Noel Hush | |
---|---|
Born | Noel Sydney Hush 15 December 1924 Sydney, Australia |
Died | 20 March 2019 | (aged 94)
Nationality | Australian, UK |
Known for | Electron transfer, molecular electronics, finite-field response |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Theoretical chemistry, chemical physics |
Institutions | University of Manchester, University of Bristol, University of Sydney |
Thesis | The electronic spectrum of pentacene in five states of ionization: theory and experiment |
Doctoral advisors | (DSc 1959) H.C. Longuet-Higgins FRS and M.H.L. Pryce FRS |
Noel Sydney Hush AO FRS FNAS FAA FRACI FRSN (15 December 1924 – 20 March 2019)[2] was an Australian chemist at the University of Sydney.[3][4]
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How Does Marijuana Work?
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perfect chemistry
Transcription
Marijuana is in the headlines lately as more and more states approve the use of pot on some level, either decriminalizing it or making it legal for medical use. It’s been used to reduce nausea in chemotherapy patients as well as treating pain, muscle spasms and seizures. In this episode, we look at the chemistry behind this drug, and we investigate how scientists are making sure that the legalized weed people smoke isn’t going to send them on a bad trip. Here’s what you need to know. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the active ingredient in cannabis and is what causes the “high” feeling. Once ingested or inhaled, the THC gets absorbed into the bloodstream where it travels to the brain and attaches to cannabinoid receptors. These receptors normally receive chemical signals from other cells including pain, nausea and euphoria. But when the THC attaches to the cannabinoid receptors, the brain becomes overwhelmed and prevents natural chemicals from doing their job. That’s what leads to THC’s pain and nausea-relieving properties and leaves you feeling loopy. Just how loopy you feel depends on the pot’s potency. The higher the levels of THC in the cannabis, the “higher” you get. But pot isn’t like over the counter drugs. You can’t just look at the label and see the ingredients and how strong it is. But that may change thanks to the marijuana testing labs springing up across the country. C&EN’s Bethany Halford talked to chemists at Analytical 360, a marijuana-testing lab in Seattle about how pot is tested for quality control. They explained that some quality control labs use a technique called liquid chromatography to test the THC levels. Dried marijuana plants, food, and personal care products that have been infused with cannabis extracts are all tested for potency and labeled accordingly. You don’t want to take 300mg of THC and think you’re only taking 30. The labs also do safety testing. Many labs use gas chromatography to inspect the marijuana plants for pesticides and residual solvents. Technicians also visually inspect for mold and mildew. You don’t want to poison yourself while trying to cure your nausea. Talk about counter productive. Some labs are more reliable than others. In addition to THC, marijuana plants contain cannabidiol, as well as acidic forms of these compounds known as THC-acid and CBD-acid. Once those acids are injected into a gas chromatography machine – a common analytical tool that, in this case, is often used to test edible pot products – they break down, which can cause the machine to overestimate the amount of THC and CBD. THC and CBD levels aren’t regulated yet, but each state has its own laws about the drug itself. With names like purple urkle, orange kush, blue dream and blueberry yum yum, it can be hard to take weed seriously. But these serious scientists are trying to make it a little safer… to smoke up. Legally of course.
Career
Hush was born in Sydney on 15 December 1924 and obtained his BSc hons (1945) and MSc (1948) at the University of Sydney, where he worked as a research fellow in the Department of Chemistry (1945–49). He then accepted an invitation from M. G. Evans FRS to work in England as an assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester (1950–54) in the department created by Michael Polanyi. He was subsequently lecturer and then reader in the Department of Chemistry, University of Bristol (1955–71).
He returned to Australia in 1971 to found the Department of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Sydney, the first such department in Australia. In 1989 he became a full-time research-only emeritus professor. He has held numerous prestigious visiting scientist positions at universities in Australia, the UK, and the US.[3]
Adiabatic electron transfer
A unifying theme of Hush's research is explanation of chemical electron transfer. This is the basis of oxidation–reduction processes, which are ubiquitous in nature in both the inorganic and biological spheres. The mechanism of these reactions—the simplest of which proceed without making or breaking chemical bonds—remained unknown until the mid-1950s, when several independent theoretical studies showed that it was due to modulation of coupling between electronic and vibrational motions. According to his Royal Society election citation,[5] Hush's research in the area of homogeneous and heterogeneous electron transfer[6] showed that electron transfer occurring during a collision between a molecule and either another molecule or an electrode surface occurs adiabatically on a continuous potential-energy surface, and that electron transfer can occur by either optical or thermal mechanisms with the corresponding rates being closely connected.[7]
Awards
- 2014 Ahmed Zewail Prize for Molecular Science[1]
- 2011 Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences of USA.
- 2010 Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRNS)
- 2007 Welch Award
- 2005 Physical Division Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)
- 2001 Australian Federation Centenary Medal
- 2000 Inaugural David Craig Medal and Lecture of the Australian Academy of Science
- 1999 Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1994 Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture from the Australian Academy of Science
- 1993 Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
- 1990 Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- 1988 Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
- 1977 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1977 Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)
See also
References
- ^ a b "Elsevier Announces the Winner of the 4th Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences".
- ^ "Passing of eminent scientist Professor Noel Hush". University of Sydney. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Hush, Noel Sydney (1924– )". Encyclopaedia of Australian Science. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ Faculty of Science – The University of Sydney
- ^ "Fellows Details". Royal Society. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ Hush, N. S. (1961). "Adiabatic theory of outer sphere electron-transfer reactions in solution". Transactions of the Faraday Society. 57: 577. doi:10.1039/TF9615700557.
- ^ Hush, N. S. (1967). Intervalence-transfer absorption. II. Theoretical considerations and spectroscopic data. Progress in Inorganic Chemistry. Vol. 8. pp. 391–444. doi:10.1002/9780470166093.ch7. ISBN 9780470166093.