Describes the initial site, and symptoms of the human immunodeficiency virus. Explains the diverse behavior and destructive consequences of the disease through discussion, diagrams, and pictures of the life cycle of the virus and the genetic material that controls it. (RT)

Describes a method that uses ping-pong balls to construct 3-D models of covalent molecules to represent Group I-VIII atoms. (ZWH)

Evaluates first-year college students' perceptions of molecular modeling. Examines the effectiveness, integration with course content, interests, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of molecular modeling. (Author/CCM)

Green chemistry is the awareness of the damaging environmental effects due to chemical research and inventions. There is emphasis on a need to include green chemistry in synthesis with atom economy in organic chemistry curriculum to ensure an environmentally conscious future generation of chemists, policy makers, health professionals and business…

Conformational analysis of cyclohexanes is a fundamental, requisite topic covered in undergraduate organic chemistry. A molecular modeling experiment is designed with the view of extending students' boundaries of knowledge about cyclohexane conformational stabilities.

A comprehensive theoretical description of thermal protein unfolding coupled to ligand binding is presented. The thermodynamic concepts are independent of the method used to monitor protein unfolding but a differential scanning calorimetry is being used as a tool for examining the unfolding process.

The measurement of the infrared rotation-vibration spectrum of HCl(g) is a common experiment in the physical chemistry laboratory, which allows students the opportunity to explore quantization of rotational states in diatomic molecules. It is found that the CO2 vibration-rotation spectrum if used as an addition to the HCl experiment would give the…

Nanotechnology is science and engineering resulting from the manipulation of matter's most basic building blocks: atoms and molecules. As such, nanotechnology promises unprecedented control over both the materials we use and the means of their production. Such control could revolutionize nearly every sector of our economy, including medicine,…

Axonal degeneration contributes to the development of non-remitting neurological deficits and disability in multiple sclerosis, but the molecular mechanisms that underlie axonal loss in multiple sclerosis are not clearly understood. Studies of white matter axonal injury have demonstrated that voltage-gated sodium channels can provide a route for…

Aminoglycosides are toxic to both the inner ear hair cells and the ganglion cells that give rise to the eighth cranial nerve. According to recent studies, these cells have a repertoire of molecular responses to aminoglycoside exposure that engages multiple neuroprotective mechanisms. The responses appear to involve regulation of ionic homeostasis,…

A study demonstrates the thermal degradation of two heat-sensitive polymers, namely, polystyrene and poly (methyl methacrylate). The experiment described in the study introduces undergraduate students to polymer structure as well as the application of spectroscopic techniques to the solution of structural problems.

Albert Einstein's theory of the Brownian motion, Marian von Smoluchowski's heuristic model, and Perrin's experimental results helped to bring the concept of molecules from a state of being a useful hypothesis in chemistry to objects existing in reality. Central to the theory of Brownian motion is the relation between mean particle displacement and…

A rationale for the difference in the periodic trends in the ionization energy of the transition-metal elements versus the main-group elements is presented. The difference is that in the transition-metal elements, the electrons enter an inner-shell electron orbital, while in the main-group elements, the electrons enter an outer-shell electron…

The solvent-free or solid-state reaction systems like the Baeyer-Villiger rearrangement have become popular in the synthetic organic community and viable option for undergraduate laboratory series to reduce waste and cost and simplify reaction process. The reaction is an efficient method to transform ketones to esters and lactones.

The expression of genes in cells of various tissue types varies considerably and is correlated with the function of a particular organ. The pattern of gene expression changes in diseased tissues, in response to therapy or infection and exposure to environmental mutagens, chemicals, ultraviolet light, and ionizing radiation. To better understand…