ACS Debuts 12 Days of Holiday Podcasts

WASHINGTON —The American Chemical Society (ACS) Office of Communications is posting a Santa’s sack of gifts for the entertainment and enlightenment of users of iPods and other portable digital audio players.

Called “The 12 Days of Holiday Podcasts,” these audio snippets focus on chemistry’s lighter-hearted connections to the holiday season and are based on research from ACS’s suite of 36 peer-reviewed scientific journals. They will be posted daily between Dec. 12 and Dec. 24. The holiday podcasts are part of Science Elements, a weekly podcast of fast-breaking science news from ACS journals, national meetings, and other activities. They are available for download without charge at iTunes. For those without digital players, go to http://feeds.feedburner.com/ACS/scienceelements.

We live in a world based on chemistry. Day after day, chemistry brings us new medicines, new materials, new products, new processes that stop pollution before it starts. Science Elements is taking a holiday break from those big and significant contributions for a fascinating look at chemistry’s other connections to everyday life in this season of joy.

The podcasts include topics ranging from the chemistry of snowflakes and the healthier side of turkey stuffing to drug-like materials present in Christmas trees, cranberries, hot cocoa, wine, and tea. Marvin Coyner and Adam Dylewski are the holiday podcasters. Coyner is a veteran broadcaster recently retired from the ACS Office of Communications. Dylewski is the originator and producer of ACS’ Bytesize Science podcast, which iTunes recently honored as a new and notable podcast.

Tune in, and Happy Holidays.