Have you ever unwrapped a piece of chocolate only to find it has a whitish powder surrounding it? It almost stops you from eating the chocolate, right? Chocolate that gets the whitish powdery appearance is said to have undergone a bloom – called chocolate bloom. Fast temperature changes or exposure to moisture can hasten the […]

I was at a conference this summer  where Patrick Harran gave a lecture on his group’s approach toward the synthesis of callyspongiolide.  It was special. Harran has charisma that, as best as I can gather, comes from a combination of a near photographic memory, tremendous creativity, deference to the contributions others in his field, and […]