people selling illegal salt, and created innumerous strikes and boycotts due to the big discontentment. In 1825 the United Kingdom became the first country to abolish the salt taxes, when it was understood that salt could have a very important role in the industrial prosperity of Britain.  A lot of industries at the time used raw salt for various manufacturing processes and in the production of inorganic chemicals, needed in the manufacture of other products. For example, the rise in the soap industry has everything to do with the lifting of the taxes on salt, because this substance was a very important and more abundant material in the production of soda ash, mentioned in the previous entry as a component for soap manufacture. Through chemical reactions the raw salt would be transformed into soda ash and used for soap. Besides the soap industry, salt was also used in the production of caustic soda, which was very important in the extraction of aluminum metal from its ores, and in the manufacture of rayon and other products. Adding to that the chlorine gas which was used as a bleaching agent and disinfectant, was also a product of salt reactions, and it’s still used today as a pesticide or in pharmaceutics. All this shows the various uses and the important role salt had played in the industry.

            The authors through this chapter show the reader the various areas in which salt has played an important role, mentioning stories of ancient times until most recent events, which perfectly convince us of its importance. Salt is of course still important today, most probably not as important since people tend to take it for granted, but it’s still very important and big necessity in our daily life. Today most people would not be able to imagine a world without salt because that’s how much we need it and how much it has shaped us.

 

Oleic Acid

         Unlike most of the molecules we have seen until now in previous entries, oleic acid was a molecule that existed in abundance being found in the olives of olive trees. These olive trees would produce one of the most treasured substances in the Mediterranean, the olive oil. Olive trees were sacred and the oil its olives produced was said to be ‘the lifeblood’ of this societies. Innumerous myths circled around the olive tree and it was seen as a divine gift, a symbol of peace and a source of food and fuel. Laws were created to protect this tree, and if violated severe punishments would be used. References of olive trees in religion, poetry, art, mythology and all its most varied uses in the daily life made it an important symbol for many cultures, symbolizing peace, victory, knowledge, renewal, strength and sacrifice for some, and also wealth, virginity and fertility for others.

            Oils have been long extracted from innumerous different plants, but no other oil reached such high importance as the olive oil and it is believed that the molecule oleic acid found in the olives is what sets this oil apart from the others, being the source of development of the western civilization and democracy. Oils are also known as triglycerides, composed of a glycerol molecule and three fatty acids that connect to the glycerol through condensation and realizing three water molecules with the formation of one triglyceride molecule. All the oils have the same glycerol molecules, what changes from oil to oil are the fatty acids and its levels of saturation. A saturated fatty acid means that no more hydrogen can be added to it, which means that the fatty acid is made of single bonds. On the other hand unsaturated fatty acids have these double bonds and don’t have the maximum amount of hydrogen possible. The double bonds will also make the fatty acid have a more bent shape having a less efficient packing, since the triglycerides can’t also pack as closely. This situation makes the products of these molecules have lower melting points, tending to be liquids at lower temperatures. Oleic acid is one of these triglycerides with monounsaturated fatty acids, meaning that they have only one double bond. Olive oil is the oil which contains the biggest amount oleic acid, and these monounsaturated fatty acids are known for having a neutral effect on cholesterol levels. While saturated fatty acids increase the cholesterol levels and promote heart diseases, polyunsaturated fatty acids do the opposite, lowering the levels of cholesterol but also increase the level of bad lipoproteins, which is a negative aspect. However the monounsaturated triglycerides, like oleic acid, besides being neutral for cholesterol levels, also decrease the amount of bad lipoproteins a very important factor that makes this molecule a good health promoter.

            The love for olive oil was great and the cultivation of the trees spread to further lands, and this oil eventually became a product that could be exported since it could be very profitable and was able to create a lot of commerce. Olive oil could be used in trades and the producers would exchange it for other materials like spices, metals, fabrics, between many others. The commercialization and trade of olive oil had great potential, so more olive trees were planted in coastal forests, where its trees were cut down to plant the olive ones. This had big environmental consequences because the olive trees eroded the land and the fields that were once so fertile, could no longer support other crops, negative effects that are still felt in Greece today, and that at the time made the country import most of its food necessities due to losing its treasured agricultural areas. 

