Chemistry - the Centre of Life

Chemistry is not a subject confined to a laboratory -- it is the science behind the three most basic human needs described in the classical Tamil phrase "Unna unavu, udukka udai, irukka idam" (food to eat, cloth to wear, a place to live).

• Food: chemistry gave us fertilizers and insecticides that raised agricultural yields, and continues to develop better preservation and processing methods.
• Shelter: modern cement, concrete and steel -- all products of chemical engineering -- let us build structures that withstand extreme weather.
• Clothing: both natural fibres (like cotton) and synthetic fibres (like nylon) are chemical products, and the dyeing and finishing of fabric is applied chemistry.

Beyond these three needs, chemistry touches almost every part of daily life and the body itself: continuous biochemical reactions inside us drive every human activity, from digestion to thought. Chemical industries manufacture polymers, dyes, alloys and life-saving drugs that did not exist a century ago -- one striking example is the transformation of HIV/AIDS treatment: in the early 1980s an infection was usually fatal within a few years, but modern antiretroviral drugs (a direct product of medicinal chemistry) now let people with HIV live long, healthy lives. …