I Think I Like This Book Already

Diseased walnut leaf, inverse color

I'm only two chapters' deep* into Mary Roach's new book Gulp, yet I'll certainly enjoy the remaining 300-odd pages. How do I know? Here's an excerpt, from p. 28 (emphasis mine):

"A quick word about chemicals and flavors. All flavors in nature are chemicals. That's what food is. Organic, vine-ripened, processed and unprocessed, vegetable and animal, all of it chemicals. The characteristic aroma of fresh pineapple? Ethyl 3-(methylthio)propanoate, with a supporting cast of lactones, hydrocarbons, and aldehydes. The delicate essence of just-sliced cucumber? 2E,6Z-Nonadienal. The telltale perfume of the ripe Bartlett pear? Alkyl (2E,4Z)-2,4-decadienoates."

Cheers, Mary. I can't wait to read the rest!

Note: Neurotic Psych and Science News have also written reviews; I'll round up my thoughts better after I finish the book.

*So far, only one tiny sticking point: Roach refers to "oxidating" beer (p. 25), a term that I believe has been largely supplanted by "oxidizing" to refer to interaction of food chemicals with molecular oxygen. I've even grabbed the NGram:

Justice = Served

Friend of the blog Stu Cantrill sends along a long-awaited decision, courtesy of our pals over at Retraction Watch. Blogizens may recall I wrote (strongly) in favor of this outcome back in February.

I applaud the editors of Chemistry: A European Journal for righting this ship. Well done.

Did you see how that worked out, Dalton Transactions?
Hope you reconsider for next time.

Thanks,
SAO

Blog Syn - It's ALIVE!

Remember how exciting it was back in 2009, when Paul over at Totally Synthetic posted his "NaH as an Oxidant - Liveblog," and the whole chemical community rushed to try the same reaction?

Well, we've tried to borrow a bit of that same spirit for the launch of Blog Syn, a new collaborative effort between a few chemblogosphere regulars. Go have a peek at the first post, on Fe-S cyclization reactions, and help us improve with some helpful comments.

Thanks again to my steadfast collaborators and "brothers" in chemical crowdsourcing: Matt Katcher, B.R.S.M., and Organometallica. We're on the lookout for more reactions to try, so don't hesitate to get in touch - seearroh_AT_gmail.

-SAO

Plant Papers, Springing Up in Science

"Filter flower"

If you look around the literature lately, biosynthesis and plant metabolism reviews seem to be cropping up everywhere. The latest batch, out in Science just last week, explore several key concepts for those not yet tangled up in Vinca's vines, or dreaming of Papaver's poppies. Ten different papers discuss topics as diverse as alkaloid gene clusters, soil nutrient incorporation, metabolic diversity, medicinal compound mining, and how tomato color impacts taste.

Spend a few minutes reading through, and hopefully come away with a greater appreciation for plants - the original medicinal chemists!