            Olive oil may have had a very negative impact on agricultural lands in Greece, damaging theirs soils, deeply. However this wasn’t the biggest influence of olive oil in history. One of the most important discoveries of all time came from the olive oil, and it was none other than the soap. Now soap may seem something unimportant and common, but in a time when most diseases where spread and developed due to the lack of hygiene, soap was the salvation of many people and completely changed the lifes and mentalities. The invention of soap was most probably an accident, a very fortunate random discovery when people started to notice that oils and fats that fell onto the ashes of fires produced a substance that would turn into a foamy lather when in water, and that this substance had potential to be used as a cleaning agent. This process in which the triglycerides of fats and oils would react with the alkalis of ashes was called saponification. In this process, the triglyceride would be broken into its components using an alkali or a base and one glycerol and three molecules of soap would be produced.

Romans were the first to manufacture soap, using it mainly to wash clothes and only years later did it start being used in bathing. However, with the decline of Rome the soap production also started to decline, until Spain started to produce very high quality soap named ‘Castile’ from olive oil, which was exported and seen as a very luxurious item. Soap was still mainly used for washing closes for centuries more since bathing was both unfashionable and seen as sinful, most people only bathed once a year and this mentalities did not change quickly. During the fourteenth century soap started to be produced commercially but the monopoly rights were sold by the king, which created a fight between the king and the parliament, making soap one of the reasons for the English Civil War. In the late eighteenth century were still not very used, and its used decreased even more with the industrialization. People would now live in clustered towns and didn’t have the means to produce the soap on their own, and the product was too expensive for common families to buy it so its use continued to decline until the end of the eighteenth century when Nicholas Leblanc started to produce cheaper soap by using soda ash in the saponification. That added to the higher availability of fats, and the removal of taxes on soaps made it possible for families to buy it. Soap is able to clean because it has one end that os able to dissolve in water, and another that is able to dissolve grease, oils and fats. This way, the soap molecules are able to penetrate the grease particle forming a cluster named micelle, and the negative charged ended of the soap molecules on the outside end up repelling each other and are washed away by water taking the grease particle with them.

Oleic acid was without a doubt a very important molecule in history, bringing both negative and positive consequences to the world, something that the authors show perfectly well in the book, mentioning various developments in history where oleic acid had an important role. The importance oleic acid, olive oil and olive trees had in the past are still felt today. Olive oil is still used every day in our diet, and specialists tell us how this oil can be beneficial to health. Soaps are still one of the most amazing discoveries ever, saving innumerous lives and making it possible for nowadays a bath be something common and the olive trees are still sacred to some cultures and people. Over all, oleic acid is still an important molecule in our lifes. 

Morphine, Nicotine, And Caffeine

            

           When we think about the substances morphine, nicotine and caffeine, we tend to make no connection between them, since its uses today are so different and they don’t seem that related. However, these molecules are in fact connected by historic events and its addictive properties have had huge impact on the trades between countries, bringing also pleasure and threats to people.  

            These three molecules have influenced change in the world being the driving force behind the First and Second Opium Wars. The product opium poop had been used for centuries and evidences suggest that it existed in the areas of the first human civilizations.  In China it had also been a respected medicinal herb for a hundreds of years, but with the introduction of tobacco, which was taken the world by storm, the way China saw and used opium completely changed. When China’s emperor banned the smoking of tobacco, the Chinese most probably started to smoke opium in its place, sometimes even mixing it with tobacco. When mixing the morphine of opium and nicotine of tobacco, the effects of this inhaled alkaloid compound was very strong and quick and used in this manner opium was very addictive. Eventually opium was also banned in China, but this gave an opportunity of trades with the European which interest for caffeine in the tea leaves made them turn to China. Until then trading with China had not been very profitable, but now Britain knew the interest for opium in China and seeing that as an opportunity started to take part in the opium business. However when Chinese government destroyed a year supply of opium, Britain saw it has a chance to declare war to China, originating the First Opium War, in which the British won and China had to open Chinese ports for the British trade. Later in the Second Opium War, China lost again and more ports were open ending the isolation period of China, all due to the desire and interaction of these three alkaloid molecules.

