Water and Drugs

Tom Goddard
March 8, 2013

Water

• Humans are about 60% water, about 10 gallons.
• Oxygen is red, hydrogen is white.
• Two hydrogens attached to one oxygen, H2O.
• Molecules bounce around frantically in liquid water but are still in frozen water.
• Water holds together because the hydrogen of one water molecule is attracted to the oxygen of another water.

Cannabis Active Ingredient, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

• The active ingredient in marijuana, Tetrahydrocannabinol, pronounce with stress on the "nab".
• Carbons, two oxygens and hydrogen, 3 rings.

Protein - Cannabinoid Receptor

• THC sticks to a protein on the surface of brain cells called the cannabinoid receptor.
• The protein is partly inside and partly outside the cell. THC binds on the outside and sends a signal inside.
• Changes the signaling of brain cells.

DNA

• DNA is the instructions for building all living things.
• The alphabet is four different chemicals.
• Color bases with "nuc ndbcolor #0".

HIV Reverse Transcriptase with Nevirapine inhibitor

• RT is blue and green.
• DNA is red and yellow.
• HIV copies its own genome into DNA using this molecule and puts it into your chromosomes.
• Inhibitors of this HIV molecule are part of standard HIV medication.
• Run script hiv_rt.cmd to move nevirapine to binding site.

White Blood Cell in Motion

• Play stereo movie using Bino.
• White blood cells move out of blood and crawl through tissue to eat invading bacteria and cells infected with viruses like HIV.