Related topics: alcohol consumption
Alcohol
hideIn chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is CnH2n+1OH. In common terms, the word alcohol refers to ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
Ethanol is a colorless, volatile liquid with a mild odor which can be obtained by the fermentation of sugars. (Industrially, it is more commonly obtained by ethylene hydration—the reaction of ethylene with water in the presence of phosphoric acid.) Ethanol is the most widely used depressant in the world, and has been for thousands of years. This sense underlies the term alcoholism (addiction to alcohol).
Other alcohols are usually described with a clarifying adjective, as in isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) or wood alcohol (methyl alcohol, or methanol). The suffix -ol appears in the IUPAC chemical name of all alcohols.[citation needed]
There are three major subsets of alcohols: primary (1°), secondary (2°) and tertiary (3°), based upon the number of carbon atoms the C-OH group's carbon (shown in red) is bonded to. Ethanol is a simple 'primary' alcohol. The simplest secondary alcohol is isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol), and a simple tertiary alcohol is tert-butyl alcohol (2-methylpropan-2-ol).
For more information about Alcohol, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with alcohol
Older problem drinkers use more alcohol than do their younger counterparts
16 hours ago |
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Older adults who have alcohol dependence problems drink significantly more than do younger adults who have similar problems, a new study has found.
A brief intervention that works for drivers who persist in driving while intoxicated
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Driving while impaired (DWI) contributes significantly to road-traffic crashes, and is involved in more than one-third of all fatalities. Many DWI recidivists - drinking drivers who re-offend - do not participate in mandated ...
Treating alcohol-use disorders and tuberculosis together
Nov 19, 2009 |
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The integration of alcohol screening, treatment and referral into primary care and other medical settings is not routinely done. Nor are there any studies evaluating the effectiveness of integrating care for alcohol use ...
Alcohol helps lower heart disease risk for men: study
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Men who drink alcohol every day see a nearly one-third average reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease, according to a long-term study among Spanish men published on Thursday.
Athletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs
Nov 11, 2009 |
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College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Scientists call for ban on alcohol-industry sponsorship of sport
Nov 09, 2009 |
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The alcohol industry's sponsorship of sport should be banned and replaced with a dedicated alcohol tax modelled on those employed by some countries for tobacco, say scientists.
Diet switching can activate brain's stress system, lead to 'withdrawal' symptoms
Nov 09, 2009 |
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In research that sheds light on the perils of yo-yo dieting and repeated bouts of sugar-bingeing, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute have shown in animal models that cycling between periods of eating sweet and ...
Drunken fruit flies help scientists find potential drug target for alcoholism
Nov 03, 2009 |
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A group of drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston universities identify entire networks of genes—also present in humans—that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior. This discovery, ...
PTSD less common than depression and alcohol misuse amongst UK troops
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 30, 2009 |
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Common mental disorders, such as depression and alcohol misuse, are the top psychological problems amongst UK troops post-deployment and not post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as is widely believed. A study published today ...
Packages of care for alcohol use disorders in low- and middle-income countries
Oct 27, 2009 |
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In the latest article in PLoS Medicine's series proposing the delivery of "packages of care" for mental, neurological and substance-use disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Vivek Benegal and colleagues discuss the tr ...
Genes that drive you to drink (but don't make you an alcoholic)
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Your genetic make up may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism (alcohol dependence). Research published in the open access journal, BMC Biology, pinpoints genetic pathways and ge ...
A polymorphism of the µ-opioid receptor is linked to alcohol misuse among adolescents
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A genetic study has examined the association between a polymorphism of the µ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene and alcohol misuse among adolescents. Results suggest that teens who carry the G allele (A118G) of the OPRM1 gene are ...
Examining genetic variations among the Huichol population of Mexico
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Mexican researchers examined the polymorphisms of three enzymes -- alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1B), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) and cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) -- in the Mestizo and Huichol groups.The Huichols, an indigenous ...
Scientists identify a cellular pathway by which alcohol may promote cancer progression
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential for numerous developmental processes involving biological cells. New findings indicate that alcohol may promote cancer progression by stimulating EMT.This has implications ...
Even low alcohol consumption has a negative impact on overall health
Oct 23, 2009 |
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Low alcohol consumption is bad for your health in general. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation studied the relationship between alcohol consumption and he ...
