Introduction
Attention Grabber: Have you ever wondered why we feel happy or sad in certain situations and the effects it has on our bodies?
Introductory Remark: Since everything around is made up of atoms and molecules we know that chemistry has a role in that as it is a branch of science.
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Reveal Topic: Today, we are going to talk about the topic of chemistry in everyday life.
Preview: Firstly, we are going to talk about the chemistry behind love and then we will proceed on to how it was used in warfare and how it is being used currently in the food industry.
Transition: First and foremost, chemistry has brought many causes and effects in our everyday life including our love relationship.
Chemistry in love
A. The Beauty of Love
Most people like quoting “love is blind” or “love at first sight” but actually it boils down to “brain and mind games”. In fact, there is a real chemical reaction going on in our brains that makes us feel we are in love. When we first start to fall in love with someone, we feel euphoric excitement, for example, our heart is racing rapidly, our cheeks flush, our palms get sweaty, our eyes keep staring at our partner, and many more signs. The reason is that our brain releases some chemical substances which consist of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Nonetheless, each of these chemical substances plays an important role in a love relationship. To stream in a little, dopamine is called a “pleasure chemical” producing a feeling of happiness. Therefore, when you are spending time with your loved ones, you will always feel happy, excited, and intimate and feel that time passed by so swiftly. This is because your brain is releasing dopamine. In addition, when we are attracted to our loved ones, and they return the “gaze effect”, couples usually feel connected to each other. Consequently, their heartbeat rises, and their eye-to-eye contact pulls the couples together and then this is where the first kiss happened, and norepinephrine chemicals is being released during the attraction.
Researchers are using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe people who are in a love relationship. The fMRI scan showed that in the brain there is an increased flow of blood with a high concentration of receptors for dopamine related to the states of euphoria, craving, and addiction. This is the reason when someone is in love, the person's moods get happier, more secure, and lesser pain and stress too. This is because dopamine and norepinephrine are released, activating the brain’s pleasure center. On the opposite side, high levels of dopamine can lead to short-term memory, hyperactivity, sleeplessness, and goal-oriented behavior. In other words, couples who are in love focus intently on the relationship and often on little else.
B. The Ugly Side of Love
The word “L-O-V-E” is a very powerful tool in the world we are living in. The feeling of love has saved thousands and millions of people's lives. Unfortunately, there is always the ugly side of love which is when arguments happen or worst still a breakup in a relationship. These “ugly” moments are usually heartbreaking, and couples tend to express their despair by crying out. However, there is chemistry behind these “ugly” moments. The composition of chemical substances during heartbreak consists of monoamines, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, cortisol, and oxytocin. When in love, dopamine and serotonin act as reward system that drives the emotion of feeling pleasure and pain. The reward pathways are a part of the bonding system. Hence, when in love, the release of dopamine and serotonin will make them happy and feel attached to their partner. In contrast, when couples break up, they will feel a strong feeling of sadness because out of a sudden, they feel lonely or detached and this causes stress. This shows the brain releases too little serotonin and dopamine. For example, break-up couples will feel moody and obsessive thoughts, negativity, and impulsivity.
Lovesick produces a chemical messenger called corticotropin factor (CRF) in an area of the hypothalamus, a center for emotions in the brain. This area functions as a corticotropin-releasing hormone and norepinephrine. When they lose their partner, he or she will experience an increase in corticotropin-releasing factor. The CRF hormone stimulates our stress response but in excess, it can lead to depression. Therefore, they might experience anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitation, and low appetite causing heart problems like stress cardiomyopathy and stomach ulcer. In addition, breakups can produce cortisol in our brains if we are under stress. High cortisol levels can impair the immune system, brain function, and memory and also lead to a higher risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
Transition: In contrast to the numerous contributions science has made to mankind. There have been occurrences where it has been deployed for mass destruction.
