Acidophillium and Acidobacillus ferroxidens bacteria thrive in harmful conditions. These microscopic sulfuric acid-eating bacteria use...

Reduction is a fundamental aspect of everyday life, from breathing oxygen to powering a phone. Reduction and its counterpart, oxidation ,...

A biofilm is a living community of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and algae. Comprising over 80% of all microbial life on...

Oxidation is a primary part of chemistry and biology and essential to life. This chemical reaction is vital for energy production. From...

Thiobacillus, Thiothrix, and Beggiatoa are genera of acid-producing bacteria with significant contributions to creation of sulfuric...

The Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age is one of the earliest urban societies, famous for trade, inventiveness and extraordinary...

Catalase is an enzyme found in carbon life forms, including humans. It's known for its exceptional ability to decompose hydrogen peroxide...

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a basic disinfectant and bleach of many households. If stored too long it will decompose. The decomposition...

Peracetic acid is a remarkable compound with powerful benefits and considerable risks. A colorless liquid with a sharp odor similar to...

The rotten egg sulfur smell is associated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a colorless gas. The stench can arise in water supplies, foods and...

White lead, lead(II) carbonate or PbCO₃, has a long sordid history in art, paint and industry, a major source of white for artists and in...

Circulation is one of many processes of alchemy. The purification of a substance is achieved through circular distillation in a pelican...

Arsenic trioxide is a toxic compound with a a long and complex history, known at least by the time of the ancient Romans. Here's a look...

Alchemy uses natural processes, often driven by microbial forces. Unseen biological entities include bacteria, amoeba and flagellates....

Protozoa are single-celled organisms integral to ecosystems worldwide. As microbes they're microscopic and invisible to the human eye....

A separatory funnel is an essential piece of laboratory equipment used in liquid-liquid extractions, allowing alchemists to separate...

Microbes are invisible and exist everywhere, in air, water and soil. Scientists find microbes living in the charred soil wildfires leave...

Decomposing horse manure is essential in the alchemical process of digestion. A flask of substances is buried in dung. As if by magic the...

Digestion is the alchemical process of applying steady heat to a substance in a flask or container. Digestion can last hours or days. The...

Acetobacter bacteria are a group of acetic acid bacteria species integral to natural processes such as turning wine to vinegar. Their...