Drrubidium

DrRubidium is an analytical chemist that spends her days finding needles in needlestacks. Also a science communicator, she focuses on the the science behind everyday stuff and pop culture.

Featured
DrrubidiumApril 26, 2015
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#AskAChemist: Turn distill for what?

In this episode of #AskAChemist, I answer a question for mammalogist and field biologist @DNLee. She works with pouched rats and, very shortly, a fog machine. The not-so-secret recipe Dr. Lee’s fog machine uses to generate fog requires distilled water. “Why can’t I just use tap water? It’ll work in the recipe the same,” said Dr. Lee. Water is water, right?…
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Science
DrrubidiumApril 10, 2015
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#AskAchemist: Poison. Not the band. Or the Bell Biv DeVoe song.

In this installment of #AskAchemist, we’ll be talking about a favorite of mine… No, not Idris Elba. @DrRubidium What is a poison? How is it defined by chemists? #AskAChemist — Will Robertson (@anthrowill) April 9, 2015 Poisons! I love talking about poisons. Not because I’m some sort of supervillain, but because poisons highlight the complexity of chemistry. And biology. And…
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Science
DrrubidiumApril 2, 2015
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#AskAChemist: Bear snake shark edition!

_________ Have a chemistry question? Ask a chemist! _________ featured image made by the author using PowerPoint
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Feminism
DrrubidiumMarch 13, 2015
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Science For The People talks women in STEM

Science For The People brought together four women working in STEM – Colgate University Professor of Psychology Jessica Cundiff, Ph.D., Physics Professor Dr. Shohini Ghose, Director of the Wilfrid Laurier University Centre for Women in Science, and Catherine Hill, Ph.D, vice president for research at the American Association of University Women, and me – to talk about the ups and downs of being a women in their fields. Head over to…
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Science
DrrubidiumMarch 10, 2015
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#AskAChemist: How natural is Astroglide Natural Liquid?

This week on Ask A Chemist, an anonymous inquiring mind asked, “what makes Astroglide’s Natural Liquid ‘natural’?” Well, that’s a short one. Of course not! Allow me to wax chemical… let’s start at Astroglide Natural Liquid website… So… what makes this Astroglide product ‘natural’ is what it doesn’t contain and that it does contain some plant extracts? Okay. Let’s get…
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Science
DrrubidiumMarch 4, 2015
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#AskAChemist: What’s the deal with fabric dyes?

This week on Ask A Chemist… @skepchicks @DrRubidium Why is wool dyed in acid, but cotton dyed in base? #AskAChemist — Robert Coolman (@PrimeViridian) January 14, 2015 Short answer: Longer answer: Wool fibers are basically bundles of protein, specifically the protein alpha-keratin. All proteins are polymers of amino acids, have the general structure shown below. Protein fibers like wool respond really well to…
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Science
DrrubidiumFebruary 19, 2015
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Scientist shows shameless self-promotion

Which scientist?! ME. Myself. I. Skepchick’s Official Chemist*. What am I promoting? My nomination for a Shorty Award in Science. What the hell are the Shorty Awards? “The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing content on Twitter…” Best in social media, you say? Um, yeah. According to this Huff Post Science article, I’m…
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Science
DrrubidiumFebruary 12, 2015
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#AskAChemist: Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

Want to know more about the chemicals that make the Damask Rose (Rosa damascena) smelly? Check out this great post from @PictureItChem, from the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry. _________ Have a chemistry question? Ask a chemist! _________ featured image made by the author using PowerPoint
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