physiology biochemistry

What: "The trio found that chromosome-capping telomeres -which Blackburn has compared to the plastic ends of shoe laces - and the enzyme telomerase protect chromosomes as cells divide."

Writer: Ron Leuty

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Oct 6 2009 12:37 AM

What: The active entities in many biotech drugs are antibodies, enzymes or peptides. These are molecules that are made by living organisms; most of the time it's either a mammalian cell or bacteria. These drugs are made of the same molecules that make up beef; that is proteins which are polymers made up of amino acids. As such raw beef and unformulated drugs can behave in a similar way. That is, if you leave a fresh piece of beef on a warm counter for an extended period of time it will rot. If you dry it out, the shelf life is expanded by many months. Likewise with biotech drugs. One means of stabilizing these products is lyophilization or better know as freeze drying. This removes the water which inhibits oxidation as well as bacterial contamination. There is much more to this process, but drying can stabilize beef as well as drugs.

Writer: mattyflynn

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Dec 24 2009 11:19 AM

What: "Trif is a signal transducer-an adaptor molecule that helps turn these positive detections into immune reactions. Significantly, Trif is the topmost protein shared by the pathway that detects gram-negative bacteria and the pathway that detects most viruses. It is like a waiter who brings orders from two different customers into the same kitchen."

Writer: Jason Socrates Bardi

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jun 19 2010 12:35 AM

What: "A cell (in a multicellular organism) is an identifiable unit that is part of a larger organism just as a factory is an identifiable unit that is part of society. A cell uses material and energy resources and produces products just as a factory does." The link expands this discussion.

Writer: Norm Herr CSUN

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jul 14 2010 12:15 AM

What: "Insulin is essential to the metabolic process. Trying to burn glucose without insulin is like trying to set fire to a pile of logs without a match. It can't be done."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jul 26 2010 8:14 AM

What: "Insulin is like a bouncer at the door - maybe he lets the prettier young women in, and maybe he tosses some obnoxious drunks. Maybe he is neutral when not many patrons are in the bar, maybe he turns you away if the joint is at capacity. But the door is not ever locked, and people come and go even as the number of drinkers grows and shrinks throughout the evening."

Writer: Kurt G. Harris MD

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Jul 26 2010 8:09 AM

What: A ribosome provides a location within a cell with the spacial orientation to facilitate the conversion of individual amino acids into peptides. The correct peptide sequence is derived from mRNA. The energy for the addition of each amino acid is contained in an activated peptide attached to a tRNA molecule. The large scale mechanical analogy of this would be a vice holding pieces of pipe together so that they can be fused together with a welding torch.

Writer: mattyflynn

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jul 20 2010 6:28 AM

What: "The leukotriene inflammatory cascade is like a nuclear strike to both the cardiovascular and central nervous system"

Writer: Kerry Friesen, M.D.

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Aug 13 2010 2:23 AM

What: This is a very good discussion of diet and the characteristics of different types of food. The key point about fats: "Essential fatty acids can act like antifreeze, they are liquid at very low temperatures. For example, flax is a cold weather grain, so it has a lot of healthy fats". This is a good comparison. Another stark comparison is the physical state of butter and any poly unsaturated fat at room temperature. Butter is solid and most if not all unsaturated oils are liquid. The general assumption is that eating unsaturated fatty acids increases the fluidity of membranes in the body

Writer: James Biddle MD

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Sep 22 2010 10:57 AM

What: "Eating food with a low glycemic index is like putting a log of hard wood in the fire, it burns for hours, instead of paper and cardboard (refined sugar) where you have to keep on feeding and feeding the fire to keep warm unless it dies." >-------->> This is a great analogy for those who don't have any background in chemistry.

Writer: LAGREBE

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Nov 27 2010 5:32 AM

What: "Look up glycemic index and understand high glycemic index is like burning paper in a furnace with a high peak and a low crash, while low glycemic index is like burning firewood which will keep you body going for the long haul."

Writer: Akshun

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Nov 27 2010 5:35 AM

What: "How phage and antibody works is that the antibody is like the search dog of a cop, it binds itself to infectious particles.".....This is a novel analogy and appropriate. The specificity of a dog's nose is analogous to the specificity of an antibody.

Writer: evanthebouncy!

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Dec 2 2010 1:49 AM

What: " Using insulin is like ploughing the land before planting seeds. Insulin helps achieve good glycemic control, and helps the antibiotics, antitubercular drugs and pain suppressants produce their effect in an efficient and time saving manner."----The linked article describes using analogies to explain how insulin works.......

Writer: Sanjay Kalra DM

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jan 11 2011 2:32 AM

What: "A cell membrane is like a cookie, an Oreo. It has two layers of lipids (the cookie wafers) separated by a center (the white cream). Antioxidants reside either outside the first cookie layer or inside the fatty cream layer." A discussion of skin products and how antioxidant molecules are positioned within the cells that make up skin.