            Opium is composed with twenty-four different alkaloids, but its main constituent is the previously mentioned, morphine. The name of this molecule came from the roman god of dreams named Morpheus, since morphine is a narcotic which is able to numb the senses and induce sleep. The chemical structure of morphine was only discovered in 1925, a long time after the discovery of its existence, but the knowledge obtain from the discovery made it possible for the discovery of a lot of other compounds. With the understanding of the chemical structure of morphine and other related compounds in opium, chemists were able to understand that morphine’s ability to relieve pain was related with its addictive properties, because the molecule codeine, which only differs in a side group, had shown to be less addictive but also less powerful at relieving pain. Since morphine had such successful potential, attempts were done to turn morphine into an even stronger analgesic by using the acylation process that had proven to be successful for aspirin. The compound produced was non-other than heroin, which even though it was a very powerful narcotic, and could be used in less quantities, it was also one of the most addictive substances known since it was transported in the blood stream a lot faster than morphine and created a much faster and intense feeling of euphoria. The ability of morphine to relieve pain resides in its similarity to endorphins. The natural pain relievers, endorphins have a unit in their structure named beta-phenylethylamide, which is also found in morphine. This gives the morphine, just like endorphins, the capacity to bind and block a pain receptor in the brain, blocking pain stimulus from passing through. As for the narcotics effects of morphine they are also thought to come from a basic set of structures that can be found in the molecule. The union of four structures originates the morphine rule, since other substances like, codeine, heroin, meperidine, Demerol and methadone, which have these structures in their constitution seem to carry the same narcotic characteristics, which leads us to think that the morphine rule structure is responsible for the narcotic activity.

            Nicotine was the second alkaloid molecule to take part in the Opium Wars situation. This molecule is found in tobacco, substance brought from the New World by Colombo and which quickly spread throughout Europe, and with the demand came the cultivation of its sources. Tobacco was introduced by Spanish and Portuguese in every port they visited during the period of the spice trades, and eventually this product became very popular even though penalties were given in some places for the use of this substance, it didn’t lose its interest and demand could no longer be met with the European plantations, which lead to the creation of new plantations in the New World that once again sustained the slavery. The main alkaloid in tobacco, is as mentioned previously, Nicotine molecule which is capable of stimulate the central nervous system and the heart, but if used in bigger doses it can have the opposite effect and work as a depressant. Nicotine is able to do this due to its ability to imitate and work as neurotransmissor forming a bridge between nerve cells and increasing the rate of the transmission of neurological impulse but because the connection is not cleared between impulses it eventually becomes obstructed and slows everything down.

            Caffeine was the third alkaloid molecule to be involved in the Opium Wars, being the molecule that Britain desired. This molecule is a potent central nervous stimulant which blocks the action of the neuromodulator adenosine, which would decrease the nerve firing slowing the release of neurotransmissors and inducing sleep. By blocking the adenosine by occupying its receptors it stops this induced sleep originating the caffeine buzz. It has been calculated that ten grams of caffeine can be fatal, but its benefits for human health have also been proven, making this molecule loved by many still today. Other molecules like theophylline from tea, and theobromine from cocoa have very similar structures with the caffeine molecule having the same abilities even though their effect is weaker than with caffeine. Caffeine was actually first introduced to Europe through cocoa beans which main production is for chocolate that at the time was named the ‘drink of gods’. This molecule besides having great impacts in the human body has also influenced history in innumerous areas. Important business were done in coffee shops, and countries like Brazil were developed thanks to coffee cultivation and the abolishment of slavery in Brazil was slowed down due to the power of coffee grower, fact that shows the importance that coffee had to nations.

            This three molecules, even though not really similar or related to each other have changed the world we leave in. Even today these molecules are completely indispensable in our lifes. Morphine is very important in medicine, still used as a pain killer and a very valuable discovery to many that suffer from excruciating pains. Nicotine is still as important as in the past, most people in this modern world would not be able to give up nicotine and its precious effects. As for caffeine this is for sure one of the most molecules still today, being part of our daily life and taking part in just only our coffee but in our substances. The authors have done a great job explaining how all this molecules worked and how its properties have slowly molded the world, and I am certain that these molecules are still as important today. 