2. History of Chemical Warfare
A. BCE- until now
B. Properties and effects
Chemical warfare has been part of human society for many centuries, although it has been controversial in the 20th century. Here are some well-known events in chemical warfare. During 600 BCE, the Athenian military poisoned the water sources of the city of Kirrha with poisonous hellebore plants. The earliest references to toxic weapons are talked about in Ancient Greek myths when Hercules poisoned his arrows with the venom of the Hydra monster. Some literature alludes to poisoned arrows used by both sides in the legendary Trojan War (Bronze Age Greece). Some literature alludes to poisoned arrows being used by both sides in the Trojan War also known as Bronze Age Greece. Between the years 1861–1865, American civil war civilians proposed the use of chemical weapons. Among the multitude of proposed ideas was firing chlorine-gas projectiles at the Confederate troops, and the soldier also suggested dropping canisters of poison gas from balloons. From 1874–1907, a series of international treaties have been signed by most Western nations against the usage of poisonous weapons in war. In the 19th century, developments in chemistry gave rise to not just new substances, but better ways to manufacture them in bulk. However, proposals to use newly produced chemicals like chlorine, sulfur, and cyanide in warfare abounded—and the non-American attendees of the Hague Convention were worried enough about its destructive potential to forbid it in 1899 and 1907—industrial chemical warfare didn’t make its debut until the First World War. These weapons were used by the Germans against the people of Belgium killing around 5,000 allied troops. A couple of years later, the same battlefields saw the first deployment of sulfur mustard. Sulfur mustard has been the major cause of death by chemical weapons during World War I and II.
i. Chemical weapons are any toxic chemicals that are intended to cause death, injury, sensory irritation, and incapacitation and these agents are extremely hazardous and lethal. These chemical agents can only be used in specific laboratories and should be handled by trained personnel. Chemical Weapons can be classified by their physical properties, such as lethality, persistency, mode of action on the human body, and physical state (i.e., gas, liquid, or solid) when being delivered. Some of the weapons are deadly. For example, sarin is a lethal but nonpersistent nerve agent. The method was practical because red blood cell membranes contain forms of acetylcholinesterase By contrast, VX can persist for days or weeks in lethal form. Since the properties of the weapons vary they will be employed for different strategies during war. As mentioned, the non-persistent(the effects do not last long) chemical weapon can be deployed when a temporary effect is sought. Some poisonous gases, such as phosgene and hydrogen cyanide, enter the lungs during inhalation. On the contrary, nerve agents can enter through the skin. Still, other chemicals can be mixed with food in order to poison enemy personnel when they take their meals. Depending on the agent, type, and amount(concentration). The effect may be delayed or immediate. Large inhalation exposure to mustard gas or nerve agents will definitely kill a person immediately. Ideally, the medical personnel will wear personal protective equipment(PPE), in order to decontaminate the victim immediately and use specific antidotes to counteract the harmful effects.
Historically, weapons of mass destruction have been developed to hasten the defeat or surrender of the opposition side. During the war, it is certain that countries don’t want to have a lot of casualties. By using these weapons it cripples the opposition forces. Needless to say, it doesn’t depend on the number of troops a country possesses but the arsenal they possess in order to increase their chances of victory. It’s always better to be well-equipped with advanced weapons during a conflict with your adversary. Many countries possess vast stockpiles of chemical weapons for war. The threat and the perceived threat have become strategic tools in planning both measures and countermeasures. In 1925, the Geneva Protocol Bans the manufacture, use, or import of poisonous gases and extend this prohibition to bacteriological weapons.
In 1997, most of the world entered the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans things related to chemical weapons such as development, research, and stockpiling. The treaties don’t do much to prevent the production or use of industrial chemicals like chlorine. This is a major concern as it poses a great threat to this world itself.
The use of chemical weapons has been a major concern in the world today. Other than using weapons to kill it can also have negative effects on the environment. The radioactive elements used has an effect that can last for years.
The first impact of the atomic bombs was the blinding effect followed by a heat wave. Dry flammable materials caught fire and any living beings within half a mile(almost a kilometer) of the explosion were killed instantly. Many structures collapsed even the structures that were designed to withstand earthquakes were blown away. In Hiroshima, a number of small fires combined with wind formed a firestorm, killing those who did not die before but were left immobile for some reason. One of the environmental impacts of the use of chemical weapons is water pollution, the radioactive sand caused wells to be clogged which were used for drinking water, thereby causing a drinking water problem that could not be easily sorted out. Surface water sources are polluted, particularly by radioactive waste. Since the land has been exposed to radiation the land is not suitable for agriculture for the particular period, dead stalks of rice could be found up to 11.26 km from ground zero. The impact of the bombing was visible within a 10 km radius all over the city, and in Nagasaki within a 1 km radius. This had a devastating effect on the environment and the people in that place. Final casualty numbers remain unknown; by the end of 1945, injuries and radiation sickness had raised the death toll to more than 100,000. In the following years, cancer and other long-term radiation effects increased the number of deaths.