Writer: Not Known

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Mar 20 2011 3:08 AM

What: The device "is like a cardiac pacemaker," said Mahlon R. DeLong, a professor of neurology at Emory who first identified the problem regions. A thin wire (the electrode) is inserted through the skull and into that region, then connected to a controller and battery implanted under a patient's skin. The results can be "dramatic and transformative,"

Writer: Josh Fischman

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jul 31 2011 1:09 PM

What: "Think of cartilage as a house - collagen is like the frame of a house, glucosamine/chondroitin are like the sheetrock. In cartilage, collagen is the framework that holds everything in place, including chondroitin and glucosamine. If collagen is degraded, there is no framework to hold chondroitin and glucosamine."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Aug 12 2011 10:09 AM

What: "I usually compare protein biosynthesis to the construction of a building. The mRNA contains information comparable to the plan of a building while the ribosome is like the construction site. The amino acids are the equivalents of blocks used for the building while the tRNAs are like the workmen bringing up these amino acids for the construction"

Writer: Godwin I Adoga

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Oct 18 2011 10:52 AM

What: "The Cell wall is similar to the bricks that make up the outside of a prison. It protects and supports the inside of the building, just like a cell wall does for the inside of a cell." The link is to a whole discussion of how a cell is like a prison. I'm not too sure, which student population this will resonate with. Definitely not ones from good neighborhoods.

Writer: Mr. Overlin

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Nov 27 2011 4:34 PM

What: A mammalian cell is somewhat similar to a water balloon, in that, by weight it's mostly water and it's fluid and malleable. The outer rubber portion of the balloon is like the thin outer membrane found in a mammalian cell. And like a water balloon, mammalian cells are sensitive to mechanical shock. They will fall apart very easily if not handled gently.

Writer: LucretiaGermanica

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Mar 27 2012 5:17 PM

What: ATP Cycle is Like a Turnstile Through which Energy Passes During Transfers from high energy pathways to lower energy pathways.

Writer: Not stated

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Apr 23 2012 3:46 PM

What: "Functions of the thyroid hormones. My mentor, Dr. Paul Eck, used to say that the thyroid hormone is like the spark plugs of the body. They ignite the fuel in the mitochondria of the cell to produce energy with which the body performs all of its functions. For this reason, any problem with the thyroid gland causes energy problems and usually fatigue."

Writer: Dr. Paul Eck

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: May 9 2013 5:47 PM

What: "The researchers used the way Japanese Pachinko machines operate as a model to explain the interactions of our genes with drugs, the environment and microbial metabolism. Their theory states that metabolic interactions are often highly probabilistic and the flows of molecules through the machine are dependent on combinations of genetic variations with factors such as diet and the composition of the gut microflora."

Writer: Professor Jeremy Nic

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: May 10 2013 4:40 PM

What: Or something. This analogy refers to a single point mutation, that is a single change in a DNA base that gives rise to a single amino acid change in a protein. The classic example is that taught in basic biochemistry, Sickle Cell Anemia. A single mutation in a gene leads to a change in an amino acid in Hemoglobin, which deforms the shape of these cells within human blood. Think of that change, that mutation , as a black pearl in a string of white pearls. That ones change can cause many physiological problems. This of course is the text book case. Many diseases are MUCH more complicated than this, but this example helps to realistically prime the mind.

Writer: Lucretia

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: May 13 2013 11:41 AM

What: An aggregation pheromone signals both male and female weevils to congregate in the same area with good feeding conditions. The pheromone is like a chemical text message that tells the nearby weevils that "The party is here, come on over."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: May 13 2013 5:08 PM

What: "The telomere is like a cellular clock, because every time a cell divides, the telomere shortens. After a cell has grown and divided a few dozen times, the telomeres turn on an alarm system that prevents further division. If this clock doesn't function right, cells either end up with damaged chromosomes or they become "immortal" and continue dividing endlessly -- either way it's bad news and leads to cancer or disease."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: May 14 2013 6:22 PM

What: "Transcription factors are like a light switch. They turn genes on and off. ELF5 makes breast cancer cells ignore estrogen. That means estrogen-blocking drugs don't work anymore."

Writer: Joseph V. Madia, MD

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: May 15 2013 2:29 PM

What: "In any case, I have an argument for why the zygote would possess a functional equivalent. To use an analogy, the equivalent in a zygote is like a swiss army knife. It has to be unfolded first before use, but contains the same functionality. It is like a zipped file. It doesn't matter whether you send a file zipped or not, if I only care about what the unzipped file does, especially if it's self extracting. "

Writer: keda

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: May 15 2013 10:47 PM

What: "From a technological view, the pituitary gland is like the CPU of a computer; it directs the various processes required during a response from the environment. It produces the largest number of different hormones and therefore has the most effects on the body's functions, such as blood pressure, thirst, contractions during childbirth, milk production, sexual behavior and interest, body growth, the amount of water retained by cells, and other functions as well"

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where:

Date: Jun 10 2013 1:27 PM

What: "An antioxidant is like the screen in front of your fireplace. It quenches the sparks as they form. If the fire in the fireplace is out of control, the screen is useless. Another analogy: antioxidant/free radical metabolism is that of the automobile engine and its cooling system. The engine runs on the burning (or oxidation) of fuel, creating energy and heat, giving your car power to move. If the process is uncontrolled the engine destroys itself because of the heat it has generated. The cooling system keeps the temperature within a normal operating range. The oxidative reaction is the burning of the fuel; the antioxidant is the cooling system. Balance between these two functions is the critical factor, both for your car and for you."

Writer: Not Stated

LCC: QP

Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated

Date: Jul 15 2013 7:05 PM