About this blog

Chemistry and life are in many ways one and the same. Almost everything we interact with every day is, or is composed of, chemicals – substances that are built, from atoms, to make molecules with specific functions. These molecules are built in nature or in the lab, and are mixed and matched to make the substances we eat, drink, wear, and use every minute of the day.

When you look on the internet, you will see a lot of people touting a “chemical-free” life. What they mean by that is that they want to life a life free of a specific subset of chemicals – those that are created in a lab and are considered in some way unnecessary or toxic. There is no such thing as a true “chemical-free” life, and chemicals that are created in the lab to replicate those found in nature are actually identical. Some of the things these people cite as being toxic truly are, in large doses, but may not be in smaller ones. Often, the information out there is a confused mix of true scientific study and anecdotal evidence, so it can be hard to find the truth amidst all the blogs. In this blog, I aim to pick a commonly used chemical for each entry, and  publish a short review on that chemical.  I will use both the internet for anecdotes, and peer-reviewed scientific journals for facts about each chemical. Hopefully through this blog, people can better understand the world we live in and the chemicals we love and use every day.

Each article will be broken up into the same parts.

Chemical name:

Alternate names:

Primarily found in:

Use:

Anecdotes:

Scientific Review: