Skip to main content
Back to Show
Reactions

Chirality is Just Turtles All the Way Down

Season 10 Episode 8

L-DOPA is the best drug we have for Parkinson’s disease. If you take L-DOPA and reflect it in a mirror, you get a different molecule: D-DOPA, which does absolutely nothing for Parkinson’s and causes potentially deadly side effects. Making just L-DOPA without D-DOPA is surprisingly hard – so hard that the person who finally figured out how to do it won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Support Provided By
Season
How Do Blacksmiths Make Swords?
5:11
Let's learn how blacksmithing is just as much chemistry as it is an artform.
How to Make Magnetic Slime
4:43
Learn how you can use everyday materials to make magnetic and colored slime.
Space Mirrors and Other Weird Ways to Fight Climate Change
4:10
We're digging into a few of the weirdest climate change-combating ideas out there.
We Tested Google’s Tips for Getting Stains Out
16:02
We try out some of those tips to consider the chemistry behind why some are work better.
Is Superhero Strength Real?
3:35
We talk about “superhero strength” and the chemistry behind what’s possible.
How Much Does a Cloud Weigh?
3:26
We explore the chemistry behind how a cloud stays lofted in the sky.
Don't Mix These Things with Birth Control!
5:30
Learn about some common products that could make your birth control less effective.
What Exactly Happened at Chernobyl?
8:54
We talk about the chemistry behind this catastrophic event.
Can a Fecal Transplant Save You From This Dangerous Bacteria
4:16
We break down why that happens, and how an unlikely hero could save the day.
How Do We Fight the California Fires?
6:26
Learn how we’re using fertilizer to keep dangerous blazes at bay.
What Happens When You Overdose?
5:42
We learn how to spot an overdose and the ways different types of drugs wreak havoc.
The Top 5 Strangest Poisons That Can Kill You
4:48
We break down our top 5 strangest poisons.
Active loading indicator