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The Right Chemistry: Nailing down the risk of nail polishes and gels

I subscribe to numerous science and health-oriented newsletters that flood my email inbox every day along with a bevy of unsolicited press releases...

14.09.2025 10

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: The quagmire of nutritional studies

There are roughly 9,000 research papers published annually in the 75 or so journals dedicated to nutrition. That translates to about two dozen a day....

07.09.2025 5

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: Magic, critical thinking and UFOs

My interest in magic was sparked at an early age, and I spent many a Saturday afternoon either at Perfect Magic or Morrisey Magic, Montreal’s two...

31.08.2025 4

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: When tea changes hues out of the blue

So there I was, ready with a tea bag in one hand, a slice of lemon in the other and a couple of grandkids collared into being the audience. I said we...

10.08.2025 6

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: This French physician’s career could be defined by the word ‘ectoplasm’

Finding the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Leonardo da Vinci on a list of polymaths was no surprise. A polymath is a person who knows a lot about many...

02.08.2025 5

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: A peashooter will not bring down a charging rhino

“A gesture as effective as sending out a boy with a peashooter to bring down a rhinoceros.” Sometimes I feel like I’m the boy and the rhino is...

26.07.2025 4

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: Science shows carnivore diet is best left to lions

Jenny McCarthy, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, is playing with science again. This time it is all about the “carnivore diet.” Her first...

19.07.2025 3

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: The science behind willpower vs. tastebuds

“Betcha can’t eat just one” is one of the most successful advertising slogans ever fashioned. Introduced by the Frito-Lay snack food company in...

13.07.2025 7

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: Why it’s hard to study what people eat

Last semester I carried out a little experiment in my Chemistry of Food course. At the end of the last lecture, I handed out a blank sheet of paper...

05.07.2025 3

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: There are skeletons in the Nobel Prize closet

Carleton Gajdusek was only five years old in 1928 when he and his entomologist aunt wandered through the woods overturning rocks, looking for insects....

29.06.2025 8

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: Will Vitamin D go the way of cod liver oil?

In many of my public lectures, I address the topic of dietary supplements and often do a rudimentary audience survey. When I ask about taking Vitamin...

22.06.2025 10

Joe Schwarcz

The Right Chemistry: Can you get cancer from kissing a smoker and other questions with definitive answers

It was in early June 1980, that my phone rang. On the line was Helen Gougeon, host of a talk show on radio station CJAD. Would I like to come on the...

15.06.2025 3