Transition: On a brighter note, chemistry is commonplace in the foods that we consume in our everyday lives. From baked pastries to raw produce, it exists in many forms and serves a multitude of functions
3. Chemistry in the food industry
Preservatives
B. Flavourings
Preservatives are very commonly talked about these days as a controversial additive to foods due to concerns over the long-term health effects associated with certain preservatives. That may not necessarily be a justified worry as many types of chemicals that we take for granted are also commonly used as preservatives. Take for example, table salt, formed by the combination of 2 extremely dangerous elements namely, sodium and chlorine, one of which will literally explode in contact with water, and the other forms acid in your lungs if breathed in as a gaseous form but together form a largely inert compound, sodium chloride. Salt is one of the most common preservatives due to its ability to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. This is achieved by drawing the water out of microorganisms through osmosis as salt has the characteristic that it will cause water to flow towards it. In this case, the water from inside the microorganisms will flow out of them into the salt solution.
Flavorings are inevitable in modern society. Although the term tends to bring a negative connotation, this does not have to be the case as flavourings can exist naturally and be created synthetically. A very relevant example of this is the Maillard reaction which occurs between amino acids and reducing sugars. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins whereas reducing sugars are sugars that donate electrons in a redox reaction but more importantly, include glucose which is by far the most abundant simple sugar as it is the basic component of carbohydrates. The product of these 2 chemicals after a Maillard reaction is the browning of the food item, this involves or contributes to the browning of coffee beans, certain meat dishes, cookies, marshmallows, onions, and bread. The reaction is a type of nonenzymatic browning that generally occurs around 150 degrees Celsius. This is in contrast to enzymatic browning which is commonly known to occur with sliced apples left in open air. The specific chemicals responsible for the actual browning may be different for different types of foods. For example, in meat, although the Maillard reaction may be responsible for some of the browning, other factors are also responsible for the same browning such as the breakdown of the muscle protein, and myoglobin. This reaction does not only cause a change in color but also a change in flavor, this can be observed in the significant difference in taste between raw and browned onions. Higher temperatures will cause a faster rate of reaction for the Maillard reaction not only because high temperatures in general promote faster reaction rates but also as the water evaporates from the food, the simple sugars and amino acids responsible for the reaction become more concentrated. But, if the temperature exceeds a certain point, caramelization, a process of sugars breaking down, also responsible for the browning of foods, will begin to take precedence as the primary factor of browning. As the temperature continues to increase, eventually pyrolysis occurs.
Another more controversial preservative that’s commonly found in acidic foods such as carbonated drinks and fruit jams, is sodium benzoate. It is a salt formed from the naturally occurring acid, benzoic acid. When it is absorbed by a living cell, it will decrease the pH of the cell due to its nature as an acid. As the pH drops, the process of anaerobic glucose fermentation that occurs in microorganisms will start to become inhibited, eventually killing them or halting reproduction. A large part of the controversy surrounding this preservative is its possibility to cause issues such as hyperactivity in humans. While sodium benzoate by itself is relatively harmless, the issue arises when it combines with other common food additives such as vitamin C and other food colorings. In the case of vitamin C, it will combine with sodium benzoate to form benzene which when consumed, can have long-term negative health effects primarily on the bone marrow, causing anemia due to red blood cell deficiency. As such the US FDA regulates the amount of benzene permissible to only 5 ppb or 0.005mg/kg.
Obviously the most well-known and talked about food flavoring is MSG, monosodium glutamate. It is actually naturally present in certain foods such as tomatoes and fermented cheeses. Although it is most definitely more well known as an artificial flavoring additive that's intentionally added to foods. MSG adds flavor to foods by stimulating the human taste of ‘umami’, generally described as the savory taste of meats. A large majority of people are worried about the negative effects of consuming MSG as they usually claim that it can adversely affect your health. MSG is composed of sodium and glutamate, while sodium is completely safe as it is one of the primary elements of table salt, glutamate is actually a chemical naturally present in the human brain used for nerves to communicate with one another. An excess of glutamate in the brain can cause overexcitation thus leading to headaches and in extreme cases, cell death. However, this is usually not an issue to be worried about as the amount of MSG that a normal person consumes in a day is far from enough to cause any issues.
Transition: Lastly, chemistry has brought many benefits into the world, yet it will also bring harm to us either back in the form of warfare, the food industry, or in a relationship.
Conclusion
There is always the cause and effects of chemistry including the L-O-V-E relationship and this influences the mind. Then we proceed on to the historical usage of chemical weapons in wartime and its long-lasting effects. Finally, we talk about how flavorings and preservatives are being used in the food industries.
Concluding remarks: In conclusion, the world of chemistry has made great contributions to human society and will continue to do so.
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