Looking at the ingredient list of some popular processed foods will produce a puzzled look on the typical hacker’s face. Tricalcium phosphate, thiamine mononitrate, zinc proteinate, pyridoxine ...

Literally everything around us is made up of chemicals. That includes all foods. And the different kinds of chemicals they contain give the stuff we eat their flavors, colors, and smells. On the blog ...

In studying the origins of the complex system for naming chemical compounds, Evan Hepler-Smith examines the fundamental ways in which scientific knowledge is made. Hepler-Smith, from Pittsburgh, ...

Nomenclature -- the "art" of naming organic chemicals -- is crazy making. Some chemical names are simple. Some are complex. What's more, saying the names of some chemicals makes you sound like a ...

Evan Hepler-Smith, a doctoral student in Princeton's Program in History of Science, is examining the history and impact of the International Commission on Chemical Nomenclature, which established the ...