Chemistry For Your Life

Do atoms “want” full electron shells, do molecules “prefer” stability, and are electrons really “attacking” each other? Or could it be that while personifying molecules might be quietly teaching us the wrong ideas? Chemistry education researcher Jessie Stenlund joins Melissa and Jam to investigate anthropomorphism, analogies, scientific language, and why a satisfying explanation isn’t necessarily an accurate one. Along the way, Melissa reckons with learning that one of her strongest teaching opinions might need revisiting.

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Timestamps

00:00 — Melissa discovers she may have been teaching something wrong

00:52 — Meet chemistry education researcher Jessie Stenlund

04:17 — Why does iron rust?

08:59 — What counts as anthropomorphizing molecules?

11:09 — Why personification makes chemistry easier to learn

15:17 — When chemistry’s official language already sounds human

18:49 — How personification can confuse cause and effect

24:58 — Oversimplification, unfalsifiable claims, and chemical evidence

34:07 — When scientific shorthand replaces real understanding

36:52 — Do students think atoms and molecules are alive?

40:48 — Can satisfying explanations stop us from asking questions?

47:35 — Are electrons really “attacking” other molecules?

52:09 — How to personify chemistry more responsibly

57:00 — Finding the right balance for different learners

References from the Episode:

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Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Rebroadcast #068

This week we issue a correction, joining other science publications issuing the same correction. That's kind of an obvious answer to the question of "Is science always right?" So in this episode we explore that question, as well as what happens when science isn't right. And why that's NOT a bad thing.

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References from this episode

1. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2019/citrus-scent-debunked.html


2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfq.12226


3. Chemistry by Julia Burdge

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Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

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Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar differently than a freshly cooked meal, or is this just another nutrition “hack” invented by the internet? Melissa and Jam investigate starch, glucose, insulin, digestion, crystallization, and the surprising chemistry that happens while your food sits in the fridge. Plus, the whole thing somehow turns into a Lord of the Rings battle involving glucose, hobbits, and ents, because of course it does.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Timestamps

00:00 — Can cooking and cooling starch make it healthier?

03:52 — Why bread, pasta, and rice get a bad reputation

04:36 — Starch: a polymer made from glucose

07:03 — How glucose, insulin, and blood sugar work

09:25 — The internet’s cook-cool-reheat claim

12:14 — What crystallization has to do with leftovers

14:43 — How starch changes as cooked food cools

15:48 — What is resistant starch?

17:20 — Studies on reheated bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes

19:51 — Resistant starch, fiber, and your gut bacteria

21:26 — Can repeated reheating make even more resistant starch?

23:14 — Jam explains resistant starch using Lord of the Rings

30:44 — A free food hack with actual science behind it

34:49 — Melissa and Jam’s favorite starchy meals

References from the Episode:

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Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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What’s actually flowing through the “natural gas” pipes connected to your home—and did we get something wrong in our air-conditioning series? Which careers can an organic chemistry student pursue, how do topical pain-relief gels work, and what could make a successful HIV medication suddenly stop working? Melissa and Jam answer listener questions, revisit past episodes, correct the record, and stumble into a genuinely fascinating pharmaceutical mystery. Plus, could more chemistry history and chemistry-education stories be coming to the podcast?

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Timestamps

00:00 — Another round of listener chemistry questions

02:04 — Correction: methane, propane, and household natural gas

04:01 — How European AC systems handle propane safely

05:47 — Could more chemistry-education episodes be coming?

07:33 — The overlooked women and stories of chemistry

09:20 — What careers involve organic chemistry?

12:20 — A science teacher tackles the chemistry Praxis exam

13:38 — Do apples and human skin use the same protective pigment?

15:22 — Resources for learning organic chemistry

16:32 — How do topical pain-relief gels work?

19:35 — The HIV medication that suddenly stopped working

20:52 — How one crystal can transform an entire batch

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

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Can shining a red light on your face really improve acne, wrinkles, inflammation, or wound healing, or is red light therapy just an expensive skincare scam involving a slightly alarming mask? How could ordinary visible light affect cells beneath your skin, and should you trust the products filling your social media feed? Melissa and Jam investigate photobiomodulation, mitochondria, collagen, blue light, FDA clearance, and the research behind this increasingly popular wellness trend. The answer is more scientifically interesting, and more complicated, than either of them expected.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Timestamps

00:00 — Is red light therapy real or a scam?

03:41 — How light transfers energy to molecules

06:24 — Is red light therapy actually infrared?

08:03 — How deeply can visible light penetrate your skin?

09:34 — What red light may do inside your mitochondria

12:00 — Oxygen transport and other possible mechanisms

13:39 — Could red light trigger collagen production and healing?

16:26 — What scientists know—and still don’t understand

20:45 — Red light, blue light, inflammation, and acne

30:03 — The major problems with current red light research

33:20 — What FDA clearance does—and doesn’t—mean

35:20 — How to evaluate a red light therapy device

40:04 — So, should you buy a red light mask?

44:06 — A new series idea: Is it a scam or is it chemistry?

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.