Beethoven had lead poisoning from drinking wine

Via the New York Times, this science news: 

...Kevin Brown, an Australian businessman with a passion for Beethoven, owned three of the locks and wanted to honor Beethoven’s request in 1802 that when he died doctors might attempt to figure out why he had been so ill. Mr. Brown sent two locks to a specialized lab at the Mayo Clinic that has the equipment and expertise to test for heavy metals.

The result, said Paul Jannetto, the lab director, was stunning. One of Beethoven’s locks had 258 micrograms of lead per gram of hair and the other had 380 micrograms.

A normal level in hair is less than 4 micrograms of lead per gram.

“It definitely shows Beethoven was exposed to high concentrations of lead,” Dr. Jannetto said.

“These are the highest values in hair I’ve ever seen,” he added. “We get samples from around the world and these values are an order of magnitude higher.”

Beethoven’s hair also had arsenic levels 13 times what is normal and mercury levels that were 4 times the normal amount. But the high amounts of lead, in particular, could have caused many of his ailments, Dr. Jannetto said.

The technique used (unsurprisingly) was ICP-MS. (Here's the scientific letter.) It's a shame that a brilliant mind was also poisoned... 

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 555 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 555 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On May 16, 2023, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 626 research/teaching positions and 82 teaching-focused positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. Here's a link to the second, open thread. Here's a link to the current, third open thread. 

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread.  

Job posting: Formulation Chemist, ACTEGA North America Technologies, Providence, RI

Via C&EN Jobs, this positions in Providence, RI:  

General Summary:

The Formulation Chemist spearheads the development new products through innovative solutions, while also identifying emerging technologies pertinent to business objectives. Collaboratively build systems and support product/engineering teams and offering expertise in energy cure chemistries to build robust systems. Develop and commercialize new products; Provide scale-up support and technical guidance to production. As well as ongoing project assignments, formal project reports writing, and research & development activities, as needed. 

Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities:

• Develop Adhesives formulations, preferably UV curable, aimed at achieving best performance specific to well-defined end use requirements.
• Independently design experiments, execute testing, collect data, and draw conclusions from development work.
• Develop and support on projects from concept to commercialization.
• Hands on working in the laboratory environment and support with printing of various UV-curing chemistries on press to test new formulation designs....

Qualifications & Requirements:

• BS degree with 7 years of experience, or MS with 5 years of experience, or PhD with 3 years of experience in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Material Science or Polymer Chemistry. Experienced, hands-on scientist with strong laboratory technique and problem-solving skills, including proficiency in designing experiments.
• Background in formulation and chemistry, specifically with UV-curable and/or water-based inks, coatings, and preferably adhesives.
• Strong chemistry background in polymer structure property relationships in formulations. Understanding of chemical regulatory regulation for USA, Europe, and United Kingdom for printing inks. Knowledge of the Graphic Arts Printing Industry: flexographic, gravure, screen and offset printing applications. Understanding of various object printing on substrates such as Glass, Aluminum, and plastics is a plus. Ability to work in a small group setting.

Posted salary is "From $90,000 per year + 10% annual bonus target." Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.

C&EN: Survey indicates the most desired skills for entry-level chemistry from industrial chemists

Also in this week's C&EN, this very interesting news about a survey (and J. Chem. Ed. paper by Hamilton, Castillo and Atkinson) (article by Krystal Vasquez): 

...To answer this question, Hamilton and his colleagues surveyed chemists from 80 chemical-related companies. The researchers found that professionals want chemists with bachelor’s degrees to have some expertise in mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy (J. Chem. Educ. 2024, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00990).

They also value chemists that have good communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.

The researchers then compared their survey results to existing literature about instrumentation and other skills being taught in undergraduate courses. Hamilton says that most undergrad lab courses do “a decent job” of giving students access to most of these top-five instruments. “But I think we could definitely be doing a better job.”

