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Thursday, September 28, 2006 Oil 'n Water Some of you have asked what mom does. Well, basically, she poisons people. "Say what?! Not this bundle of joy and vitality!" Not personally mind you, somebody else actually administers the chemotherapy, though it is in fact what professionals like her and others do in oncology. It sounds criminal, I know, until you understand how a chemotherapy drug like, say, 5-FU actually works to fight colorectal cancer. Once 5-FU worms its way inside a cancer cell it quickly is converted to a number of different molecules, one which fouls the synthesis of new DNA strands required for unimportant stuff like, you know, cell division. 5-FU can also masquerade as a psuedo-base and get directly incorporated into RNA or DNA, foul the cell's repair machinery, arrest cell divison, and ultimately lead to apoptosis. Fantastic! We've cured cancer! Not exactly; problem is drugs like 5-FU kill normal cells by the same mechanism. People get sick, sometimes real sick. Not surprising - after all they're being poisoned. So if 5-FU isn't selective how do people avoid being killed by the drug intended to save them? Exellent question. Generally there are many fewer cancer cells than normal cells, and the hope is you can kill most or all of the cancer before the host dies. It's all about dosing and monitoring very closely. And this is more or less what mom does. Master on the other hand busies himself with questions of pharmacological minutiae like, how do you get a drug across the cell membrane to begin with. It's not easy you know. Cell membranes are basically fat, and generally impermeable to water-soluble stuff (like many drugs). Imagine dissolving sugar in water, loading it into a squirt gun and trying to fire it through a slab of Crisco. Good luck. It all has to do with partition coefficients and hydrophobicity which, even if you don't care to understand it, is a pretty cool word nonetheless. Example: soy sauce in oil (see picture). Add some sugar and predict where it will go, in the soy or the oil? Simple example, but you get the idea. 8:41:31 PM    Comments disabled © Copyright 2008 Rufus. Nonsense, distribute widely and freely! Last update: 7/26/2008; 10:59:19 AM.			Readers Amused       Home About Me Airedale Philosophy How this all got started       FAQ What's an Upright? Upright: noun : a by and large bipedal companion, also referred to as a human being. What's a Cheechako? Cheechako: noun : a person new to Alaska who has come with the intention to live here. Who's Master? Master: pronoun : just the finest upright on the face of the earth, that's who! To read him is to love him. What's Dogdom? Dogdom: noun : Life's venue from a dog's point of view. What's a Sourdough? Sourdough: noun : A long time Alaskan who has an automatic suspicion of cheechakos. What does Outside mean? Outside: noun : A provincial reference to somplace other than Alaska; usually the lower 48. What's Breakup? Breakup: noun : A uniquely Alaskan season between winter and spring when the snow and ice begins to melt for good. Where is SquareBanks? SquareBanks: slang : A self-evident euphemism for a place widely known as Fairbanks, AK. Where can I read the Houston Trip? Houston Trip: vignette : Here What digital camera do you use? Camera: hardware : Canon Powershot A80 (4.0 MP) Who's Mom? Mom: Hottie : Have A Look What's a Squeakamunka? Squeakamunka: noun : your ordinary gray squirrel which can be seen everywhere in our Cleveland neighborhood! « Alaska Blogs »  Stories Fiction Boy Wonder Bat Girl Objects in Mirror Are Larger Than They Appear Used To Be Fish Skin Deep Essay Life Is Good Desert Nostalgia A Voice of Reason Fictional Four Realms of Darkness Poetry Lucky Chain  The Cycling Pages 1999 Canadian Tour 2000 Tour of Alaska "Yooper" : 2001 Tour of WI/Michigan UP 2001 Spine of Italy Tour 2002 Tour of New England 2004 Tour of New Zealand (coming soon!) 2005 Tour Of Nova Scotia Conways Game of Life (needs java plugin) Sometimes Interesting Billy Greg (Hiatus) Virginia Postrel Wendy McElroy Samizdata Atlantic Monthly Reason No Treason Slashdot Derke Lowe Heather Champ (Photo blog) T.C. Boyle Liquid Generation Improved Clinch Exquisite Corpse, A. Codrescu Fred On Everything Assymetrical Information The Daily Ablution (Hibernation) Lileks Frank Kelly (Hiatus) Up In Alaska