Intellect PlusBiochemistry and molecular biology
66 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it. Page 2 of 2.
Why Americans say epinephrine and Europeans say adrenalineThe same hormone carries two names because of a trademark. John Abel extracted it from adrenal glands in 1897 and called it epinephrine; Jōkichi Takamine patented a purified versi…
Morphine, caffeine and nicotine belong to one bitter chemical familyQuinine, caffeine, nicotine, morphine and strychnine all share one feature: at least one nitrogen atom in a natural molecule. Chemists call them alkaloids, a name coined in 1819 b…
The first amino acid was found in asparagus, and named after itNature makes more than 500 amino acids, but life builds its proteins from just 22 of them. Chemists began finding these molecules in 1806, starting with a compound pulled from asp…
Six elements make up more than 99 percent of the mass of your cellsCarbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur account for over 99 percent of cell mass. Biochemistry studies how those few ingredients become living machinery, a field…
Autumn's yellows were in the leaves all summer, hidden by chlorophyllWhen leaves turn in autumn, most of the yellow and orange is not new at all. Those pigments sat there all year, masked by green chlorophyll until it broke down. The reds are diffe…- Four elements make up 96 percent of your body's massOxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen account for almost all of a human body by weight. From those few ingredients, living things assemble proteins, sugars, fats and genetic mater…