It’s worth taking a look at the decomposition process as a whole. Decomposition can be roughly divided into four stages: the fresh stage, the bloated stage, the active decay stage and the advanced decay stage. Some overviews of the process also add in a final stage, when all that is left of the ...

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As the chemistry of chocolate is a topic that’s been pretty much exhausted on the site (see here, here, here, here, and here), for the Easter weekend we’re instead homing in on the ‘egg’ side of Easter Eggs. For such a simple staple of the kitchen, the chemistry of eggs is surprisingly complex. ...

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The summer holidays are here, which means there’ll soon be crowds flocking to the coast to spend the day at the beach. The supposed benefits of ‘fresh sea air’ are commonly extolled, but its origins might not be what you think:it’s the chemical compounds produced by algae and seaweed that ...

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Today’s postmarks a slight detour for the aroma chemistry series. So far, we’ve look mainly at pleasant aromas, but today we turn to a major malodour: that of toilets, and, more specifically, human waste. It might seem like something of a childish subject, but there are some interesting chemical ...

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Sweat, Halitosis, Flatulence & Cheesy Feet

Halitosis In the majority of cases, the cause of bad breath, or halitosis, is the product of bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria produce waste products, and it’s these chemical compounds that contribute towards halitosis. The phenomenon of ‘coffee breath’ has been linked by the Journal of ...

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