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Did you know today is #MoleDay - an unofficial holiday celebrated among chemists, chemistry students and chemistry enthusiasts on October 23, between 6:02 AM and 6:02 PM, making the date 6:02 10/23 in the US date format.

The time and date are derived from Avogadro's number, which is approximately 6.02×10 ^ 23, defining the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one mole of substance, one of the seven base SI units.

For a given molecule, one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the molar mass of the molecule. For example, the water molecule has an molar mass of 18, therefore one mole of water weighs 18 grams

Happy Mole Day!

​​Alfred Nobel was an inventor, entrepreneur, scientist and businessman who also wrote poetry and drama. His varied interests are reflected in the prize he established and which he lay the foundation for in 1895 when he wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the prize.

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from around the world for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace work.

​​Wise words from Medicine Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn - should failing always be seen as a failure? Blackburn discovered the molecular structure of telomeres and co-discovered the enzyme telomerase. Her research offers hope for cancer treatment, clues to the mystery of ageing and even biological links between life circumstance and lifespan.

​​In 1929, Alexander Fleming published his paper outlining the antibacterial properties of penicillin, and began the era of antibiotics. In 1945 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Sir Alexander Fleming, Ernst Boris Chain and Sir Howard Walter Florey "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases."

Watch "What is a Zeptosecond?" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/bDZjtbmD7gE

​​The second woman and the youngest person to be awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences, Esther Duflo, was born on Oct 26, 1972. Duflo shared the 2019 Prize in Economic Sciences with her husband Abhijit Banerjee and their colleague Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”