It's not surprising that LC and GC are up there, but I'm a bit surprised that mass spec is up there as well. What is weirder to me is that basic maintenance was not a skill set (sub skill set?) that was not called out in the article and/or the survey results. Nevertheless, it sounds like there wasn't a lot of data out there about this, so this is really great that the authors put together this survey. 

(...why doesn't ACS do this?...) 

C&EN: "WuXi AppTec revenues slump in the first quarter"

In this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this news (article by Aayushi Pratap): 

Shanghai-based WuXi AppTec, which is a subject of a proposed US bill that aims to cut business ties with a handful of Chinese pharmaceutical service companies, announced first-quarter sales of $1.1 billion, down 11% from the prior year. Revenues excluding those from COVID-19 commercial projects dropped 1.8%. The company expects to generate sales of over $5 billion this year despite what it calls “uncertainties in the external environment,” a possible reference to the proposed US legislation.

This is interesting, in that I don't think this Q1 slump is about the BIOSECURE Act. Rather, I wonder if it is connected with a potential slowdown in global demand for pharma services? It's hard to know. This is worth following, I think...

Have a good weekend

Well, the thing that needed to get done finally got done. Maybe I'll escape with my hide intact. I am looking forward to a fun weekend. I hope that you have a great weekend, and see you on Monday.

The impacts of the new EPA rule on methylene chloride to laboratories in the United States

I have been making nervous noises about the EPA ban on methylene chloride, and I believe that my thoughts are confirmed (unbeknownst to me) by the American Chemical Society's comment on the (then proposed) rule (opens PDF, via ACS' Will Hartwig):

ACS appreciates the current proposed rule’s goal of protecting public health. However, ACS is concerned that the current proposal to regulate methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane (DCM), fails to account for its use in small scale and particularly academic teaching and research laboratories.

Both the EPA (with 40 CFR 262 Subpart K) and OSHA (with 29 CFR 1910.1450) have recognized that regulations aimed at protecting workers in industry do not translate to academic laboratories. As currently structured, the rule would be extremely challenging for academic institutions to implement and would negatively impact research and teaching. The proposed rule is not appropriate for academic laboratories because exposures are low, infrequent, and well managed using existing regulations and engineering controls (e.g. chemical fume hoods)

From my analysis of the new rule, any workplace that uses methylene chloride must:

1. determine and document who uses DCM
2. document and monitor the exposure during usage, which
3. means getting a monitoring device (likely a PID, is my guess, which is a $4000 instrument)*
4. determining and documenting TWAs for each usage and user

(I've read enough comments from industry to understand that the PIDs that are available aren't particularly well suited for this usage, so that's another problem. (page 6, PDF)

I'm not a chemical safety professional, so I could be wrong. But that's my basic read of the new rule, and I think it is matched by the ACS. No professor is going to this - instead, they're going to either 1) ignore the new rule or 2) ban the use of DCM in their labs. Hard to know which one they will choose.

I'd love people's opinions.

Job posting: Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry, San Diego, CA

Via friend of the blog Alex Goldberg, this job posting: 

Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry

The successful candidate will lead lab chemistry efforts in the department enabling projects across the portfolio. They will also utilize the Genesis Therapeutics platform and assist medicinal chemistry efforts in drug discovery programs from Hit ID through candidate nomination. They will collaborate on multidisciplinary drug discovery projects, direct CRO chemists, and be responsible for synthetic chemistry strategy. The candidate will be expected to be a synthetic chemistry leader to drive programs.

