Molecular Anthology

Molecule

Votes

Structure/molecular model

Submitted by

Description/Justification

1080 (sodium fluoroacetate)

39

Matteo

Tourist driving along New Zealand's tolkeinesque coutryside are left befuddled by road signs bearing the enigmatic graffiti "Ban 1080", later to discover it is not the number that the tagger is opposing, but a controversial molecule which kills mammals, which in turn destroy native New Zealand.Therefore the most NZ.er molecules has to be 1080.

2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine

21

JB

Extraordinarily potent aroma compound. Flavour threshold of only 5 pg/g in water (5 parts-per-trillion)!! Provides the unique aroma character of green beans and capsicums. More importantly in a New Zealand context, this is the compound responsible for the herbaceous, grassy characteristics of a Marlborough-grown Sauvignon Blanc wine. No other wine-growing climate is capable of producing Sauvignon Blanc wine with up to 32 parts-per-trillion of 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine. Indeed, this compound almost singlehandedly placed New Zealand wine on the international wine map. Perhaps less glamorously, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine also contributes a significant grassy aroma to New Zealand dairy products which are produced from milk that comes from cows which are grazed outdoors on grass pasture.

Alginate

4

SH

The role of alginate in New Zealand society is widespread due to its remarkable physiological properties. Probably the most interesting of these is the antiphagocytic properties of this molecule, which has a contrasting role in two of the most important genetic diseases affecting New Zealanders; Cystic Fibrosis and Type 1 Diabetes. Alginate produced by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa leads to chronic lung infection which cannot be cleared by the immune system of Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. This property has been exploited in the production of a potential cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects more than 15,000 New Zealanders. Alginate encapsulation of transplanted islet cells removes the need for toxic immunosuppressive therapy, while restoring normal levels of insulin production. There is no doubt that further research will facilitate the role of alginate in the eradication of these and other ‘incurable’ diseases.

Ammonia

7

Nick B

1. New Zealand's dairy industry grew into its main industry once refrigeration was developed, and fridges back then used ammonia as the coolant.2. Another way that ammonia contributes to our economy is that it is used to make urea, which is a source of nitrogen in our pastures and orchards.3. The invention of the Haber process, and subsequent industrialization in 1913, enabled Germany to produce ammonia, and subsequently explosives and ammunition, without saltpeter, which the allies had and Germany didn't. If Germany couldn't make explosives/ammunition, then they may not have waged world war I, so Gallipoli might not haved happened. New Zealand's national identity, and relations with Australia and the UK, were formed by this event.

Bi-2223

5

AB

Bi-2223 has the complicated formula Bi₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_10+x so it is not really a single molecule but it is pointing the way to New Zealand’s future economic development away from a reliance on the agricultural and horticultural sectors. It, along with similar materials, is called a high temperature superconductor (HTS) since it has the unusual property of conducting electricity with zero resistance and repelling a magnetic field above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K) which is relatively cheap. New Zealand has established itself as a key player in the development and application of HTS technologies since the discovery of Bi-2223 in 1988 and subsequent patenting by IRL scientists Bob Buckley and Jeff Tallon. Bi-2223 was the first commercially viable material for wire production and today the material provides the basis for a major part of the HTS industry worldwide. Based on this capability New Zealand has developed a strong global leadership position in the commercial sale of HTS devices.

bovine beta-lactoglobulin

4

GBJ

The most studied protein in the world is beta-lactoglobulin, especially the version found in the milk of cows, the economically most important animal in NZ. Beta-lactoglobulin, especially when denatured, bestows to milk products many of their functional properties. The cysteine sulfur atoms (coloured yellow) are key to its functional properties in foods. Beta-lactoglobulin binds many fatty molecules, such as the caterpillar-like fatty acid bound inside the barrel of the protein. Human milk lacks beta-lactoglobulin, and thus this molecule is responsible for many immunological problems associated with cow's milk. NZ's economy, to a considerable extent, is founded/foundered on this one protein molecule.

Caffeine

70

Wayne

Where would New Zealand be without it?

Carbon

87

Spike and Frank

I beg your pardon, Mrs Hawarden,
But there’s a problem in your garden.

It’s about a kind of stuff called carbon.
Without it, all our lives would harden.

It’s the very core of life, you see -
This essential building block called C.

There’s lots of it down under ground.
And it helps the sea make that swishing sound.

It’s in the soil, and every tree
And my dad says it makes me, me.

The air we breathe holds quite a bit
Of a relative Dad calls CO-shit.

Earthquakes make trouble with every jolt,
But it’s no good to look for fault.

When the earth makes shakes,

It’s very scary but carbon isn’t airy-fairy!
It’s a bigger problem anyhow:

The world’s too warm, right here, right now.

