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Volume 7 Issue 4

March 2015

Bonding Students to Chemistry & Biochemistry

Editor-in-Chief: Annabelle Cantu ▪ Co-Editor-in-Chief: Lori DigalStaff: Alexis Camacho, Osiel Ramirez, Briana Nickol, Laura Leyva, Ana Perez, Shannon Thoene, Vivian Chen, Elizabeth Sebastian, Lanz Kim \

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The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

TABLE OF CONTENTSEvents and Announcements .......................................1

Professor Spotlight: Ms.Bernal.......................................3

Chemistry History............................................................6

Chemistry For Today's World........................................7

Chemtertainment......................................................9/11Announcements............................................................10

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University Deadlines:

EventAnnouncements2014Un ive rs i t y Dead l i nes

Semina r Se r i es

Ca ree r Deve lopemen t Cen te r

By: Annabelle Cantu

• 3/16: Fall 2015 classes available online!• 3/16: Class Validation Available (onmycsulb) • 3/31-4/3: Spring Break

• 3/18: Elizabeth Jarvo, UC Irvine –Mechanism-Based Design and Development of Nickel-Catalyzed Reactions Stereospecific Cross-Coupling Reactions • 3/25: David A. Tirrell, Cal Tech –Allergan Distinguished Lecturer Series • 4/15: Andrew Udit, Occidental College.Virus Nanoparticles That Perturb Coagulation

• 3/16 @ 12:00pm: Job Search GoingNowhere?• 3/17 @ 2:00pm: LinkedIn Lab: Buildingyour Profile• 3/18 @ 3:00pm: Thinking of ChangingYour Major?• 3/19 @ 2:00pm: Communication Etiquette:Cover Letters & More• 3/23 @ 12:00pm: Leveraging yourStrengths• 3/24 @ 4:00pm: Resume Writing forEducation Careers • 3/25 @ 1:00pm: Kohl’s Dress for SuccessSeminar• 3/26 @ 4:00pm: Prepare for the Job Fair• 3/27 @ 12:00-4:00pm: Education Job Fair!At USU

[All events are held in BH-250 unless otherwise noted]

The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

EventAnnouncements2014

Studen t A f f i l i a tes o f the Amer i can Chemica l Soc ie t y

Upcoming Con fe rences

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An on-campus organization that helps undergraduates reach their educational and career goals in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry, we offer field trips, community services, and outreach opportunities for our members to gain hands-on experiences in the chemical sciences!

Get on our emailing list!csulbchemclub@gmail.com

• 3/22 – 3/26: 249th ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Denver, Colorado –Accommodations, abstract submission, and registration opens December 15th! More info: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/meetings/spring-2015.html.

• Friday mornings from 9:30am-10:30am: SAACS Coffee and Donut hour! AtMLSC patio • 2nd General Body Meeting: March 23rd 6:00-7:00pm, location TBA

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The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

Ms. Elaine Bernal

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Organic Chemistry & Chemical Communications

By: Briana Nickol Edited By:Annabelle Cantu and AlexisCamacho " A key to unlocking the chemical phenomena” I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Ms. Elaine Bernal an Organic Chemistry and Chemical Communications instructor here at CSULB. She attended UCLA for her masters in materials engineering, and CSULB for her masters in educational technology. Currently she is in her second year of working towards earning her post-doctorate degree in the educational leadership program here at CSULB. Ms. Bernal’s research focuses on faculty development, specifically teachers who are in the sciences and professional development. She provides instruction to faculty so that they can teach and work more efficiently with students, and be in-tuned to what students need and what they are going through in their academics, and careers.

Ms. Bernal wanted her profession to include chemistry because she found math and science to be enjoyable and fascinating in high school, and led her to become more curious about the world and how things functioned to make it what it is. She likens chemistry to cooking in that you take individual elements or ingredients, mix them together and see what is produced. Her undergrad schooling focused on inorganic chemistry classes and organic chemistry classes, but also physical chemistry, quantum mechanics, and materials engineering classes. She describes it as feeling like taking on a double major status with all the classes and work that come with a science major. Besides school, Ms. Bernal also made an effort to go beyond school courses and involve herself in other campus activities such as resident-tech and RA duty at her dorm at UCLA, student services, as well as internships at a local engineering firm.

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While it was difficult, she described it as, “all part of the struggle that was worth it in the end because it helped prepare me for a higher education setting and being able to teach chemistry and how to work with students.” She decided to become a teacher after realizing she liked working with students and wanted to apply it to her major. She currently teaches at long beach and chose the campus because it was close to her home and where she grew up. This was also her way of giving back to the community that helped her realize her passion and ability. Her advice for students is that they should always stay in communication with their professors. Keep in touch and don’t let teachers assume stuff about you. Make an effort to develop a relationship with a professor and go beyond the classroom: learn the material and get to know the person teaching it. She also says do not be afraid to talk to the faculty and ask them about what they do, as people love talking about themselves, and try to see if their research is a fit for your interests and goals. If it fits, learn from the experience and then implement the skills you learn from that experience. Ms. Bernal does not currently run a lab, but rather open to collaborations in the future. She is also not published as of now, but she is looking forward to it soon as her current research focuses on education for elementary school students involving the group, engineering is elementary program. The program is a part of the new generation science standards for teaching elementary school students engineering concepts of testing, designing, and implementing them into their work. Apart from her work, she believes that districts and cities should provide local hands-on groups to help expose kids to sciences and that are affordable, accessible, and cover a wide range of themes and topics, from chemistry to engineering to biology. The programs should also encourage parents to get their kids involvedand spark an interest the kids to learn.

