Science by Email 27 April 2012

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	27 April 2012
News: From click to chemical By Patrick Mahony 3D printers such as this may one day be able to print out pharmaceuticals. Imagine going to the doctor. Instead of writing out a prescription and sending you off to the pharmacy, they click 'print' on their computer. A short time later, your medicine is ready. It might sound more like science fiction, but such a situation might not be as unlikely as it seems. Scientists from the University of Glasgow in Scotland modified a 3D printer to 'print' chemicals. How do they do it? Using a 3D printer and open source software, structures are created containing cavities, chambers and channels out of bathroom sealant. These structures, or 'reactionware', mimic glassware, like flasks and beakers that chemists typically use to synthesise chemicals. Then researchers use the 3D printer to 'print' chemicals into the reactionware and initiate chemical reactions. By changing the starting chemicals or structure of the reactionware, different products can be created. By layering different structures and chemicals, scientists can even conduct complicated, multi-step reactions using just one piece of reactionware. The reactionware can also be cut open and easily sealed again, allowing reuse. The researchers hope that one day this technique could be a cheap way to produce all sorts of chemicals, particularly pharmaceuticals. At the moment, only large engineering facilities are able to modify their reactors to produce different products. The relatively low cost of 3D printers means that the ability to produce a wide range of different chemicals becomes available to smaller laboratories. It may be also be possible to use the technology in non-laboratory environments. Being able to click and print in this way makes chemical synthesis easier and cheaper. This could help drive innovation and the development of new, useful chemicals. More information DIY drugstores in development at the University of Glasgow How 3D printing works Careers link A career in health: pharmacist
Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.   Beat the eggs with the fork.   Mix the self-raising flour and sugar together, then add the milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla essence.   Line a muffin tray with patty pans and spoon the mixture into half the patty pans.   Cook the cupcakes at 200°C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack. Turn the oven down to 150°C and cook the remaining cupcakes for 15 minutes.   Try this: Cupcake chemistry Safety: this activity requires a hot oven. Younger readers should ask an adult for assistance. See the CSIRO Education safety page for more information. You will need Oven Muffin tray Patty pans Butter Self-raising flour Caster sugar Milk Eggs Vanilla essence Measuring cups and spoons Fork Mixing bowls Kitchen scales Metal spoon Microwave Cooling rack What to do Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line the muffin tray with patty pans. Use the scales to weigh out 125 g of butter. Melt the butter in the microwave and set it aside to cool. Use the fork to beat 2 eggs in a small mixing bowl. Mix 2 cups of self-raising flour and 3/4 cup of sugar in another mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of milk, the butter, eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence to the bowl containing the flour and sugar. Mix it all with a spoon. Spoon the mixture into half of the patty pans, leaving the other half empty. Bake the filled patty pans in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool them on a cooling rack. Turn the oven down to 150°C. Allow the oven and cupcakes to cool. Spoon the remaining mixture into the empty patty pans. Cook these filled patty pans for 15 minutes. Remove the next batch of cupcakes from the oven, allow them to cool, then compare them to the first batch. What do you observe? What's happening? The cupcakes rise due to a chemical reaction. The self-raising flour contains a solid acid and base. When the mixture is wet, the acid and base react to form carbon dioxide gas. The gas bubbles cause the cupcakes to rise. Another reaction, called the Maillard reaction occurs at the same time resulting in the browning of the cupcakes. Chemical reactions are affected by temperature. By raising the temperature, chemical reactions that cause the rising and browning of cupcakes occur at a faster rate. By lowering the temperature, these reactions don't occur fast enough, resulting in uncooked cupcakes. Applications Using temperature to control chemical reactions in food is at the core of cooking. Cooking at higher temperatures cooks food faster, but might burn the food or result in unwanted flavours. Many chemical processes used in industry, such as extracting some metals from ores, won't happen at all unless high temperatures are used. By Patrick Mahony Try another Science by Email activity about the chemistry of cooking More information Rates of reactions View the online version Quiz questions 1. In chemistry, what does PVA stand for? 2. Which continent did potatoes originally come from? 3. Earth's inner core is theorised to consist of which two metals? 4. What unusual defence mechanism do the caterpillars of the large white butterfly use to deter predators? 5. Auroras on which planet were photographed for the first time in 2011? Did you know? Some people might see a man in the Moon, however many Indigenous Australian cultures see an emu in the Milky Way. In autumn and winter the head of the emu can be seen just below the Southern Cross. Websites   Watch it! Discover the beauty of ferrofluids! See it! Check out these fossils of ancient birds. Events Queensland: Queensland Science Contest The Queensland Science Contest is open to all Queensland students from pre-school to year 12. Students can enter as individuals or groups in 6 different categories. Categories include scientific investigation, classified collections, communicating science and environmental action projects. The overall winner of the competition will receive the Young Scientist of the Year award. Projects completed as part of CSIRO CREST Awards are also eligible to be entered in this contest, and some projects may also be entered in the BHP Billiton Science Awards. For more information including entry forms, see the contest handbook. Household science, Saturday 28 April at 9.00 am on Network Ten Your home: they say it's sweet, but did you know it is also full of science? Find out what lights up your house, sit down and enjoy the inner workings of a toilet, and introduce yourself to a home that is fully automated! So tune in and join Dr Rob as once again the ordinary becomes extraordinary, under the SCOPE. Next episodes: Thursday 3 May: Red Saturday 5 May: FAQs Want to have your own episodes of SCOPE to watch whenever you feel like it? Click here to download them directly into your iTunes folder, or go here to download iTunes. Charges apply. Quiz answers 1. PVA stands for polyvinyl acetate or polyvinyl alcohol. 2. Potatoes originally came from the Andes mountains in South America. 3. Earth's inner core is theorised to consist of iron and nickel. 4. The caterpillars of the large white butterfly use vomit to deter predators. 5. Auroras on Uranus were photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope for the first time in 2011. Science by Email is a CSIRO publication. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and bankmecu are proud partners of Science by Email. Editor: Jasmine Leong| Manage your subscription | FAQ

 

 

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