Job Responsibilities:

• Formulate and implement synthetic chemistry strategies across a portfolio to drive drug discovery programs from Hit ID through candidate nomination.
• Identify opportunities to improve lab functions through technology, synthetic chemistry, or external resources.
• Utilize the Genesis platform to execute drug discovery programs.
• Use SBDD principles, optimize physiochemical properties, interpret in vitro and in vivo ADME/PK/Toxicology data, and understand in vitro and in vivo biology data to drive programs.
• Work with other drug discovery disciplines (biology, DMPK, software engineers, computational chemists) to drive hypothesis driven decisions, improve the platform and contribute to the scientific excellence of the company.
• Communicate and engage regularly with project team members.
• Interact and direct a team of CRO chemists anywhere in size from 5-20.
• Mentor internal chemists as well as other scientific disciplines on synthetic chemistry strategy.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry or medicinal chemistry with at least 6 years of industrial drug discovery experience OR
• MS in synthetic organic chemistry with at least 10 years of industrial drug discovery experience

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

EPA bans most uses of methylene chloride

Via C&EN, this news: 

The US Environmental Protection Agency has banned most uses of methylene chloride, a solvent that has been linked to a number of adverse health effects and some deaths.

Since 1980, at least 88 people have died from acute exposure to methylene chloride, the agency says. Longer-term exposure can also lead to liver damage and the development of at least six different types of cancers, it adds.

Methylene chloride is the second compound, after asbestos, to be banned under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act. The ban, which follows a risk assessment and an April 2023 proposal, will phase out all consumer uses within a year and most industrial and commercial uses within the next 2 years.

Uses of methylene chloride that are exempt from the ban include as a raw material for producing electric-vehicle batteries and climate-friendly refrigerant chemicals. And methylene chloride can continue to be used as a laboratory chemical.

“For each use of the chemical that will continue, EPA has developed a first-of-its-kind worker protection program, so that the workers who are helping make and use the chemical . . . are protected, as they deserve to be,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said during a press briefing. Workplaces that are exempt from the ban will have 18 months to put worker protections in place.

Pharmaceutical use isn't covered by TSCA. Here's the finalized rule. I have strong suspicions that the workplace safety requirements are pretty strict, but I'm going to withhold judgment until I read the whole thing, which I haven't.  

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 554 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 554 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On May 9, 2023, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 626 research/teaching positions and 82 teaching-focused positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. Here's a link to the second, open thread. Here's a link to the current, third open thread. 

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread.  

Job posting: professor of practice, Department of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

From the inbox: 

The Department of Chemistry at Tulane University invites applications for a Professor of Practice position beginning in the Fall 2024. The successful applicant will have a Ph.D. in Chemistry with expertise in Organic Chemistry. Duties will include supervising General Chemistry Laboratories, which, in total, involves about 17 teaching assistants, and teaching a section of General Chemistry lecture class (~150 students).  The Department of Chemistry recognizes and rewards innovative and quality teaching. Candidates interested in creating and adopting pedagogical innovations will find many opportunities and support to pursue their interests. The successful candidate will have a record of excellent teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate level, and commitment to student-centered teaching and to increasing diversity in chemistry.  

The Professor of Practice appointment is renewable every three years (initially) and every five years after promotion to Senior Professor of Practice. 

Search started on April 22. Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested. 

If a lab accident happened and no one saw it, did it really happen?

In this week's C&EN, this letter to the editor: 

I just had to comment on the two pieces from Newscripts in the April 1 issue of C&EN (page 40). In the first piece, the revelation by Jessica Pomerantz reminded me of an experience I had in 1977 in a senior-level physical chemistry class at Iowa State University. 

It involved a Lewis acid-base reaction of boron trifluoride and trimethylamine in a rather complex glass network that included a liquid-nitrogen cold trap because the reaction was so exothermic. The instructions for valve settings and operation were quite specific and stated that if they were not followed explicitly, the apparatus could explode. I arranged all valves meticulously, or so I thought, and then opened the valve on the BF₃ cylinder, which was connected to the glassware inlet by a rubber hose. Unfortunately, the one valve I forgot to open was the inlet valve to the apparatus. Within seconds, the hose popped off, and I had a fuming ball of BF₃ within 1 ft (0.3 m) or so of my face. I had the presence of mind to shut off the cylinder valve, and then I watched as the fuming cloud, which stayed intact, floated to the ceiling and rolled all the way to the other corner and escaped through a roof vent. It reminded me of the movie The Blob, except this blob rolled along the ceiling and not the floor. My classmates and the teaching assistant were so absorbed in their own work that they did not observe the blob. Nobody at Iowa State ever learned of my slight mistake. I successfully completed the experiment on the second attempt.