To date, her biggest accomplishment is not the research itself, but the partnerships and people she is fortunate enough to work with at the university and outreach programs. The most difficult thing so far for her in her career is figuring out how to get people onto the same page and how to work as a team, because collaboration between colleagues is the foundation for group projects and research.

As a female scientist, Ms. Bernal thinks that now is a great time for women in the sciences, but women are still a minority, and this needs to be addressed early on in life in order to get them interested in the sciences. There needs to be outreach programs to elementary and middle and high schools in the area and give them exposure and education to the sciences that go beyond the classroom.

A depiction of Ms.Bernal teaching (artist: Elizabeth Sebastion)

The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

Fun Facts

"Women in science" (artist: Elizabeth Sebastion)

• She was born in Philippines, and moved tothe United States at age 7

• She loves music, specifically progressive rock and Metallica, and playing the piano

• Favorite movies are too numerous to count,but she did settle on the Breakfast Club, andthe recently release Lego Movie.

Her favorite author is Gabriel GarcíaMárquez, who wrote, Love in the Time ofCholera.

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• If she could be any element, it would betitanium because her wedding ring is madefrom a titanium alloy, and if she couldcombine any two organisms DNA they wouldbe a horse and rhino DNA to make a unicorn

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The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

THIS MONTH IN CHEM HISTORYBy: Osiel Ramirez

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• February 2 – Ray McIntire (August 24, 1918 - February 2 1996) passed away. He was achemical engineer who is credited with inventing the material known as Styrofoam, or by its proper chemical name, polystyrene foam. He accidentally formed this new substance when he added isobutylene under pressure in search of producing a rubber alternative.• February 4 – The first time an artificial synthesis of a radioactive substance was performed. Inthe year 1936 of the same day, it was John Jacob Livinggood that first performed this synthesis by using deuterons to bombard bismuth, creating the isotope Bismuth 210.• February 8 – Dmitri Mendeleev (February 8, 1834 – February 2, 1907) was the famous Russianchemist that developed the original periodic table of elements that became the model for today’s modern periodic table. In addition, he is also responsible for bringing the Metric System to Russia, while he was head of Russia’s Bureau of Weights and Measures.• February 10 – Ira Remsen (February 10, 1846 – March 4, 1927) was the chemist whodiscovered the sweetener, saccharin. He found out that the sweetness was caused by an oxidation of o-toluenesulfonamide and therefore proceeded to name it saccharine.• February 11 – Josiah Willard Gibbs (February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was the Americanchemist that related chemical, electrical, and thermal energy and their capacity to be able to perform work later on. The relation of these potential energies would later be known as Gibbs free energy in his honor.• February 19 – Roderick MacKinnon (February 19, 1956 - Present) is an American biochemistthat received half of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on ion channels. Specifically, his worked detailed how the proteins that controlled cell potentials of the cells generated nerve impulses by opening paths in the cells membranes, so as to allow ions to carry electrical charges across the cells.• February 19 – Svante Arrhenius (February 19, 1859 – October 2, 1927) was the famousSwedish chemist and physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of physical chemistry. His more well-known contributions include the Arrhenius equation and the theory of electrolytic dissociation, which earned him the 1903 Nobel Prize in Chemistry • February 21 – Carl Peter Henrik Dam (February 21, 1895 – April 17, 1976) was a Danishbiochemist who discovered vitamin K, after he isolated the vitamin needed to produce blood clotting after chickens would begin hemorrhaging and bleeding uncontrollably after starting a cholesterol free diet. This work was what allowed him to receive half of the 1943 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

THIS MONTH IN

By: Osiel Ramirez

CHEMISTRY FOR TODAY'SY WORLD By: Briana Nickol

Biologics Making Headway Breakthroughs in scientific research are ongoing, even in places unfamiliar to the

