WWWTP? C'mon, TIME Magazine!

Update, 18:00 GMT - TIME has removed the stock photo,  fixed the strange "Period Table" language, and appended a correction. Kudos to the editorial staff for fast turnaround.

You can't go anywhere on the Internet today without hearing the clamor surrounding newly-confirmed element 115. Fantastic achievement, and another stepping stone towards the long-predicted "island of stability" - super-heavy atoms rumored to have longer lifetimes and higher stability (somewhere north of 118).

But the reporting surrounding the feat? A little less excellent.

Take, for example, this snippet from TIME's Science & Space desk. It hits all the high points, culling quotes from Lund's press release and explaining in plain English how the element came to be. But there's two glaring errors in the first inch of column!

Source: Time.com

1. Where on Earth did that stock photo come from? And who vetted it? First, no one uses the term "Joliotium" for Element 105 anymore; that's been Dubnium since 1997. Even when Joliotium was in play, no one abbreviated it as "Ji" (they used Jl). And Rutherfordium (Rf) isn't 106, but 104. 106 honors Glenn Seaborg, and shortens to Sg.

2. I've never heard the Periodic Table called the "Period Table" before. Are we describing atoms and elements, or 18th-century furniture?

C'mon, TIME, you can do better than this!

WWWTP? Time's Aspirin Structure Causes Headache

While reading through the 2012 "Time 100" issue, I happened across a flow chart with a certain chemical structure. The chart, dubbed "Influence: A Brief History" (also a couched ad for Citibank) details epochal moments in human innovation, from Frankenstein to Dolly the cloned sheep.

Next time, how about using SciFinder? Or an encyclopedia?
Or Google Images? Or Wikipedia? Or...asking me?

Under the heading '19th Century' came the usual suspects: Edison, Marx, Bell...and the 1899 patent for aspirin. You'd think that a major news magazine would fact-check the structure of arguably the most popular drug in history, right? You'd be wrong.

What's missing? Well, for one, that's not even the right molecule! There's an extra methyl, and we're missing an acid proton. Furthermore, even if that structure were correct, you're missing all the charges: O should have a "+," and the COO a "minus."

Maybe that's why the "penicillin" graphic (1928) wisely depicts just a blue injection bottle.

Dear Time Magazine: We have to have a heart-to-heart. This isn't the first time you've published scientific snafus, and I know it won't be the last. I'd like to help. Hell, I'd even volunteer! If any Time editors have questions about chemical structures or terminology, please let me know, before you hit "publish" on yet another chemical mishap.

Time's Terpenoids Need Chem Context

The latest issue of Time discussed drought impact on food flavoring molecules: Health & Science section, p. 26. Seeing words like sucrose, sulfur, and capsaicin in a major magazine perked up my chem "spider sense," but I balked at the description under "bitter" vegetables like dill, fennel, or carrots. The exact passage reads:

"Chock-full of terpenoids, or aromatic compounds, that become especially concentrated during drought conditions"

OK, Time, what did you mean, exactly? Context clues are key - the author wants the word "aromatic" to describe sense impact, or how these compounds taste and smell. Of course, when I think "aromatic compounds," I imagine cyclic molecules with lots of pi electrons, stabilized through conjugation.

Can't we both be right? Of course! Certain compounds fit both criteria - they have both an aromatic ring and also smell good. Then, of course, there's terpenoids that don't fit either rule. Most play to the middle: they're odiferous, but would still make Huckel cry himself to sleep.

Either way, a little context goes a long way to helping people understand the wide array of flavor compounds in their food...without causing chemistry consternation.

Update (8/9/12) - Fixed image, deleted THC, added thymol as a more representative volatile terpenoid