Ryan Holcomb
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theholc.bsky.social
Ryan Holcomb
@theholc.bsky.social
Career changed medicinal chemist turned associate professor at local community college. Came for the political commentary- stayed for the chemistry! 👨‍🔬🧪😅
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Did some tidying up of the links for chemistry related starter packs, arranged loosely by subject area, and added who maintains the list so you know who to speak with if you'd like to be added!

tinyurl.com/ChemSkyStart...

#ChemSky #Chemistry #Chemists #StarterPacks 🧪
Bluesky Chem Starter Packs
tinyurl.com
November 25, 2024 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Useful as I have chopped soooo many onions today.
Learn how to chop onions more comfortably, brown onions more quickly, slow fruit browning, and make creamy nacho sauce easily: cen.acs.org/food/food-sc...

#PeriodicGraphics #chemsky #bluesci 🧪
November 24, 2024 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Understanding conspiracy theories:
1. There’s a kernel of truth
2. Someone gains influence or power by promoting it
3. Believers dislike the group it targets
4. There’s a strong negative emotional hook.
5. Scientific evidence is dismissed as an effort to hide the “truth”
#StormTipOfTheDay
January 1, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
🧠 Exercise Boosts Memory

A new #OpenAccess study shows that 30 min of exercise improves memory and cognitive performance for the day ahead, and the next one as well.

🔗 ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

#SciComm 🧪
Associations of accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep with next-day cognitive performance in older adults: a micro-longitudinal study - International Journal of Beha...
Background Previous studies suggest short-term cognitive benefits of physical activity occurring minutes to hours after exercise. Whether these benefits persist the following day and the role of sleep...
ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com
December 10, 2024 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
🌿 Making ammonia from thin air

New research published in @science.org demonstrates tech that turns air and water into ammonia using a simple catalyst with no emissions.

A portable, sustainable solution for greener agriculture and irrigation. 🌱

🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scia...

#GreenTech #SciComm 🧪
Onsite ammonia synthesis from water vapor and nitrogen in the air
Green ammonia is produced from water vapor and nitrogen in air for direct irrigation by microdroplet contact electrocatalysis.
doi.org
December 13, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
I'm sure @aetiology.bsky.social has seen this already, but just in case: arstechnica.com/science/2024.... It's quite the searing indictment of politics over science.
Congressional Republicans conclude SARS-CoV-2 originated in a lab leak
A textbook example of shifting the standards of evidence to suit its authors’ needs.
arstechnica.com
December 11, 2024 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
This is exactly what happened in 2001, driven by the tax preparation industry, in order to kill a public option for tax reporting. The goal, then and now, is to force citizens to pay private companies in order to do their tax returns.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-ta...
December 11, 2024 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Your 'moment of doom' for Dec. 9, 2024 ~ The doom loop!

"This is a vicious circle. Climate change is making geopolitics less stable, which harms climate action. This will worsen climate change, meaning more geopolitical instability, and so on."

theconversation.com/a-doom-loop-...
A ‘doom loop’ of climate change and geopolitical instability is beginning
Climate change is driving inflation and instability, which harms climate action. But it’s not too late to escape the doom loop.
theconversation.com
December 9, 2024 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Sotomayor: "You're licensing states to deprive grown adults of the choice of which sex to adopt? That’s what you’re telling me."

Adds: "That’s quite an interesting way to protect the population."
December 4, 2024 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
The parallel between how the law was wielded to prohibit rights to Black people, women and others is SO clear.
December 4, 2024 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
A key funder of a shadowy anti-transgender political action committee that attacked Democratic state lawmakers and candidates in the weeks leading up to last month’s election is one of the most powerful Republicans in Utah: House Speaker Mike Schultz.
Utah House speaker gave $120k of his own money to a shadowy anti-trans PAC
A key funder of a shadowy anti-transgender political action committee that attacked Democratic state lawmakers and candidates in the weeks leading up to last month’s election is one of the most powerf...
www.sltrib.com
December 3, 2024 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
I know I should quit eating Thanksgiving leftovers…

But I can't quit cold turkey.
November 30, 2024 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
In 2020, many corporations made public DEI goals only to back off them in the wake of backlash this year. But DEI doesn’t run counter to merit, says Adia Wingfield. In fact, when done right, it helps businesses grow. “They got the facts completely wrong,” says @jennpiscopo.bsky.social. #Velshi
‘The way to do the work is slowly, surely, and over time’: Corporate America and DEI
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, rolled back some DEI initiatives this week, joining a trend of corporations this fall dropping diversity and equity goals amid ongoing conservative and right-wing backlash. “They got the facts completely wrong,” says Jennifer Piscopo, who regularly consults for international organizations and national governments on issues of inclusion in the workforce. “Companies really do themselves a disservice,” says Diversity professor of Sociology Adia Wingfield. “Everybody has opportunities to be included and compete on a level playing field.” Companies may be walking back so “that the Trump Administration would look more favorably,” suggests Piscopo.
www.msnbc.com
December 1, 2024 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
November 29, 2024 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
It’s the #GBBO final tonight 🧁

Do you know your baking powder from your baking soda? Here's a look at the difference between the two and how they're used in baking in @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/food/food-sc...

#ChemSky 🧪
November 26, 2024 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating! Here's some relevant chemistry for the day: www.compoundchem.com/2017/11/23/t...

#ChemSky 🧪
November 28, 2024 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Ryan Holcomb
Just finished teaching my introductory course on Organic Reaction Mechanisms to our Year 1 chemistry undergraduates. I wrote this paper to share the unique approach, in which we develop some simple rules so students can predict mechanisms rather than just learn them.
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Priority and Selectivity Rules To Help Students Predict Organic Reaction Mechanisms
Organic reaction mechanisms lie at the heart of developing an understanding of how the molecular world functions. However, many students simply try to memorize mechanisms, or use their knowledge of th...
pubs.acs.org
November 14, 2024 at 7:12 AM