If you are reading this then you are interested in learning more about me or you are just really really bored. Either way, here’s a little info on me.
I am one of those people who are beauty, fitness and health junkies. Yes, I admit, I fell into that trend. But you know what? I never felt better!
I am a Dr in Chemistry by training, having received my PhD from the University of Cambridge. I work as a Research Chemist and have spent years doing laboratory research in various subjects including drug syntheses (no it is not like Breaking Bad, they were for medicinal purposes), peptide syntheses and applications and I even worked with air-sensitive, explosive materials! Have I even had to fight a fire? Yep.
I currently live and work in the UK and love those counted days when it is actually sunny. Ok it’s more of a light glow not really actually sunny. It does rain a lot, that’s not just a stereotype. And of course, being true to Murphy’s Law, it always rains when I’ve just done my hair!
I wanted to be a scientist since I can remember, as cheesy as it sounds, it’s true. I love science and have a strong despise, ok maybe even anger, against fake science and fake claims. But of course I also love all things beauty, fitness, health and well being and feel like it’s time to marry scientific facts with these hugely grown areas.
I am specifically very passionate about the image of science to the public and I am very saddened about the negative feel that the media have given to science over the years, especially to chemistry. There is a history to this and why it happened but the main point being: not all chemicals are nasty and bad and even water is a chemical from which, if you drink above a certain amount, you can also die from! Unfortunately, sales and promotions are driven by trends and as we are now into the “organic” era more and more products are being advertised as “0% chemicals” and are absolute promotional traps, based on misconception, fear and lack of education, because for example, even water, is a chemical. If you are interested in learning more about this subject and even why the term “organic” annoys every scientist check out my post on:
The Chemical Misconception – Should we avoid chemicals?
I am also interested in sieving out the good science from the bad. Throughout my career, I have come across multiple peer-reviewed scientific articles that are based on no evidence whatsoever or even fake data! This is currently a big issue for science and there are a couple of reasons to this. Partly, it is because scientific funding has become so competitive that even some scientists have become “promotional sales people” in order to secure research funding. Other times, it is because some laboratories do not want to share their in-house secrets, minimising competition (which is, if you ask me, against the core principle of science – to share knowledge) and other times it is due to lack of good communication. Communication is one of humanities difficulties and well science, as you can imagine, can be complicated! If you are interested in reading about this further I am in the process of writing an articled titled “Is science always scientific?”.
I love shopping, trying out new things and I try to maintain a sporty figure. I aim to gym 4-5 times a week and yes I fail sometimes because…life. I see working out as my private, me time and so I prefer working out on my own. I do a mixture of High Intensity Interval Training (aka HIIT) circuits and weight training. I especially love HIIT circuits because they are short, fun, they don’t use very heavy weights (minimising injury) and they can be done anywhere, anytime, with no equipment at all if you don’t have any!
Bonds of Beauty has a double meaning to me. I find beauty in molecules, in the way the world is put together and how it functions but I also find beauty in the physical and mental state of humans. Bonds of Beauty is about exploring molecules or science that is beautiful in a chemical way but is also beautiful in terms of what those molecules actually do, to us, physically. Chemistry happens because of the bonds that elements create with each other and beauty, fitness and health are a result of those interactions. Interestingly, humans also exist because of those chemical interactions and have also become evolutionary masters because of the relationship bonds we create with each other!
I am not sponsored by any company to write this blog. These are my personal opinions from trying out different products combined with evidence that is published in peer-reviewed scientific articles.
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Bonds of Beauty 