ORANGE'S QUEST <3
Mar. 1st, 2005 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruAs requested for by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
liich, I shall relate to you an old memory--a mnemonic device I used way back when when I was in AP biology. When we were doing the biochemistry part of the course, we had to know a lot about major pathways like glycolysis and the Krebs cycle and all that good stuff. I was still trying to figure out(and to a certain extent still am) the logic to the reactions, so I couldn't just deduce that "This goes to this goes to this", which meant I had to do some memorizing. Glycolysis and the ETC I just had to memorize outright, but for the Krebs cycle I managed to come up with a little story to help me remember. Unfortunately I think I've forgotten a coupe of the parts of the story(not to mention I think a couple new things have been learned about the cycle since then), so I'll fill them in as needed. Furthermore, the story doesn't help with enzymes or with the stuff before citrate--only the compounds that go through and some of the stuff that comes out in the meantime, and it helps to have some idea of what's going on. For reading(since I know this isn't familiar stuff), I suggest here.
There was once an orange. This orange had a name. He was called Citrate(citrus, orange, citrate, you get the idea). One day Citrate made the mistake of drinking some bad water(water coming in to join citrate), and lo and behold, he turned green(citrate->isocitrate)! Well, this confused him to no end. He couldn't figure out what was going on. So he decided to go visit his friends Al and Keith(alpha ketoglutarate). So he got in his car(bon dioxide) and went for a drive to their place. On the way though he got hijacked. Some stupid NAD stole his car(CO2 coming out) and made off with some of his hi(hydrogen)-fi stuff(NAD goes to NADH). Well this made Citrate mad. In any case he got to Al and Keith's place, and they looked him over, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. "You know," said Al, "maybe you should go eat something. That always makes me feel better. Here, take the car!". Nice fellows that they are, they loaned Citrate their car(bon dioxide). Of course, when Citrate's feeling hungry there's only one place he can think of to go--The Succotash Company of Asheville(Succinyl CoA)! So he goes for a drive. But wouldn't you know it, he gets hijacked again by some stupid NAD, who once again takes the car and some of Al and Keith's hi-fi stuff. They won't be happy.
But in any case, Citrate does manage to get to the Succotash Company of Asheville, and orders up a succotash pie(Pi, inorganic phosphate). But while he's there, some jerk goes over and says that *he* had ordered the pie. There's not enough pie in the world for the two of us! So Citrate, already grumpy, gets into a fight with the guy and expends a lot of energy in the process(the production of ATP). Unfortunately, the guy wins and earns the right to the succotash pie. "Foo," said Citrate, "Well, just fine. I'll just have the succotash bowl instead." So that's what he ate(succinate). Afterwards, Citrate left the shop, and decided to go for a walk. As he was walking, some gal comes up to him and goes "Hey! Nice color! Is that the new FAD?" "Uh, no," Citrate replies, and keeps walking. Little did he know that while he was talking to the gal she lifted his hi-fi watch off of him. Poor guy.
At this point, Citrate's had enough. So, he sits down and decides to have a smoke(fumarate--'fumar' is the Spanish word for 'to smoke'). While he's sitting there, it starts to rain(water coming in). Well, it can't get any worse at this point. He's green, he's lost both his and his buddies' car, stupid NADs and ladies with strange FADs have been stealing stuff from him, and it's raining while he's smoking. In fact, smoking isn't helping any, because as everyone knows, smoking is bad for you. So at this point, Citrate is at his absolute worst(malate--'mal' is the Spanish word for 'bad'). "I need help," Citrate thinks, so he decides he needs to to the doctor. But as you can guess, whenever Citrate goes somewhere, someone steals something from him. As a matter of fact, it happens to be another stupid NAD, who steals his hi-fi CD player. Poor guy. But in any case, Citrate does finally get to the doctor. "Hm," the doctor says, "Interesting coloration. What I would suggest for you is to take a bath in nail polish remover and breathe lots of good fresh air(oxygen and acetate--oxaloacetate)." Well, Citrate is a good little patient, so he does just that. That night he takes a bath in nail polish remover and sleeps with the windows open. When he wakes up the next morning, gasp! He's back to his old self!(Oxaloacetate->Citrate) Oh happy day! And look! All his hi-fi stuff is back and his car's in the driveway again! Life couldn't get any better. So he decides to celebrate with a BIG glass of water! <3
The moral of this story is, don't drink the water.
