NIAAA 50th Anniversary Festschrift: From the Editor

Several body functions deteriorate with age. The external signs of aging are easily identifiable. For example, the skin becomes dry, less elastic, and thins out, forming wrinkles. The skin of the face begins to appear looser due to a decrease in the levels of elastic and collagen fibers in the connective tissue. Additionally, melanin production in the hair follicle decreases with age, resulting in gray hair. Moreover, the senses of sight and hearing decline, so glasses and hearing aids may...

The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...

Several restrictions limit the use of Friedel–Crafts reactions. First, the halogen in the alkyl halide must be attached to an sp3-hybridized carbon for the Friedel–Crafts reactions to occur. Vinyl or aryl halides do not react since the carbocations formed are unstable under the reaction conditions. Second, Friedel–Crafts alkylation is susceptible to carbocation rearrangement, and the major products obtained have a rearranged carbon skeleton. In contrast, the acylium ion is...