This will probably be of most interest to any Chemists reading it but others may find it a bit mind-boggling too.

One of the blogs I look at regularly is Charles Stross’s. (Click this link or see it on my side-bar.)

Charlie used to be in my writers’ group but is now a full-time writer so can’t attend very often, if at all.

On October 28^th Charlie posted an item about someone very stupid indeed.

That’s not all. The comments section includes some incidents which frankly make you wonder how the human race got to be spread all over the planet.

I particularly appreciated comment no. 29, about selenium azide.

Time was when bottles labelled as above were rare in shops. Not so now. Just try to find any diluting juice that has sugar added to it at all (at least in my local supermarkets.)

It may not actually be the case – they may be perfectly all right – but I remember reading somewhere years ago that the tests on the stuff that’s used instead of sugar in these drinks (aspartame or E951 and acesulfame K or E950 – but not so much saccharin, which came earlier) didn’t properly pass the safety tests. Either that or the results were massaged to put them in a more positive light. Something iffy anyway. This, I find, is supported by the Wikipedia article on aspartame, which does, though, contain a warning as to its disputed content. The main article states that the latest information is that the safety of aspartame is clear cut.
Acesulfame K has also been questioned but declared safe by the FDA and its European equvalent.

Aspartame is the methyl ester of a phenylalanine-aspartic acid dipeptide. Ah, a bit of Chemistry!

Both phenylalanine and aspartic acid are essential amino acids; which is to say our bodies need a certain supply of them – along with other amino acids – to make protein for muscles and cell repair and so on. We get these amino acids normally from our food. The plain dipeptide would present no health problems as the body would hydrolyse it to the individual amino acids before utilising those. I presume the dipeptide itself is not sweet since they use the methyl ester as aspartame. This ester can potentially hydrolyse to produce methanol – which is a poison, as found in wood alcohol (wood spirit.) I can see that the quantities of methanol involved will be small unless you imbibe bucket-loads of the drinks and the body will be able to get rid of it reasonably easily – though its metabolite, methanoic acid (or formic acid,) apparently lingers and is the main problem in causing the blindness and acidosis associated with drinking methanol.

Acesulfame K has a more complicated chemical structure (see link above,) containing what is known as a heterocyclic ring and bristling with oxygen atoms. As it is relatively stable under heating it is probably reasonably safe though I suspect it will hydrolyse to form an amino sulphonic acid.

Whatever, these “no added sugar” drinks have a slimy quality to them that is extremely unpleasant. I much prefer the sugared varieties (when I drink any at all) but they’re so hard to find.

I would also take, for myself, any health risks associated with the increased sugar intake. I’m sure these risks will also be acceptable for children if their sugar consumption from elsewhere isn’t excessive.

Hannu Rajaniemi, like me a member of the East Coast Writers’ Group, is a Writers’ Bloc stalwart. He has just landed a three book publishing deal with Gollancz – on the strength of a 24 page synopsis. I didn’t know that sort of thing happened any more.

Hannu is Finnish by birth and upbringing but has been living in Edinburgh for quite a while now. His English prose puts many writers born to the language to shame.

He also has a PhD in something to do with string theory but don’t ask me what. I’m an Organic Chemist – we don’t care what goes on inside nuclei.

I’ve no doubt Hannu will make it big in the SF world.