Every Molecule Matters is a successor to the author’s earlier Every Molecule Tells a Story, and tells the story of a wide range of molecules.

These range from the familiar odours which give pleasure to eating (and the spices that add piquancy) and the vitamins that are vital to our survival, to the way in which insects and plants use chemicals to protect themselves. There’s controversy, with the compounds of chlorine which range from life-supporting anaesthetics and natural antibiotics to insecticides like DDT, which saved innumerable lives but became an environmental cause-celebre. Through the addictive power of nicotine, smoking tobacco morphed from being a curiosity imported from the Americas to a megapound industry that left human illness and death in its wake. And how safe is vaping? Find out about the painkillers that have become drugs of abuse. And smile at the smelly sulphur compounds that are unpleasant human odorants (and defence molecules for skunks), control natural cycles in the environment or act as flavourings to wine. You will discover them all in here.

This book displays the structures of hundreds of compounds, used by humans, animals and plants. Some are beneficial; some are not. Find out here why you should be better informed about them.

• This collection of molecules illustrates the relevance of chemistry in our everyday lives.
• The second edition is considerably expanded, and new areas include food chemistry, vitamins, drugs of abuse.
• New discoveries are reflected in existing chapters.
• The chemicals are frequently put in context of their human associations, so that the book goes beyond just ‘the chemistry’.
• A celebration of the molecules of chemistry.