general population. Most of us are familiar with pharmaceutical drugs, their generic counterparts, and how both are produced the same way and use the same active ingredients. But a new field, particularly known as biologics, is making headway in the United States as a major competitor in the medicinal market. Instead of synthetic drugs produced from chemical compounds, biologics are protein based from DNA in living organisms, which are specified to respond and target certain molecules in the body that help or hinder the production of certain compounds. These biologics treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and many other illnesses. Despite the potential and proven success of biologics, they can be expensive to make because they are highly complex structures. In order to combat the price and start competition to lower costs, consumer manufactures have come to produce biosimilars, replicas of biologics. The goal is to see lower prices, similar to the production of generic drugs. Now how is this different from drugs and their generic counterparts? Generic drugs are produced in nearly identical ways to the name-brand drug, and also contain the same active ingredient, a synthetic chemical compound. Biosimilars differ in that they are produced from living organisms, so no two products are alike, nor are they produced the same way via different companies. Recombinant DNA is selected from an organism and then reproduced in a live culture, then harvested, purified and stored for transport. Because of lengthy procedures and testing, biosimilars have not been available in the United Sates until this year, with the introduction of Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz). This biosimilar has shown to boost white blood cells in cancer patients, similar of its counterpart in testing. Currently, more biosimilars are under review by the FDA, but futhrer tests and studies need to show these biosimilars are as effective as their biologic counterparts, as well as similar in safety and side-effects. Websites:http://buildingbiologics.com/index.htmlhttp://www.novartis.com/newsroom/media-releases/en/2015/1900097.shtmlhttp://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/03/Food-Drug-Administration-Approves-First.html

Videos:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYz9BvLRbqJMcpLVH4rSdMetUzgZ2CxR

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The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

THIS MONTH IN TODAY'SY WORLD By: Lanz Kim:

Osiel Ramirez

CHEMISTRY FOR

Political Climate In light of climate change, things are not looking up. Half of our government denies

man’s involvement in accelerating this global phenomenon, or that climate change exists at all. A brief summary of climate change can be explained by the greenhouse effect. As Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun passes through the atmosphere and hits the surface of the earth, the wavelength increases enough to pass to the other side of the visible light spectrum and become infrared radiation. UV radiation has enough strength to typically break bonds as one photon’s energy levels can excite molecules to higher energy states leading to bond fission. However, IR radiation is generally strong enough to only vibrate molecules. Because of this, reflected IR radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and subsequently have a warming effect.

Certain gases have higher global warming potentials (GWP) than others, with Carbon dioxide as the standard with a GWP of one. These gases, unfortunately, support a very essential need in human life as they are used for refrigeration. However, there is recent news that is more uplifting. The Environmental Protection Agency, through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) approved of five products to replace the current refrigerants. Ranging from personal to industrial uses, Ethane, Isobutane, Propane, HCF-32 (difluoromethane) and the hydrocarbon blend R-441A will replace current refrigerants with GWPs of 1400 to 4000. The approved gases has GWPs ranging from 3 to 675. Although not a perfect solution, this is a step into the right direction.

Websites:http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i10/Climate-Friendly-Refrigerants.htmlhttp://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/18655/title/new-refrigerant-options-approved-by-the-epa.aspxhttp://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/1691E88E1FBE79FE85257DFC0057AA19

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Aero.!.! l . The chemistry of compounds of carbon ~. A method of dating- measuring the age of materials that contain matter of living origin 9. Th@ amount of .!Ub!ltanc@ p@r unit velum@ in a .!elution 10 . A rr.ethod of investigating nuclear SPINe' 11 . A unit of pr@!l.!Ur@ @xpr@!l.!@d in m:roBg 12 . A conical qlass l aboratory flask with a narrow neck Down 2 . A r@action wit n oxyg@n wit n t h@ production of h@&t and light 3 . The proportions in which elements form corr.pounds 5. A branch of physical chemistry concerned with t he study of rates of chemical reactions 6 . pV•K

7 . A suspension of small particles of a solid in a liquid formed by a cherr,ica! reaction 8 . A liquid capable of dissolving other materi a ls to form a solution

CHEESY CHEMISTRY COMICC 3Artist: Vivian Chen

The Beaker Volume VII Issue IV

NAME THAT MOLECULE

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???

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-I am an alkaloid compound-I belong to the family of purines-I am naturally produced by various plants-When I am purified, I have the color white and I am very bitter-I can be an addictive stimulant-I have pharmacological uses

Who am I?Last Issue's Molecule: Ethyl Formate

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AnnouncementsSAACS NEEDS YOUR HELP!HSCI room 326 is currently under renovation to provide a space for student-use. This newly refurbished room will allow a place for fellow students to study, hold meetings, etc. If you have any furniture, appliances or any other essentials that you would like to donate for this room please email SAACS or The Beaker.

csulbchemclub@gmail.comthebeakercsulb@gmail.com

Ideas for donations include: a microwave, refrigerator, office supplies, stacking chairs, tables, desks, etc.

Down1. Look at molecule 9.3. It’s a fancy molecular name for chocolate. Look atmolecule 11.5. A major neurotransmitter for your muscles.8. The regular table sugar. Look at molecule 6.9. Chemical that makes you feel happy. Look atmolecule 14.11. Chemical released in brain that gives us feelings ofjoy and motivation. Look at molecule 15.12. Look at molecule 214. This molecule in your RNA. Look at molecule 10.

Across2. The sugar in fruit! Look at molecule 5.4. You wash your hands withthis everyday. Not afancy term. Look molecule 13.6. Look at molecule 17. This molecule is in your DNA. Look at molecule 7.10. Look at molecule 8.13. It’s in your oranges! Hint: It’s an acid! Look atmolecule 4.15. It is also known as drinking alcohol. Look atmolecule 3.16. It’s healthy oil that reduces the risk for heartdisease. Look at molecule 12.

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Name That molecule!

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