This brings me to the second Newscripts article. During my many years in industry and to this day, I have written numerous articles for various technical trade magazines, including Chemical Engineering, Power Engineering, and others. I am now a self-employed technical writer and consultant. From the experience above and several others during my career (such as tripping and falling into several inches of yucky flue gas desulfurization sludge), I can decidedly appreciate the title of the second piece, “And This Is Why We’re Journalists Now.”

Brad Buecker
Lawrence, Kansas

I've had my share of near misses and dumb errors and I'm glad that I can look at them with humor now. 

It is strange to me how laboratory chemical experiments of the past were seemingly so complex compared to the microscale experiments I performed in my undergraduate education in the 1990s. While we certainly generated less waste, I wonder if some of the really cool chemistry was lost to time...

(The answer to the headline is, of course, "yes.")

C&EN: "Dow and BASF post upbeat first-quarter results"

In this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this good news (article by Alex Tullo): 

First-quarter financial results are out from Dow and BASF. And if these two chemical giants are setting the trend for their peers—which are due to report their results over the next several weeks—the industry may be turning the corner after a dismal 2023.

Dow’s sales fell 9.2% from the year-earlier period, while adjusted earnings slipped 5.1%. Sales and prices were down across all its business.

But compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, Dow’s sales and earnings were up 1.4% and 28.8%, respectively. A small decline in its core packaging and specialty plastics segment was more than offset by growth in its industrial intermediates and infrastructure business and its performance materials and coatings unit.

Excess capacity hit the petrochemical industry hard last year, particularly in high-cost regions such as Europe. But Dow CEO Jim Fitterling was upbeat during his April 25 conference call with analysts. “Most of the capacity is in the market already, and we’re seeing volume growth,” he said.

Dow’s own operating rates rose 10% in the first quarter, Fitterling reported. And he said lower-cost locales like the US and the Middle East should perform strongly. “We have been through the worst of it on the slowdown in the cycle,” he added.

BASF announced that it “got off to a solid start in 2024.” Its sales fell 12.2% and its earnings dropped 12.9% from the year-earlier quarter. The company attributes the decline primarily to lower prices. A few key businesses, such as chemicals, materials, nutrition, and personal care, saw improvements in volumes.

I used to think that basic chemical manufacturers' businesses were pro-cyclical (i.e. they do well when the broader economy does well), but the post-pandemic economy feels like that has broken that connection. Here's hoping that this good news means good news for the broader economy as well. 

Have a good weekend

Well, this hasn't been the best week, to be honest. Here's hoping we get things done that need to get done. I hope you have a great weekend. See you on Monday. 

Novartis shifting manufacturing due to threat of BIOSECURE Act

Via FiercePharma, this news: 

As the BIOSECURE Act threatens to upend relationships with Chinese contractors and western biopharma companies operating in the U.S., Novartis has elected not to adopt a “wait and see” attitude.

Novartis, like many drugmakers, has ties to Chinese firms in the manufacturing and contract research space, the Swiss pharma’s CFO, Harry Kirsch, said on a press call Tuesday during its first quarter financial results. Amid the threat of a looming biosecurity crackdown by the U.S. government against many of those Chinese biotechs, Novartis is now “actively” managing the situation, Kirsch said.

“So, by the time this comes into effect, we will have no exposure from our planning,” the CFO explained, adding that the situation will be “mitigated in a very reasonable timeframe.”

Kirsch went on to explain that the company is weighing changes to its contracting relationships with Chinese companies “so that we are fully aligned” with potential U.S. regulations.

Novartis’ decision to cut ties with certain Chinese contractors follows the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party’s unveiling of the BIOSECURE Act in January.