Molecules of Witchcraft

         As children grow up they are told so many legendary stories about witches, magic and creatures that are not of this world. Today we tend to not really believe in all this creatures, and think of them with even admiration and love. But these legends that now to us have originated the most adored and enchanted stories, in the past were reasons for brutalities on those who were thought to have these magical powers. In ancient times, people feared some healing and mysterious abilities some people seemed to have and a lot of people, mostly old women, were named as witches and burned at the stake, tortured and even hanged, all due to the fear of the unknown and baseless assumptions. However who would have thought that most of the blame behind all this accusations of witchcraft and discrimination would be in certain molecules, the molecules of witchcraft.

            In early years, before 1350, witchcraft was regarded as sorcery and was not feared and not seen as a crime if no harm was caused, it was simply a method to try and control nature for a personal interest. However around the middle of the fourteenth century this attitude completely changed when magic conducted outside of church was seen as work of Satan and people started to get charged for accusations of witchcraft. Accusations alone were enough as evidence, and the accused were subject to tortures and all their properties would end up being confiscated, action very profitable for the inquisitors that shared the assets with local authorities. From the accused people during this which-hunt terror, ninety percent were women which most of the times lived as herbalists using local herbs as medicines to cure diseases and relieve pain and often also produced potions and removed hexes. These women were then charged with making a pack with the devil, judged and killed in most cases. Only by the eighteenth century were the witchcraft executions ceased and this hunt fever slowly died.

            As mentioned previously most of the accused women were herbalists, people with the unknowingly ability to use plants molecules as healing factors, which made them be labeled as witches. This knowledge this women had about the healing abilities of plants was vital for innumerous pharmaceutical discoveries done in the future, however at this time, the fact that this ‘witches’ had the power to heal was seen as something dangerous and even feared. Well known plants like willow tree that has salicylic acid for aspirin, wild celery that can be used to prevent muscle pains, or ivy that could be used to prevent asthma symptoms are just some of the examples of the plants that these herbalists could use. There are even plants that had powerful effects on the heart, strengthing the heartbeat and reducing the heart rate. Molecules like digoxin from the foxglove, had this ability and would become very important years later in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Another factor that also led to the fear of witches was the assumption they had innumerous toxins at their hands from toad, which they could later use in their potions.

            A very well-known myth surrounding witches was their ability to fly, and as weird as it seems, some accused ‘witches’ had actually admitted to flying in brooms and being part of some sorts of sexual perversions thought to be characteristics of their evil rituals. There is a possibility that these confessions may have been given due to torture, but there is also a very big possibility that these women really thought they had done all this acts admitted and characteristic of witches. This belief the women had may well be an illusion produced by the alkaloid compounds found in certain plants. Alkaloids are natural fungicides, insecticides, and pesticides of plants, which usually have one or more nitrogen atoms attached to a ring of carbon atoms. These molecules tend to be very toxic, and in the human body they usually affect the central nervous system, and its derivatives in future years have started to be used in pharmaceutics as pain-relieving molecules and local anesthesia, since small quantities of alkaloids can be beneficial to humans being used for centuries as medicine. However some alkaloids may also be very lethal and poisonous, even simple alkaloids like coniine can be as dangerous as, the more complicated, strychnine. The alkaloids that could be to blame for the hallucinations and the flying stories are most probably atropine and scopolamine, which were the main alkaloids found in the components of the ointments that were thought to promote flying. This ointments used were made from extracts of mandrake, belladonna, and henbane, each one with its abilities. And the two alkaloids they contained had both antisecretory and euphoric properties important for the hallucinations that ‘witches’ though as reality. These women knew that the swallowing of these compounds could lead to death and would not produce the euphoric and intoxicating sensations they desired, so they instead applied the substances on their skin after dissolving them in fats and oils, and spreading these greases in places were the skin is the thinnest so that the absorption would be faster and more effective. These alkaloids would then create vivid illusions and the women would really believe all the things that had happened in the illusions, believing that they had flown. Normally women would resort to this substance in attempt to run away from their hard lifes, filled with poverty and the inability to control their own destiny, and eventually would end up being accused of witchcraft when the magic was actually in the magic of the compounds.