On a slightly different note, it appears we have a new showerhead in the suite bathroom. A *nice* one too--one that doesn't squeal when it's on and with multiple settings like massage settings and everything. There's gotta be a catch somewhere. Maybe they're just keeping that one on until they can replace the old one. I can't see the uni giving us nice showerheads just 'cause, you know?
liich, I shall relate to you an old memory--a mnemonic device I used way back when when I was in AP biology. When we were doing the biochemistry part of the course, we had to know a lot about major pathways like glycolysis and the Krebs cycle and all that good stuff. I was still trying to figure out(and to a certain extent still am) the logic to the reactions, so I couldn't just deduce that "This goes to this goes to this", which meant I had to do some memorizing. Glycolysis and the ETC I just had to memorize outright, but for the Krebs cycle I managed to come up with a little story to help me remember. Unfortunately I think I've forgotten a coupe of the parts of the story(not to mention I think a couple new things have been learned about the cycle since then), so I'll fill them in as needed. Furthermore, the story doesn't help with enzymes or with the stuff before citrate--only the compounds that go through and some of the stuff that comes out in the meantime, and it helps to have some idea of what's going on. For reading(since I know this isn't familiar stuff), I suggest here.There was once an orange. This orange had a name. He was called Citrate(citrus, orange, citrate, you get the idea). One day Citrate made the mistake of drinking some bad water(water coming in to join citrate), and lo and behold, he turned green(citrate->isocitrate)! Well, this confused him to no end. He couldn't figure out what was going on. So he decided to go visit his friends Al and Keith(alpha ketoglutarate). So he got in his car(bon dioxide) and went for a drive to their place. On the way though he got hijacked. Some stupid NAD stole his car(CO2 coming out) and made off with some of his hi(hydrogen)-fi stuff(NAD goes to NADH). Well this made Citrate mad. In any case he got to Al and Keith's place, and they looked him over, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. "You know," said Al, "maybe you should go eat something. That always makes me feel better. Here, take the car!". Nice fellows that they are, they loaned Citrate their car(bon dioxide). Of course, when Citrate's feeling hungry there's only one place he can think of to go--The Succotash Company of Asheville(Succinyl CoA)! So he goes for a drive. But wouldn't you know it, he gets hijacked again by some stupid NAD, who once again takes the car and some of Al and Keith's hi-fi stuff. They won't be happy.
But in any case, Citrate does manage to get to the Succotash Company of Asheville, and orders up a succotash pie(Pi, inorganic phosphate). But while he's there, some jerk goes over and says that *he* had ordered the pie. There's not enough pie in the world for the two of us! So Citrate, already grumpy, gets into a fight with the guy and expends a lot of energy in the process(the production of ATP). Unfortunately, the guy wins and earns the right to the succotash pie. "Foo," said Citrate, "Well, just fine. I'll just have the succotash bowl instead." So that's what he ate(succinate). Afterwards, Citrate left the shop, and decided to go for a walk. As he was walking, some gal comes up to him and goes "Hey! Nice color! Is that the new FAD?" "Uh, no," Citrate replies, and keeps walking. Little did he know that while he was talking to the gal she lifted his hi-fi watch off of him. Poor guy.
At this point, Citrate's had enough. So, he sits down and decides to have a smoke(fumarate--'fumar' is the Spanish word for 'to smoke'). While he's sitting there, it starts to rain(water coming in). Well, it can't get any worse at this point. He's green, he's lost both his and his buddies' car, stupid NADs and ladies with strange FADs have been stealing stuff from him, and it's raining while he's smoking. In fact, smoking isn't helping any, because as everyone knows, smoking is bad for you. So at this point, Citrate is at his absolute worst(malate--'mal' is the Spanish word for 'bad'). "I need help," Citrate thinks, so he decides he needs to to the doctor. But as you can guess, whenever Citrate goes somewhere, someone steals something from him. As a matter of fact, it happens to be another stupid NAD, who steals his hi-fi CD player. Poor guy. But in any case, Citrate does finally get to the doctor. "Hm," the doctor says, "Interesting coloration. What I would suggest for you is to take a bath in nail polish remover and breathe lots of good fresh air(oxygen and acetate--oxaloacetate)." Well, Citrate is a good little patient, so he does just that. That night he takes a bath in nail polish remover and sleeps with the windows open. When he wakes up the next morning, gasp! He's back to his old self!(Oxaloacetate->Citrate) Oh happy day! And look! All his hi-fi stuff is back and his car's in the driveway again! Life couldn't get any better. So he decides to celebrate with a BIG glass of water! <3
The moral of this story is, don't drink the water.
On a slightly different note, it appears we have a new showerhead in the suite bathroom. A *nice* one too--one that doesn't squeal when it's on and with multiple settings like massage settings and everything. There's gotta be a catch somewhere. Maybe they're just keeping that one on until they can replace the old one. I can't see the uni giving us nice showerheads just 'cause, you know?