The puzzle that we most need to play
Is getting some carbon out of the way.

casein

23

AB

A significant part of New Zealand’s economy is driven by the dairy industry as it accounts for 25% of all merchandise export earnings. Proteins are important molecules in milk especially the casein protein which makes up 80% of the protein. Actually there are four different types of casein proteins. One of these, kappa-casein, is shown in the figure.

Cheap Oil — pick any random branched-chain hydrocarbon with between 11 and 21 carbon atoms per molecule as representative of diesel

1

C₁₅H₃₂

JB

“Human limits, not human power, define the situation that we face today because the technological revolutions and economic boom times that most modern people take for granted were a product, not of science or such impressive intangibles as ‘the human spirit’, but simply of a brief period of extravagance in which we squandered half a billion years of stored sunlight. The power we claimed, in other words, was never really ours, and we never really ‘conquered’ nature; instead, we raided as much of her carbon assets as we could reach and went on a spending spree three centuries long. Now the bills are coming due, the balance left in the account won’t meet them and the remaining question is how much of what we bought with all that carbon will still be ours when nature’s foreclosure proceedings finish with us.”
John Michael Greer, The Ecotechnic Future, pp 219–220.

chlorophyll

13

Nigel P

The basis of all our agriculture, horticulture and forestry, and our marine fisheries.

cholesterol

3

sruthi

Cholesterol has gained a lot of notoriety in the last few years.Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, accounting for more deaths each year than cancer.40% of all deaths are from cardiovascular disease; 22% from heart disease, 8% from other heart diseases, 10% from stroke.Obesity is also a major issue for New Zealand.Major dietary sources of cholesterol include cheese, egg yolks, beef, pork, poultry, and shrimp.These contribute the major part of Newzealand diet.Choesterol is the molecule that affected the lifestyle choices of people the most and made them think about making healthy food choices.

Cyanide

0

CN^-

bill

Used to extract gold from rock, and so funded a large part of NZ development, not to mention its on going use for possum eradication.

ethanol

8

Judy

It has kept NZers happy for generations and no doubt will continue to do so.

Green fluorescent protein

1

Pranav

The green fluorescent protein is composed of 238 amino acid residues first isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to blue light. GFP being less harmful when illuminated in living cells has set off the development of automated live-cell fluorescence microscopy systems. The GFP gene can be introduced and maintained in the organism's genome.

Hypochlorite

0

OCl^-

bill

Chlorination of public water supplies was NZ's first big step in public health, and remains a cornerstone to this day.

Insulin

3

Johnathan

Fantastic little molecule...keeps me alive =)

Keratin

38

Mariana

New Zealand is globally known for its merino wool. Keratins are fibrous proteins which compose the structures and large portions of the cell compositions of living organisms. There are two primary keratins: the alpha-keratins and the beta-keratins. While both fulfill similar roles, they differ slightly in structure, compositions and properties. The alpha-keratins are slightly basic or neutral and form a right-handed helical structure and the beta-keratins are slightly acidic and also form a right handed helical structure. Keratins, as fibrous proteins, are elongated molecules in which the secondary structure forms the dominant structure. These proteins are what make up nails, hair, make up, hooves, and skin. Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals. Merino wool is typically 3-5 inches in length and is very fine. The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool that is 16.9 microns and finer.

Lactose

3

Richard

Lactose we consume in our mother’s milk, a molecule more important to NZ than to any other nation. Lactose provided the founding purpose for Plunket and Glaxo. Lactose is now the matrix material in most pills - it is often both the first and last molecule we ingest in life. A sugar absorbed by humans as fast as any other yet of modest glycemic index; abundant in milk yet low in solubility; unfermentable to most micro-organisms yet its fermentation gives us untold foods and drinks, lactose is the molecule that makes mammals mammals. The New Zealand dairy industry’s ability to transmute lactose into money where most others call it waste is keeps NZ solvent. And this ability is enabled by 50 years of New Zealand science and process engineering.

Methamphetamine

1

Adamina

Methamphetamine or "P" has been of major interest to the country over the past few years. This chemical has resulted in many arrests and is a huge deal for the police at the moment cracking down on P-houses. It is one of the major underground drugs in New Zealand and is a serious issue due to its effects on users and those who know them.

methane

2

ST

What links Think Big, the Pike River tragedy and farting cows? Methane. The gas fields off the Taranaki coast were tapped for conversion to methanol at the Motunui and Wataira Valley plants, that were constructed in the 1980s one of NZ's biggest ever engineering projects. Could cow farts be tapped for similar purposes? Or would we miss their familiar bucolic whiff too much? The energy released by combustion of methane is regularly and tragically illustrated by cola mine explosions, as at Pike River last year.

Neonicotinoids

1

Zachary Domike

This molecule represents a new class of insecticides which act on the central nervous system of insects and may wipe out bees in our lifetime. Typical use of neonicotinoids is to treat seeds prior to planting; the plants subsequently produce more neonicotinoids in their pollen. NZ has allowed all sorts of industrial poisons to test the Clean and Green image. This may be the last one.

