Once a fusty way of keeping moths out of clothes, Brian Clegg explains how naphthalene may have helped bring life to Earth

Nature has a range of ways to create bioluminescence. Not to be outdone, chemists create their own glow with diphenyl oxalate.

They are the compounds that link leather trousers to a nice cup of tea - Brian Clegg introduces tannins

Anna Lewcock finds out how pigeons played a major role in discovering an important pituitary hormone, prolactin

Amongst the fictional forensic equipment shown on television, Brian Clegg notices one distinctly non-fiction stalwart: Luminol

It smells sweet, is potentially lethal and organic chemists rely on it: Emily James on dichloromethane

Purple was once a colour only royalty could afford to wear. Hayley Birch investigates tyrian purple, or dibromoindigo, the original purple dye

Stephen Wallace introduces batrachotoxin, a deadly toxin that comes from a beautiful little frog

Brian Clegg introduces the first compound to ever exist - helium hydride

Simon Cotton introduces the first antibiotic known to kill TB: Streptomycin