Posts

Detecting Adulterants in Milk with Simple Chemical Tests

Milk sits at the centre of daily life in Australian households, whether it comes from a family dairy in Gippsland, a boutique producer in Tasmania, or the…

How fireflies produce light: the chemistry behind luciferin and luciferase

When you wander through a tropical rainforest on a warm evening and spot tiny greenish pulses drifting between the ferns, you are witnessing one of nature's…

Joining Kathmandu's water authority as a quality analyst

Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, more commonly referred to as KUKL, is the public utility responsible for supplying treated drinking water across the…

Turning Vegetable Oils into Soap Through Saponification

Soap-making is a practical way to observe organic chemistry in the laboratory. Vegetable oils contain triglycerides, molecules built from glycerol and three…

Traditional leather tanning and the chemistry behind every hide

For thousands of years, communities across continents have turned raw animal hides into durable leather using methods that rely almost entirely on chemistry,…

Arsenic in groundwater: chemistry, health risks and remediation

Arsenic in groundwater is a chemical and public-health problem shaped by geology, water chemistry and human exposure. It can enter aquifers naturally as…

Dr Ramesh P. Khatiwada and the Chemistry of Himalayan Rivers

Rivers draining the Himalaya carry more than snowmelt and monsoon water. They transport dissolved minerals, suspended sediments, nutrients, and trace elements…

How to Prepare Buffer Solutions for Biochemical Assays

Buffer solutions keep pH within a controlled range while enzymes, antibodies, metabolites, and other biomolecules react. A well-prepared buffer improves assay…

The Chemistry Behind Photochemical Smog in the Kathmandu Valley

The Kathmandu Valley is surrounded by hills that can restrict air movement and trap pollution close to the ground. During dry winter mornings, vehicle exhaust,…

Gas chromatography for Nepali herbal essential oils

Nepal’s high-altitude valleys, mid-hill forests and subtropical plains produce aromatic plants with valuable volatile compounds. Oils from timur (Zanthoxylum…