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

Lars Öhrström delves into the history of alum, a compound linked to some of Europe's most infamous families

Helen Scales investigates hirudin, a powerful anticoagulant found in leech saliva

Simon Cotton explores a dance-scene drug that was designed for horses, ketamine