The First World War, that began in 1914, put chemists to work. Their chemicals could harm as well as heal … but on balance the outcome was … horrific.

As the author of two books about the First World War, Dr Michael Freemantle explains chemistry was the destructive force in the war but it also protected the troops, and healed the wounded.

Scroll down for the recording.
Additional notes by Roger Frost – with thanks to Dr Freemantle. 

Attitudes to chemical warfare back then:

At one point chemical weapons were considered by the British to be a MORE humane way to kill people. A speech recorded at the USA National Center for Biotechnology Information suggests that the use of chemical weapons may best be understood by listening to the scientists who had firsthand knowledge of their development.

Writing in the late 1960s, chemist James Conant, who directed US GAS production during World War One, said: To me, the development of new and more gases seemed no more immoral that the manufacture of explosives and guns. . . . I did not see in 1917 . . . why tearing a man’s guts out by high explosive shell is to be preferred to maiming him by chemicals attacking his lungs or skin. All war is immoral.

On the German side, Otto Hahn, a future Nobel prize winner in chemistry, was recruited by Fritz Haber to the German chemical weapons program. Otto Hahn went to the eastern front to see the capabilities of this new weapon. The experience left him profoundly shaken: “I was very ashamed and deeply agitated. First we attacked the Russian soldiers with our gas, and then, when we saw the poor chaps lying on the ground slowing dying, we restored their breathing with our rescue equipment. The total insanity of war became obvious to us. First one attempts to eliminate the unknown enemy in his trench, but when one comes face to face with him, one cannot bear it and sets about helping him. Yet often we could no longer save the poor victims”.

Metal helmets – what are they for?

For the first couple of years of World War I, none of the countries provided steel helmets to their troops. Soldiers of most nations went into battle wearing cloth caps that offered no protection. German troops wore that pointy German hat, the leather Pickelhaube. The lethal head wounds inflicted by on the French led them to introduce the steel helmet in 1915.

The head injury puzzle

It was not until 1916, two years into the war that metal helmets were issued to all the British. But after they introduced metal helmets, the War Office was amazed to discover that the incidence of head injuries increased. So why should the number of head injuries increase when men wore metal helmets rather than cloth caps? The answer is that if a man arrived alive at the field hospital with a head wound, he would be listed as head wound, but if the man was dead, he would be listed as ‘dead’. Introducing metal helmets decreased the number listed as dead, but increased the number listed as head wound.

recorded 13/10/2014. Dr Michael Freemantle has written:

• The Chemists’ War: 1914-1918
• Gas Gas! Gas! Quick, Boys: How Chemistry Changed the First World War
• The Long Purr: a tale of two strays (2021) Amazon link

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A podcast about the science of food crops. The growing world population leads to a demand to farm the land several times more effectively than we used to. But growing crops comes with risks. The farmer wants a guarantee that their efforts bear fruit. Consumers obviously want a guarantee that their food is free from harmful extras. What can be done to ensure the farmer’s crop succeeds? And what is being done to ensure our food is safe to eat? Roger Frost talks with Dr Julian Little, a crop specialist at world leading science company Bayer Crop Science in Cambridge date 26/07/2014

• Find advice on pests, weeds, new seeds and plant diseases at www.bayercropscience.co.uk
• Facts on Bayer, the company at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer

Tagged 105science, biology, Cambridge Science Centre, Daniel Edward, environment, gm crops, herbicide, nature, organic food, pesticide, Roger Frost

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With many different types of guitars, we find out how much more is involved in the sound we get from various models, and whether or not this impacts on the price. Are we just paying for a brand name or the association with a particular musician? Today’s guest is Graham Buxton, a name that local music fans and musicians will recognise from a long musical pedigree. Graham has spent many years advising new musicians as to the pros and cons of each instrument. Neil asks Graham about the kind of guitars that are available. If it is perhaps true that we are paying for a brand, there is a level of quality which is behind the names which accounts towards the price. That is the case whether we’re talking about tools, foods or fashions for example.

11/10/2014 105science, Neil Ainsby, physics, Roger Frost, science education, technology, guitar, sound

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Dr Chris Creese and Roger Frost tour the LMB-MRC open day exhibition and learn about body clocks and worms.

Follow-up link

• Read more at Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

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The topic is how we make the eggs that make our babies or in other words: meiosis in mammalian oocytes. Molecular biology research happens at the Medical Research Council lab of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. The LMB houses 50 research groups and over 400 scientists and one of the groups is led by scientist Dr Melina Schuh. Roger Frost was intrigued to know why we need to know more about making babies, so he asked Melina.

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The Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge is credited for landmark discoveries and cutting-edge techniques. This podcast offers an overview of what the LMB do. On the occasion of the Medical Research Council centenary, and a visit by HRH The Queen, Roger Frost speaks with the director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Sir Hugh Pelham about the kind of research they undertake. We find out how the LMB choose what’s worth investigating.

29/06/2013

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We talk with Peter Barham, a professor of ‘Molecular Gastronomy’ about what his delicious subject entails. He wrote the book “The Science of Cooking”. His idea is that “a kitchen is like science laboratory” and that cookery is indeed an experimental science. Professor Barham has worked with restaurant chefs including Heston Blumenthal of the celebrated “Fat Duck” restaurant in Berkshire. He was giving a talk in Cambridge for the Cambridge Society for the Application of Research.

Follow-up link

You can find more talks to attend at the C.S.A.R. website www.csar.org.uk

12/07/2014 Tagged 105science, biology, health, Molecular gastronomy, Roger Frost

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The author of a riveting book called “The Big Questions in Science” explains how they researched How did life begin? Why do we dream? And when can I have a robot butler? Science writer Mun Keat Looi talks about some of the most exciting and pressing questions facing humanity. Mun Keat explains how he and coauthors Hayley Birch and Colin Stuart gathered the most cutting edge science research to shed new light on the twenty biggest questions keeping us up at night, such as How did life begin? And are we alone in the universe? The authors explain everything in a way that’s easy to understand – helped by stunning photography and funny cartoon drawings.

Follow-up links

• Check this Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/01/20-big-questions-in-science
• ‘The Big Questions in Science: The Quest to Solve the Great Unknowns’ www.goodmanbooks.com/books/products/the-big-questions-in-science
• Mun Keat Looi works on other projects too, his website is: munkeatlooi.com

25/09/2013 Tagged 105science, bacteria, biology, cancer,chemistry, Colin Stuart, environment, Hayley Birch, Mun Keat Looi, physics, population, robots, science questions

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A Cambridge project seeks to improve farming practices in Africa by sharing advances in biotechnology. They’re called Biosciences for Farming in Africa (www.b4fa.org). Chris Creese meets one of their founders Dr David Bennett. There’s a ‘demonstration farm’ in Cambridge called the National Institute of Agricultural Botany Innovation Farm, Lawrence Weaver Road, off Huntingdon Road. See www.innovationfarm.co.uk

22/03/2014 Tagged 105science, b4fa, biology, Chris Creese, environment, Roger Frost

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CAMGRAIN is a farmer-owned central storage co-operative, set up 20 years ago to provide facilities for storing, analysing, cleaning and distributing grain to the food industry such as those who mill, brew and make breakfast cereal. This interview is about what happens when wheat leaves the farm. We take up the story after the August crop harvest and speak with Dr Andrew Wingate who tells how CAMGRAIN deliver quality assured wheat.  Topics in this interview about the grain supply chain include how is wheat tested and cleaned after it arrives from the farm? Also what are strong flours and weak flours? What is gluten?

Follow-up link

• Find out more at www.camgrain.co.uk.

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