The Contributions of Chemistry

	Rattray’s Supplement Message It is not often that a subject with a reputation as esoteric as Chemistry’s receives the limelight of an entire international year dedicated to it. We therefore could not let this significant event pass without marking the milestone in Jamaica and conveying our own perspective… Read More
	The Profile of Jamaica’s Coffee In Jamaica, two distinct types of coffee are produced – highland and lowland. Included in the highland type is the world famous Blue Mountain Coffee. The ordinary high-mountain coffee is grown at elevations between 457 m and 1067 m above sea level outside of the Blue Mountain region while, lowland coffee is grown between 305 m and 457 m above sea level… Read More
	Differentiating “Male” versus “Female” Pimento Trees Jamaican pimento (Pimenta dioica), which accounts for about 70% of the world trade, is considered a superior product due to its higher oil content, richer flavour and colour and the uniformity of the berries. Indigenous to Jamaica, pimento is widely distributed across the island in stands resulting from natural propagation and in a few cultivated orchards… Read More
	Ackee and Toxicity There are not many Jamaicans who do not enjoy a scrumptious dish of ‘ackee and salt fish’, which boasts the elevated status of national dish. Ackee also contributes significantly to the Jamaican agricultural sector, with over US $13M being realized from the export of the processed fruit in 2009… Read More
	Frying, Baking or Boiling? – Limiting acrylamide formation in foods Acrylamide is a known neurotoxin that affects the nervous system even at low levels causing hallucinations and drowsiness. Lab animals which have been exposed to high levels of acrylamide develop cancerous tumors. It is classified as a possible human carcinogen… Read More
	The Chemistry of Rum Making Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum’s Master Blender, Joy Spence, has the distinction of being the first woman to hold the position of Master Blender in the spirits industry. She graduated from the University of the West Indies with a first class honours degree in chemistry and is therefore the perfect person to speak about the chemistry of rum making… Read More
	Chemistry of Cancer Research It is not quite obvious the role chemistry plays in everyday life, let alone in the area of medical research. In fact, chemistry plays a very crucial role in drug development for cancer therapy… Read More
	Chemistry and the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is defined by the WHO as a bone mineral density of 2.5 standard deviations below the mean peak bone mass (average of healthy young adults) as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) which assesses fracture risk, and monitor changes in the bone density over time… Read More
	The Chemical Basis of Pain Management Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. Acute pain is of sudden onset and short duration and generally signals that something is wrong inside the body… Read More
	Antioxidants in Cereals, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds There is a lot of evidence that persons who have diets in which most of the energy comes from plant foods are less likely to be affected by diseases such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers and inflammation such as happens in arthritis… Read More
	Development and Use of Passive Monitors for Air Pollution Measurements Kingston’s atmosphere is believed to be becoming more polluted over time. This belief prevails since the number of people living here continues to increase yearly resulting in more burning of fossil fuels in cars and for electricity generation and there is also increased garbage burning… Read More
	Global Warming Climate change is one of the most talked about issues in recent times. All the top institutions dealing with climate, ocean and the atmosphere have unequivocally endorsed the fact that earth’s climate is warming rapidly, and that the primary cause is carbon dioxide emissions. But what is climate change? And How does it affect us here in Jamaica?… Read More
	Environmentally Friendly Pest Control The global demand for sustainable food resources and the need for greater yield in agricultural crop production have lead to greater use of synthetic pesticides. On the other hand the extensive uses of synthetic pesticides have led to tremendous environmental problems causing contamination of underground water supply and also severe ecological damage to rivers and streams… Read More
	Usefulness of Red Mud as an Additive to Portland Cement Mortars Millions of tonnes of bauxite residue (red mud) are produced annually at Bayer processing plants all over the world. Jamaica on average produces approximately 3 million tonnes per annum… Read More
	How Chemistry is Helping to Increase the Global Food Supply Global food security is of paramount importance to developed and developing nations. Startling statistics published in a FAO report (2010) stated that there was 925 Million hungry people in the world with developed countries accounting for 19M, Near East and North Africa – 37M, Latin America and the Caribbean – 53M, Sub-Saharan Africa – 239M and Asia and the Pacific – 578M… Read More
	Water Games – Adhesion, Cohesion, Surface Tension Experiments for Teachers Have you ever wondered how a mosquito skates on the surface of water? Or how water beads down the surface of glass such as a window or windshield?… Read More