            In other situations different types of alkaloids were to blame for the accusation of more people as being witches. Certain alkaloids found in ergot fungus that would infect cereal grains, expecially rye, would create huge suffering for the whole population of a community, and the pains and misery that this alkaloids inflected on people were so great and so wide spread, that people started to see this as a dark spell casted by witches on the community. The accused ones, most of the times were old woman that were so power that they didn’t have the means to get cereal grains, and due to that were not infected by the alkaloid compounds and would not have the painful aftereffects, which made people think that they would be the ‘witches’ since they were the only healthy ones. This dreaded alkaloids, were ergonovine, and ergotamine which effects were innumerous and created a lot of suffering eventually leading to the development of gangrene which caused a terrible searing pain. Even though ergot alkaloids have caused a lot of pain to people and be to blame for the executions of innumerous ‘witches’, they have also been used as therapeutic substances and are used even today in the field of medicine, and also for another not so good purposes like the production of LSD, a derivative of this ergot alkaloids which is now one of the popular drugs for young people, and extreme cases have even lead to suicide due to its strong hallucinating abilities.

            The molecules of Witchcraft have for sure influenced history, as innumerous people were feared, discriminated and hunted with this belief that they were witches. However all these mysteries were not in the people, the whole power was in molecules that were capable to rise fear in entire nations and put people against their own. The authors perfectly show the readers the various historic events that these molecules have created and how much they have made people suffer. Today some of these molecules are still shaping our life.  The molecules from herbs may still be used for treatments today, and the hallucinogenic and therapeutic abilities of the alkaloids are also used in today’s world. It is obvious that today people won’t be executed due to beliefs of witchcraft by the use of these molecules, but they are still important.

The Pill

            

            Nowadays the life of a lot of women could be completely different if it wasn’t for the discovery of the pill. With its discovery women obtained the power over their own fertility and happiness, this substance was the opening of doors for innumerous women that started to have choices and gathered the power to fight for their right, having strong social effects on the role of women in society. The pill was the first step to liberation of women and the rise of feminism.

            The pill is today a constant, a substance that we can easily find and use, however in the past things were completely different. Most people were against this new discovery and the use of contraceptive methods were even against the law, which didn’t have a lot of effect because a lot of women still searched for it desperate to end their misery of another unwanted pregnancy. This need of women to prevent conception did not start just recently, for centuries women have used innumerous different substances for this effect, and a lot of times this substances were aimed to make the women so sick and incapable of conceiving, but this hard effects didn’t decrease its use, and women continue the search and demand for contraceptive substances. After years of using dangerous contraceptive substances, during the twentieth century a safe and effective oral contraceptive was produced for the first time.

            The first oral contraceptive developed was norethindrone, a steroid, which is normally called ‘the pill’. Steroids are usually mentioned in illegal drugs for athletes, but steroids are more than that. Steroids are compound with a basic structure and a lot of other important molecules share similarities with this steroid structure and are then said to be part of the steroids family. Well known steroids are, for example, cholesterol, the sex hormones, and pregnancy hormones, which slight differences completely change their effect and abilities. Steroids have in its most basic form four rings connected in the same way and named as A, B, C and D rings, being the last one a five membered ring, while the other three are six membered. This structure is then found in every molecule mentioned previously and all other molecules that are referred as being steroids. The basis for the pill action resides on the characteristics of the steroid progesterone, the pregnancy hormone. This hormone is responsible for the preparation of the uterus for the implantation of the fertilized egg, and during this period the constant supply of progesterone inhibits further ovulation. This ability is what gives the substance contraceptive abilities, inhibiting the ovulation and decreasing the chances of pregnancy. However, the use of natural progesterone was not very effective since its production was not practical and it had to be injected since its abilities would be lost if digested after being taken orally. The potential was there, but natural progesterone was not very practical, which lead to the development of an artificial progesterone, which would mimic the hormone abilities. Russell Marker was the scientist which discovery led to the big production of synthetic progesterone, method vital for the production of the birth control pill in the following years. Marker, was not trying to produce a birth control, its main interest was in producing a method in which big amounts of steroids could be produced so that chemists could have material for various experiments. Marker observed that certain plants had high quantities of steroid containing compounds, and if these molecules could be manipulated they could become a major source of steroids, even more than animals. His theory was right, and the ‘Marker degradation’ method was invented, when using a saponin molecule from the sarsaparilla plant we was able to remove the undesired groups and isolate synthetic progesterone, which was chemically equal to the natural progesterone produced by the human body. With this method it was now possible to use plants like, the various species of Dioscorea which had high quantities of steroid-containing compounds that could now be used to produce synthetic steroids in big quantities. Thanks to Marker’s legacy progesterone was now being produced in bigger quantities and sold at a more reasonable price initially used to treat women with histories of miscarriage. This bigger supply of progesterone made it possible for Carl Djerassi to work on the production of an artificial progestin that would not lose its abilities when taken orally. Djerassi and his team were the minds behind the production of norethindrone, ‘the pill’, produced with the addition of a triple bond and removal of a CH3 group, changes that made this artificial progestin eight times stronger than normal progesterone and could now be swallowed.

