Women in Science: What have the chemists ever done for us?

Let’s face it: there is wonderful chemistry in everything that surrounds us. Chemistry is behind simple things from colourful clothes, makeup and other beauty products to delicious fresh food and drink. Never believe the labels that say “chemical free” – it’s impossible.

Chemistry is also behind state-of-the-art screens and batteries in our smartphones and laptops. In fact, the latest iPhone has around 40 elements in it. The heart of a smartphone, the display, would not function without indium tin oxide, a transparent conductive material that can be coated onto glass. In fact, most of the things we use and enjoy every day rely on innovative chemistry.

I love to highlight the importance and relevance of chemistry in our everyday life, and last Monday, during Soapbox Science, I had the opportunity to do it on the streets of London. Blowing the trumpet for chemistry is part of my job, there’s no shortage of good tunes.

William Perkin’s synthesis of mauveine, the first synthetic organic chemical dye, is one of my favourites. In the second half of the 19th century, Perkin was experimenting in synthesising quinine, a substance used in the treatment of malaria. He worked in his makeshift laboratory at the top of his home and while he was unsuccessful in his attempt to synthesise quinine, he noticed that having rinsed out his flask with alcohol the solid dissolved gave a purple coloured solution.

He patented the new dye and opened a dyeworks at Greenford on the banks of the Grand Union Canal in London. The accidental discovery gave birth to the synthetic dye industry, revolutionized fashion and sparked enormous interest in the commercial applications of chemistry. Purple cloth became inexpensive to produce and very fashionable, as anyone can see today. I love wearing bright colours, especially purple, and I have to thank chemistry for it.

Other discoveries have been accidental – but no less helpful. A group of pharmaceutical chemists at Pfizer in Sandwich, Kent, synthesised a compound called Sildenafil while conducting research into drugs that could help with high blood pressure and angina. Clinical trials showed it had little effect on angina, but a big effect on something else. Pfizer named the new product Viagra.

The UK has been a world-leader in medicines discovery and research. Over the last 30 years, chemistry has tackled a major challenge: identifying the blockbuster drugs to serve the needs of patients. Tamoxifen is a great example. This drug changed the way breast cancer is treated: in the 1950s, a woman who developed breast cancer had less than a 70% chance of surviving more than five years. Today she now has a 90% chance.

Chemistry has been responsible for numerous discoveries that have changed our world and the economic impact of the chemical sciences on our economy is larger than you probably expect. Chemistry-related industries contributed £258 billion to the UK economy, or 21 per cent of UK GDP, and those industries supported six million jobs in 2007. To continue this success we need appropriate funding. It is possible in an age of austerity – as Germany and Japan are showing – to increase science funding. We must never forget that ongoing fundamental research is essential to ensure a steady stream of scientific and technological breakthroughs. Fundamental research is essential also to ensure that we maintain a highly skilled and innovative workforce and that it is well placed to adopt and advance new ideas, to successfully exploit new technologies and to develop better products and services.

At the Royal Society of Chemistry we work hard to inspire young people to study chemistry. The RSC is the largest non-governmental supporter of chemistry education in the UK: in 2011 we spent £2.5m on chemistry education and in the last decade we have spent a quarter of a billion pounds in advancing the chemical sciences.

To conclude I want to stress once more the important role research will continue to play in the health and wellbeing of our society; and British chemists will continue to search for solutions to some of the most important technological and societal challenges.

The next time we use our mobile phone or laptop, or when we take some medicine for a bad cold, or when we dye our hair or put some makeup on, we should consider that for all these things we have chemistry to thank.

Lesley Yellowlees is president of The Royal Society of Chemistry

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• Tatiana Proctor

  Science has helped, by and large, to level the playing field for women.

• Sam Foxley

  Penicillin is probably the greatest discovery of the past century, and that was due to a culture glass not being stored the way it should have been, followed by the Royal Navy taking an interest in it as a possible treatment for Syphilis. The chemists Florey and Chain deserve greater recognition for it’s discovery and development than Fleming, I do however think that women in science and many other disciplines are not given the child-care support they deserve/need in the work-place, (unless they are very determined) get ‘marginalised’ and not considered for higher grade posts etc. There have undoubtedly been females who have gained the recognition they deserve, Marie Curie being a prime example, and I often wonder what other discoveries could have been made, if their talents had been cultivated a lot more seriously. After all, it’s a man’s ‘fault’ that they have to give up the profession they wish to follow …. !!!

• sodit

  The RSC used to put out posters showing young people and a Land Rover on a raft with an inscription to the effect that chemistry wasn’t boring. It was enough to put one off chemistry as a career completely.

• sodit

  There was once a woman chemist whose works enabled the manufacture of soft ice cream. Clearly this woman has benefitted the world massively. I believe she went on to achieve much more, but this early achievement must certainly put everything else she did in the shade.