Chemistry For Your Life

By Melissa and Jam, Bleav

A podcast that helps you understand the fascinating chemistry hidden in your everyday life.

Have you ever wondered why onions make you cry? Or how soap gets your hands clean? What really is margarine... more

4.6

294294 ratings

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FAQs about Chemistry For Your Life:

How many episodes does Chemistry For Your Life have?

The podcast currently has 400 episodes available.

Chemistry For Your Life episodes:

July 13, 2023What is jam? (and jelly and preserves etc.)
#087 Rebroadcast
Jams, jellies, preserves, marmalade. So many kinds of fruit spreads, but how are they made? How do they go from fruit to gooey spread? How are they delicious? What the chemistry here, and how has it been going on long before we understood it?
References from this episode
https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/pectin/3005903.article

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/jam

https://extension.psu.edu/pectins-role-in-making-jam-and-jelly

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/bk-1986-0310.ch001

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223750507_Pectin_New_insights_into_an_old_polymer_are_starting_to_gel

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/chapter/bk9781782622956-00205/978-1-78262-295-6

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
39min
July 06, 2023What is rubber?
#164

Something some common and useful in our everyday lives, from gloves to toy balls, what even is rubber? What makes it rubber, and what makes it different and unique from other substances? Also, where does it come from? Let's find out.
References from this episode
https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/rubber/3005929.article

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stretch-it-how-does-temperature-affect-a-rubber-band/

https://youtu.be/n2zOdsxC_eo

https://youtu.be/54-rMC_67TM

https://youtu.be/qnAhsioaHug

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/latex.shtml

https://www.jacionline.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0091-6749%2802%2900098-2
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
46min
June 29, 2023Bonus: 1,000,000 Downloads! - YouTube Live Replay
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 45
This month we have a special bonus episode. To celebrate reaching 1,000,000 downloads, we hung out with a bunch of podcast listeners on YouTube Live and answered questions and had a blast. Check it out if you missed it!
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
1h 12min
June 22, 2023Why DO mosquitos bite some people more than others? (new research!)
#163

We've talked about mosquitos many times around here, why they bite us, how they find us, how to prevent them from biting us, etc. One thing that's struck us is that research about some of those big questions is ongoing and always evolving. And we just came across some super new research about why mosquitos bite some people more than others, you won't want to miss this!
References from this episode
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/why-mosquitoes-prefer-some-people-others

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/the-chemistry-of-mosquito-attraction

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00532-8

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24831245/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/1-8-cineole
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
44min
June 15, 2023Do mosquitos bite some people more than others?
#052 Rebroadcast
This week, Melissa and Jam continue the topic of mosquitos (If you missed last week's, listen to it first). It's time to answer the age-old, every-summer question. Why do some people get bitten by mosquitos more than other people? Or maybe, does this really happen in the first place? If so why? What factors do mosquitos look for, compare, and choose by? Let's get to the bottom of this.

References from this episode
https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(10)60044-6/pdf

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/why-mosquitoes-like-you-the-most/

https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/stories/world-deadliest-animal.html

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28639690/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127358/

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/JAMCA/JAMCA_V18_N2_P091-096.pdf

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1186/1744-8069-4-29

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10921468/
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
35min
June 08, 2023Bonus: Why is butter yellow? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 44
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about butter, popcorn, vinegar and baking soda, being a dad, and more!
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
41min
June 01, 2023What is the greenhouse effect?
#162

Here's another summer topic, if you live in a somewhat warmer climate area, you've undoubtedly notice that cars can get insanely hot during the summer. We live in Texas, and cars can get so hot that it's dangerous. What the heck is going on there? We all know this to be the case, but why exactly? Let's talk about it.
References from this episode
https://www.acs.org/climatescience/climatesciencenarratives/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect.html#:~:text=All%20gases%20whose%20molecules%20have,temperature%20for%20billions%20of%20years.

https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmosphere

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22759590/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cimZGu5GadQ&&t=84s

https://youtu.be/cimZGu5GadQ?t=84s

https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/oxygen/3005899.article

https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/carbon-dioxide/3005728.article
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
45min
May 25, 2023Why does carbonated water have a taste?
#026 Rebroadcast
This week, Melissa and Jam discuss part of an often requested topic: carbonation. Does it have a taste? Like why does carbonated water taste different than flat water? And what is carbonation in the first place? Does it give you unusually long life? How is it so refreshing? We answer some of those questions.
References from this episode
The Taste of Carbonation - Jayaram Chandrashekar, David Yarmolinsky, Lars von Buchholtz, Yuki Oka, William Sly, Nicholas J. P. Ryba, Charles S. Zuker

Scientists Discover Protein Receptor for Carbonation Taste - National Institutes of Health

Carbonation Has a Taste - Scientific American
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
32min
May 18, 2023What is popcorn?
#161

Summer's here, blockbusters are coming out, people will be headed to the movies, and nothing goes better with a movie... than popcorn. At least that's how we feel around here. But what even is popcorn? Are the kernels just like regular corn? How do they pop to become popcorn? What even is the stuff we're eating? Can someone please tell me what's going on?? Let's dig in.
References from this episode
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/bm049220l

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0733521083800071

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsif.2014.1247#d3e573

https://ag.purdue.edu/news/2020/02/whats-under-the-shell-of-this-popular-snack.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/explore-the-pop-in-popcorn

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050415112829.htm

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-popcorn

https://www.compoundchem.com/2017/01/19/popcorn/

https://royalsociety.org/blog/2015/02/the-science-of-popcorn/

https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/secret-science-stuff/popcorn.html

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/plant-science-at-the-dinner-table-popcorn

https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/gardening/wv-garden-guide/growing-popcorn-in-west-virginia
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
52min
May 11, 2023Bonus: Can coffee get HOTTER in an insulated mug? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 43
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about coffee in thermoses, yeast, intermolecular forces, plastic wrap, and more!
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Sarah Moar

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Nelly Silva

Venus Rebholz

Lyn Stubblefield

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Emerson Woodhall

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Bri McAllister

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
51min

FAQs about Chemistry For Your Life:

How many episodes does Chemistry For Your Life have?

The podcast currently has 400 episodes available.

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