The bill, which is still subject to further review and modification before it potentially becomes law, aims to keep U.S. taxpayer dollars out of the hands of “foreign adversary biotech companies” that allegedly pose a national security concern.

I'm surprised to hear this, but I guess this indicates that large pharma companies seem to think that the BIOSECURE Act has a solid chance of passing. I'm genuinely skeptical, but we will see. 

Job posting: scientist, discovery chemistry, Merck

Via Twitter, this tweet from Dani Schultz: 

We have multiple openings in Boston, San Francisco and West Point (PA) spanning Bachelor's, Master’s, entry level PhD and PhD with experience. Go to http://jobs.merck.com and search for ‘Discovery Chemistry’ or ‘Peptide’! 

Here's one of the ads for the West Point site: 

Our company is currently seeking passionate synthetic organic or medicinal chemists for positions within the Discovery Chemistry Department located at our West Point, PA site. The successful candidate will join multidisciplinary, highly collaborative discovery teams to invent novel medicines by applying innovative synthetic chemistry, analytical techniques, and data analysis to design and synthesize drug candidates and intermediates.

Successful candidates must have excellent interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills in a team environment and a proven record of solving complex problems. Additionally, it is expected that the successful candidate will learn quickly through on-the-job training to become increasingly skilled and independent in reaction setup, route design and optimization.

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Collaborative and independent synthetic route design, execution, and optimization to access assigned target molecules using modern synthetic chemistry techniques
• Selection and application of appropriate purification techniques including flash chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and recrystallization
• Acquisition and interpretation of analytical data such as NMR and LC/MS

Full ad here. Best wishes to those interested.

You can get drunk without drinking alcohol?

Via the New York Times, I learned about auto-brewery syndrome: 

...In Belgium, the brewery worker — a 40-year-old man who wishes to remain anonymous, according to his lawyer — was pulled over by the police in April 2022 and registered a blood-alcohol reading that was more than four times the legal limit. A month later, he was pulled over again and registered more than three times the limit.

It was the third time the man had been cited — he had been pulled over and fined for driving under the influence in 2019. He was unaware that he had A.B.S. until his latest charge — tests administered by three doctors confirmed that he had the condition and validated his claim in court.

“I think he was somehow relieved that he finally knew what was up,” the man’s lawyer, Anse Ghesquiere, said. Her client is now following a strict diet and receiving medical treatment to avoid flare-ups and manage the condition...

According to this paper, it's cured with anti-fungal medication and a low-sugar diet. To be honest, this doesn't sound very fun. 

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List: 552 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions

The 2024 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List (curated by Andrew Spaeth and myself) has 552 research/teaching positions and 86 teaching positions. 

Want to help out? Here's a Google Form to enter positions.

To see trending, go to Andrew Spaeth's visualization of previous years' list.

On April 25, 2023, the 2023 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List had 622 research/teaching positions and 81 teaching-focused positions.

Want to talk anonymously? Have an update on the status of a job search? Here's the first open thread. Here's a link to the second, open thread. Here's a link to the current, third open thread. 

Don't forget to click on "load more" below the comment box for the full thread.  

C&EN: Disagreement about the decision to vent and burn the vinyl chloride

In this week's issue of Chemical and Engineering News, this comment: 

Thanks for publishing Priyanka Runwal’s fine article on East Palestine, Ohio, in the Feb. 26, 2024, issue of C&EN (page 24).

The Norfolk Southern train derailment should have received a prompt federal response since the onboard cargo was being used in interstate commerce (from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania). The State of Ohio did respond to this disaster, but it took some poking and prodding for the state to act.

I spoke to the governor’s representative in my region, who indicated that the state maintains multiple boards and commissions. The State Emergency Response Commission looked like a good choice for active engagement. But membership was limited to elected officials, emergency management personnel, environmental advocates, firefighters, first responders, industry and trade personnel, law enforcement personnel, and utility personnel. Nothing to engage scientists and engineers in this emergency.