Norethindrone was produced as substance that promoted pregnancy also relieving menstrual irregularities and never originated to be a contraceptive. However two women, named Margaret Sanger and Katherine McCormick become the mothers of the pill, being the pushing force behind the use of norethindrone as the birth control that is so commonly used and needed now. These two women had both the passion over women’s rights and the financial backing needed to push the discovery of a substance that could be simply swallowed and be the perfect contraceptive. They challenged Dr.Pincus to make this discovery and his experiments and theories were proven to be very successful. Together with John Rock, Pincus hypothesized that by inhibiting ovulation with a supply of progesterone, this would then produce a rebound effect when the supply of the molecule was stopped. They knew they were in the right track and that they simply needed and stronger form of progesterone which could be swallowed. After contacting various drug companies in search of a stronger substance, a Chicago based company gave an answer, and supplied their norethynodrel. This substance was very similar to norethindrone changing only in the position of a double bond, and becoming exactly equal to it when digested by the stomach acids. Pincus and Rock started to test norethynodrel, later named Enovid, as a contraceptive, and after trials with mice and later with women in Puerto Rico the substance had shown incredible results, being a complete success. Enovid was eventually given a limited approval by the Food and Drug administration since it was thought that people would not take a daily pill and that its high cost would decrease any intentions to do so. With time more developments were done on the pill decreasing the amount of synthetic progestin and adding some estrogen which would decrease the side effects, and eventually the pill became what it is today, a necessity in every woman’s life,

            The authors have done a great job showing all the social changes and power that this discovery has brought to women. The fact that such a small pill was the driven force behind the beginning of the fight for women’s rights and their power over their own body is something amazing. The pill has for sure changed the role in society, women started to have the control over their own lifes, and started to have an active role in society coming out from the man shadow and fighting for their own beliefs and taking charge over their own future. The pill is still very important today, and most woman use either as a contraceptive or as a menstrual regulator. Independently of the use it is given, this pill has changed lifes, and continues to do it still today, continuing to give power to women and giving them a sense of security. This molecule was for sure a very important discovery in our history. 

Wonder Drugs

          In the beginning of the nineteenth century the average life span was around the age of forty five, however a century later, the life expectancy had an incredible increase, and one of the main reasons for this phenomenon was the production of medicinal molecules during the twentieth century, named antibiotics. Pharmaceuticals became a very big and field and completely changed the medical area and millions of lifes were saved thanks to the wonder drugs produced during this period.

            A molecule that opened the doors for the development of pharmaceuticals, and that made people see the potential in this field was the pain-relieving aspirin. With the advanced knowledge of chemistry and big scale reactions obtained through the dye industry and its breakthroughs, Pharmaceuticals, had the financial and knowledge backing it needed to be successful. The first example of this success was the aspirin. A scientist named Felix Hofman started to work with compounds related to salicylic acid, molecule obtained from salicin after removing the glucose group of its constitution and oxidizing the product, originating the salicylic acid. This molecule had the amazing ability to reduce fever, relieve pain and even worked as an anti-inflammatory, but unfortunately it was also corrosive and it irritating for the stomach which would end its chances of being used as a medicine. However, Hofman found that an acetylated derivate of the compound, acetyl salicylic acid, had the same analgesic properties with the corrosive flaws. This substance produced was none other than the aspirin and due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic abilities the demand for the substance increased greatly and the source could no longer satisfy the demand, which lead to the beginning of the production of a synthetic aspirin produced using phenol molecules as a starting ingredient. Even today, aspirin is one of the most used drugs, being one of the first people tend to resort to when in pain.

