Watch the video to find out the cause of your cat's missing sweet tooth.

Produced by the American Chemical Society
Directed and animated by Elaine Seward

The video tracks formation of snowflakes from their origins in bits of dust in clouds that become droplets of water falling to Earth. When the droplets cool, six crystal faces form because water molecules bond in hexagonal networks when they freeze. It explains that ice crystals grow fastest at the corners between the faces, fostering development of the six branches that exist in most snowflakes. As snowflakes continue to develop, the branches can spread, grow long and pointy, or branch off into new arms. As each snowflake rises and falls through warmer and cooler air, it thus develops its own distinctive shape.

It's the 25th anniversary of National Chemistry Week (NCW)! To celebrate, we've got two new videos to kick off this year's NCW right.

In the first video, we visited the Maryland Nanocenter at the University of Maryland (UMD) to check out the latest research in nanotechnology -- this year's theme for NCW. Three UMD researchers explain how their work in the nano-scale could lead to better fuel cells, solar cells, cancer treatments and super strong materials made from carbon nanotubes. It's a first hand look at the exciting applications of nanotechnology available today, and those that are just around the corner.



Our second video highlights 25 years of NCW -- check it out to hear about participant's favorite NCW moments and its 25 year legacy of getting people exciting about chemistry.