Annual Activities Report 2011 - INCT-Inofar - UFRJ

Annual Report 2011 | INCT-INOFAR
64
Scientific
Education and
Awareness
E-book “Chemistry
in Health”
INCT-INOFAR researchers Lidia Moreira Lima, Carlos Alberto Manssour Fraga, and Eliezer J. Barreiro,
connected to the Evaluation and Synthesis of Bioactive Substances Laboratory (LASSBio®/ UFRJ), at the
request of the Brazilian Chemistry Society (SBQ) have written an education e-book titled “Chemistry in
Health” for the collection “Chemistry in Everyday Life”, produced to celebrate the International Year of
Chemistry.
The authors created the content of the e-book to highlight, in a dynamic and didactical fashion, the
importance of Chemistry in health, dealing in a logical sequential manner from subjects that go from the
fertilization of the ovum by the spermatozoa to the explanation of puberty through chemical reactions.
The first topic is fertilization and formation of the genome, which segues into chapter 2, focused on
the chemical reactions in the umbilical cord and in breastfeeding. The following chapters are about the
different kinds of molecules and the importance of each of them in different stages of the human life.
Eating, energy, hygiene, sexuality, anxiety, wellness, happiness, sleep, and lastly, disease fighting are all
subjects of these following chapters.
In the e-book, available for free download at the AIQ blog , researchers have
tried to explain chemical reactions present in various health situations at a molecular level, to try to encourage
an interest in Chemistry in young people by dealing with everyday topics explained through Chemistry.