Dr. Joy Kong discusses C60, a Nobel Prize-winning carbon molecule discovered in 1985 that's now sold as a supplement claimed to double lifespan. The molecule has real industrial uses in batteries, inks, and tires, but the longevity claims need scrutiny.
Tell us about this molecule, which sounds fascinating. Scientists discovered it in 1985 and then won the Nobel Prize for that discovery in 1996. So this is a Nobel Prize winning molecule, is amazing for industrial applications. It makes better inks, better batteries, better tires, better photocells. This is where people start getting nervous because we're talking about a supplement. And the most abundant of the third whole kind of collection of carbon molecules is, is the one I'm holding up now. So if you're three scientists here in Houston, that's where I'm based. They were at Rice University, discovered the third form of carbon. And so the molecule's great for industrial applications. It's an amazing molecule. It actually has six fold symmetry.