Nitric oxide

2

GBJ

Key neurotransmitter, responsible for maintaining vasculature and, hence, no NO, no babies (or other hazards of sex).

ozone

8

O₃

Barrie Peake

Depletion of stratospheric ozone levels was first observed in the early 1908’s over Antarctica during the polar spring (September – October) and subsequently attributed to reaction with chlorine atoms and related radicals arising from the global anthropogenic release of chlorofluorohydrocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere. This decline over Antarctica has in turn lead to a decrease in the ozone levels over New Zealand in early- to mid-summer and a consequent increase in the UV levels with the potential to have a significant impact on many aspects of life in New Zealand.

phosphate

25

Barrie Peake

Phosphate in the form of superphosphate is manufactured in New Zealand by reacting sulphuric acid and phosphate rock, which converts the insoluble unavailable phosphate in the rock into a water-soluble and plant- available form. This fertiliser has then been widely applied to arable land throughout New Zealand for many years and as such has been responsible for enhancing much of New Zealand’s agricultural output during this time.

polypropylene

12

Monica

One of the most useful discoveries of the 20th century. Used to make thermal underwear (makes for happy trampers), autoclavable plasticware (makes for happy researchers) and lots more (carpets, sutures, tic tac box lids, etc).

Protein

1

Nayeem Mullungal

Proteins are the biological macromolecules vital to metabolism with structural or mechanical functions in every living organism. From the earlier times protein is considered as the most important nutrient (meat, fish, milk and egg). New Zealand is the youngest country on earth and its fascinating history reveals that the major economic developments and thereby awaken social and living status of the entire country was happened in the decades of 1890s during which the economy-based on wool and local trade-changed to the export of frozen meat and dairy products which flourished in the later years globally with the invention of refrigerated shipping and even in this current century it is the greatest wealth of this Nation. Meeting the need for protein (the food) for the entire humanity as today and protein being the queen of postmodern Science including genetics and biotechnology it is inevitable for New Zealand.

superphosphate

1

Ca(H₂PO₄)₂

Jean

NZ's economy has been based on meat, wool, and dairy products since pakeha arrived. Superphosphate has turned our diverse ecosystems into a pastoral monoculture.

Theaflavin

0

Sarah M

Morning Tea. Afternoon Tea. With a child at kindy, I hear a lot about these! The kids don't actually drink tea at kindy, but many people do rely on a cuppa to get them through the day, mum included! Theaflavin and its derivatives are the are antioxidant polyphenols formed from flavan-3-ols during the enzymatic oxidation of tea leaves. My life would not be the same without it...

Thin sheet of Gold (Au)

1

D D

Sir Ernest Rutherford's experiment involving Helium nuclei and a thin sheet of gold changed the way chemists understand the atom, the fundamental starting point in chemistry and basis of everything! This also put New Zealand on the scientific map! This has to be the molecule that has changed New Zealand society as everything has stemmed off from it!!

trigylcerides

2

AJ

Trigylcerides make up about 98% of milkfat so are a crucial component of our dairy industry. The race to incease milk fat production has also wrought massive (and ongoing) changes to New Zealand's landscape; from forested biodiverse ecosystems to swathes of exotic grasses dotted with cows.

Tutin

0

JM

Tutin toxin can be transferred from the tutu vine to honey via the vine hopper. At certain levels, the honey becomes toxic. Several poisonings in the last decade have lead to a greater regulation of the honey industry, and thus Tutin is one of the molecules that's been helped in the change of New Zealand society from do-it-yourself to more highly regulated. For an image, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutin_%28toxin%29

Vitamin B-12

2

Alan

Little did B C Aston and his 19th Century colleagues realize that when they embarked upon a program to solve an animal health problem in remote parts of New Zealand, they would be dealing with a molecule of fundamental importance to the evolving New Zealand agricultural economy, one that has continuing implications for human health and one that has been the vehicle for fundamental discoveries in science. “Bush sickness” is caused by a dietary deficiency of the trace element cobalt. Pernicious anemia in humans is also related to a cobalt deficiency. Bacteria in ruminant animals use mineral cobalt to produce Vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is essential for human health and its primary source in the human diet is ruminant animal products. Unraveling this story, from its origins in rural New Zealand has led to significant advances in Medicine and Chemistry, including 4 Nobel prizes for the initial discovery of the ‘anti pernicious factor’, the first chemical formula determination using XRD, the first determination of a metallo-enzyme, fundamental solutions to stereo chemical puzzles during chemical synthesis and quantum mechanical studies of chemical reactivity.

water

10

Judy

Our quality of water is better than most of the world and our Clean green image has been based on this and other factors.