Chapter 10 Summary and Reflection

     In chapter 10, the different uses of elements is discussed. Kean explains how Roman officers improved their health by eating from silver platters. Then early America is mentioned and how most pioneer families at least had one good silver coin to prevent the milk from spoiling during the wagon trips. The author also mentions Tycho Brahe, who lost the bridge of his nose in a drunken sword duel in 1564. According to Kean, Brahe ordered a replacement nose made out of silver that was fashionable and was able to curtail infections. The author also talks about the uses of copper. This shiny metal can be used in plumbing, ducts, and tubing in buildings. Gadolinium is also mentioned and gadolinium is and element that is the most magnetic because it has the most unpaired electrons. Gadolinium is used in modern day science by helping MRIs detect tumors. This is done by putting gadolinium on tumor-targeting agents that attach to tumors and can be detected by MRIs. Kean also mentions that gadolinium can be used to attack cancer tumors because of its array of unpaired electrons. Although Kean makes sure to say that this element is not a wonder drug, he says that gadolinium can one day allow oncologists to make surgical strikes without the need of surgery.

     Louis Pasteur makes an appearance in chapter 10 with chirality. Pasteur came up with the idea that everything has a handedness to it, and that basically everything is left handed. Pasteur determined that every amino acid in every protein of the body has a left-handed twist to it. Pasteur found this as a chemist at the age of 26 when he was studying tartaric acid, the waste production of wine. Pasteur wanted to know why yeast-born tartaric acid drives a beam of light twist clockwise away from the vertical when dissolved in water and shined with a beam of light as opposed to human-made tartaric acid. That's when Pasteur found chirality. Louis Pasteur went on to develop pasteurization and save a boy's life from the rabies with a vaccine that he created.

     The author goes on to talk about Gerhard Domagk. In 1935, Domagk's daughter Hildegard fell down the stairs of their home with a sewing needle in her hand. The needle punctured her and snapped off. A doctor had to extract the shard, but day after this happened Hildegard had a streptococcal infection all over her arm. Domagk had no idea what to do since there was no cure for such a bacterial infection. Although there was one possible drug that could save his daughter's life. Domagk had been testing a red industrial dye in his lab called prontosil. Domagk was unsure of what to do even though he had performed an experiment where prontosil had shown that it could cure the bacteria that was slowly killing his daughter. Gerhard Domagk eventually gave his daughter the drug that saved her life and her father had discovered the first antibacterial drug. Or so everyone thought. The Pasteur Institute set out to bust the patent on prontosil. They found out that prontosil didn't do the job of curing, but it was actually sulfonamide that did the curing. The Frenchmen also found that prontosil wasn't a bacteria killer, but a bacterial birth control.

     This chapter was really interesting because of the elements can be used in medicine. I really liked reading about how silver can be used as a kind of remedy although it can turn you blue if you take too much. I found it interesting to read about the Roman officials and how they ate from silver platters. I didn't like reading about the attempt and success of the Pasteur Institute to discredit Gerhard Domagk's work because it showed that politics can also play a part in science. One new thing I learned about this chapter was that the developer of pasteurization, also discovered chirality although it's very hard to understand. I hope to learn more about chirality as I keep learning.