The body is under constant attack from oxidative stress. Oxygen in the body splits into single atoms with unpaired electrons. Electrons like to be in pairs, so these atoms, called free radicals ...

Free radicals are everywhere, but are these molecules truly harmful, or is their impact overhyped? Let’s break it down.

This brings us back to antioxidants. "Antioxidants are clever little molecules that come along and stop that free radical chain reaction," Dr Beckett said. "So normally if a free radical steals an ...

it turns the stable molecule into a free radical. This can set in motion a chain reaction of free radical formation. Moses Gomberg studied analytical chemistry at the University of Michigan and ...

This, in turn, destabilizes the cell component molecules which then seek and steal an electron from another molecule, therefore triggering a large chain of free radical reactions. Every cell that ...

The two radicals combine via the SH2 reaction to make the new, quaternary group at the end of the alkyl chain. How neatly the ... leaving the other free to attack the end of the bound complex ...

This is legitimately scary, since once free-radical damage starts, it can lead to a chain reaction that contributes to cancer and other health problems. But like a more nuanced horror-movie ...

This new free radical can steal an electron from another molecule, starting a chain reaction. This process permanently changes the structure of the molecules, causing irreversible damage.

They also, alas, can increase the amount of free radicals, or molecules with ... This metabolic pathway is a cellular chain reaction that involves a series of oxidation and reduction reactions ...

Making matters worse is that when free radicals steal electrons from multiple atoms, they create more unstable atoms, setting off a harmful chain reaction. And when free radicals attack important ...