The lack of an expert in science and engineering in charge rendered communication of the facts to residents of East Palestine, people in the nearby communities, and those who sought answers to be spotty at best.

It is my considered opinion that the decision to vent and burn the vinyl chloride was made without expert consultation. As Runwal’s piece noted, former American Chemical Society president William Carroll pointed out in a hearing that the polymerization reaction of vinyl chloride to polyvinyl chloride requires an initiator. Free radicals, such as chemicals containing peroxides, can initiate polymerization. I don’t know whether the conditions existed for the polymerization of vinyl chloride to have occurred.

People in the East Palestine region are still suffering from the response to the derailment. The federal government response to East Palestine must not be the norm, and the states should expand the relevant boards and commissions to include scientists and engineers. In events such as East Palestine, the designated scientists and engineers would handle communicating the facts to those in the impacted communities and beyond.

ACS should play a central role in having regional experts available to the state and federal entities needing such guidance. This is a role in which ACS can make a real, quantifiable difference.

Mitigating disasters is important, as are the lives of the people in the impacted areas. While each incident is different, there is nothing more reassuring to the people in the impacted areas than knowing that they have the best available facts (in real time) and that we’ve got their backs.

David M. Manuta, Waverly, Ohio

I'm terribly curious to see what the various agencies report when the ultimately do so... 

Have a great weekend

Well, I was gifted two quiet days this week, and I got half of what I wanted to get done, done. So here's hoping I can get the other half done on Friday. I hope that you got accomplished what you hoped to, and that you have a fantastic weekend. I know I will try to! See you on Monday. 

Would you pay $1500 to be an Japanese steel manufacturing worker?

Via the New York Times, this very fun trip to an ancient Japanese steel foundry: 

...Safety was paramount because around the flames, at various stations, milled a team of some 20 excited tourists, a mix of both Japanese and a few foreigners, all dressed in very hip dark gray jumpsuits. These were people paying roughly ¥200,000, or about $1,500, for the chance to be a worker in a tatara-ba for a day and night. (They would get to keep the jumpsuits and a small piece of raw steel as souvenirs.) Their faces and hands were streaked by charcoal.

Jewel steel is produced by sprinkling iron sand — alluvial (river-deposited) sand saturated with iron — slowly over a charcoal pit. The tourists spent hours chopping the pine charcoal to precise sizes. They used scoops woven from bamboo to gather heaps of charcoal and dump them atop the furnace.

Off to the side stood a man named Noriaki Yasuda. He was the designated conductor — called a murage — of this slow dance between heat, charcoal and dampened iron sand. Dressed in an electric blue jumpsuit, he stood out in beautiful, almost poetic, contrast to the licking orange flames.

Monitoring the airflow, the color of the fire and the height of the charcoal with paternal concern, Mr. Yasuda scowled and watched, sometimes retreating to sit in his dark alcove, his arms crossed, still scowling and watching. To produce steel using the tatara technique, it turns out, you spend a lot of time watching.

I'm delighted (and not surprised) that there is a touch of chemistry: 

...“Steel is just iron with a little bit of carbon,” Mr. Yasuda explained to me. When I finally built up the courage to talk with him, his face lit up in a wide smile from behind his mask. (Everyone was wearing masks, less out of Covid concerns and more because of the charcoal dust.) He casually led me to a blackboard in the back of his resting space and sketched out the basic chemical formulas of what was happening in the furnace, how charcoal serves two purposes. First, it burns much hotter than wood. And second, its carbon atoms are essential to the formation of steel; embedded between iron atoms, they increase the strength of the metal.

First, as someone who works in chemical manufacturing, I'm guessing that we cannot get tourists to pay $1500 to work a shift - more's the pity. It is also interesting how they are careful with the size of the charcoal - makes sense, i.e. more uniform pieces allow for better control of the heat. Fun article - read the whole thing.