            

            Around the time of aspirin discovery, breakthroughs on the antibiotics sector was also been done, when doctor Paul Ehrlich observed that certain dies would stain certain microorganisms but not others. This made him hypothesize that a microorganisms could be inflicted and eliminated without the damage of the host. Various experiments were done revolving around this theory and finally Ehrlich had results with the compound salvarsan which had shown to be active against syphilis spirochete even though it had some side effects. This achievement initiated new searches for new antibiotics testing various compounds and observing its effects in microorganisms. In 1930, after Gerhard Dogmak saved his daughter life using a dye named prontosil red, further studies were done about the dye and it was found that its antibacterial ability came from the sulfanilamide originated by the breaking if the dye molecule in the human body. The sulfanilamide is the molecule that has the antibiotic ability and it was proved to be effective against a lot other diseases like pneumonia and scarlet fever, for example. The big potential of this molecule was unveiled and innumerous derivatives were being produced in which the hydrogen would be replaced by another group. These derivatives were all from the sulfa drugs family, and some surpassed the sulfanilamide which had some strong side effects. At the time this sulfa drugs were the wonder drugs, since its ability to treat certain diseases seemed like a dream to many in that period, and they were also the reason that a lot of men did not die or did not have to go through amputations during WWII, making this substance even more important. The ability of this compounds to fight bacterial infections is on the shape and size of the sulfanilamide molecule which will stop the vital production of folic acid in the bacteria by substituting the p-Aminobenzoic acid compound that constitutes the folic acid produced. The enzyme that produces this compound does not distinguish sulfanilamide from p-Aminobenzoic acid and ineffectively using it instead and the bacteria ultimately die’s due to the lack of folic acid. Human on the other hand receive folic acid from their diet, so they won’t be affect by this molecule. Even though sulfa drugs have proved to be very successful in the fight against bacteria, its use as decreased in recent years due to its prevalent side effects, the creation of sulfa-resistant bacteria, and also due to the production of new and better antibiotics.

            Even though we tend to name sulfanilamides as antibiotics, the truth is that they are not actually antibiotics, since they are man-made molecule and not derivate from a living cell. The first true antibiotic was Penicillium first successfully used by Joseph Lister in curing a persistent abscess. Unfortunately the discovery was not further developed until 1928, when Alexander Fleming found that an culture of bacteria had gone through lysis after being contaminated with mold of the Penicillium family. The substance had proven to be very effective in the destruction of glass grown bacteria and when injected in mice it had shown no toxic effects which was a big discovery since it meant that the substance could be applied directly into the infected tissues. Penicillin had proven to very effective against a big range of bacteria and it had no harsh effects, unlike the sulfanilamides. However, its structure was still not known which meant it could not be synthetically done and the production of large amounts from mold was a big challenge. Only in 1957 after its structure was found, could Penicillin start to be synthesized. Penicillin was a peculiar molecule for scientists since it had a four membered ring in its constitution, named beta-lactam ring.  This ring, which is very uncommon in nature, is the reason for the antibiotic property of the molecule. The ring has a certain instability to it, and it can easily open in the presence of the enzyme in charge of the cell wall building in bacteria. When it the penicillin opens the bacterial enzyme attached to it through an acylation reaction. This phenomenon deactivates’ the enzyme stopping the formation of the cell wall and stopping the growth of the bacteria. Humans are not affected by this process because we have a different cell wall enzyme. With penicillin being such a great discovery, a lot of other derivatives started to be produced, for example, Ampicillin which is effective against bacteria resistant to penicillin G. and differentiates from the main molecule just in a side group. All penicillin derivatives are formed by the substitution of this specific side group.

            Wonder drugs have for sure influenced our world, so many lifes that were saved, and so many medical discoveries that were possible thanks to this first steps in the healing of people. What would the world be like if this first antibiotics and antiseptics were not discovered? Most probably our life expectancy would still be around the forty years of age, and our world would be totally different. All the molecules mentioned previously have the same importance today, they are completely indispensable in our life and anyone can see the how vital they are to our survival and well-being. The factors do a great job mentioning all the good effects these molecules have, and what they can help in a person and how this pharmaceutical field as evolved so much through the last century. Wonder drugs are and for sure will always be some of the most important molecules in our life.