By John Timbrell
Each day we're surrounded by way of chemical compounds which are almost certainly destructive. a few of these we take deliberately within the kind of medications; a few we take unknowingly throughout the nutrients we devour, and the surroundings round us. John Timbrell explores what makes specific chemical substances destructive, what their results are, and the way we will be able to try for them. He examines medicines similar to Paracetamol and what it does to the physique; Ricin, the main poisonous substance recognized to guy; Paraquat, a greatly on hand weedkiller; and the way the puffer fish, eaten as a delicacy in Japan, can kill. utilizing case experiences from all over the global, corresponding to the Spanish Oil syndrome which revamped 20,000 humans sick in Madrid, Timbrell uncovers the proof in the back of chemical scares. He exhibits how, with a rational, clinical, and balanced strategy, dangers might be assessed and controlled accurately.
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Bodily Functions 39 Receptors A receptor is a part of a large molecule (often a protein) or structure which binds another, usually smaller, molecule. This ‘binding site’ will be specific for a particular chemical or group of chemicals, normally hormones or transmitters, and the binding may be very tight. The receptor is like a lock into which the chemical substance (the ligand) fits as a key. So receptors are similar to enzymes. The result of this interaction is that some change occurs in the cell or in the body.
However some chemicals are not metabolized, such as the environmental contaminants dioxin and PCBs. Because these chemicals are soluble in fat, they can be absorbed into the body where they will remain for long periods of time. Excretion is the process of removal of chemicals and their breakdown products by the kidneys. Most drugs and other chemicals are removed from the body by the kidneys, usually in a process called filtration. Chem- Bodily Functions 21 icals and their breakdown products circulate in the blood throughout the body.
Schematic diagram of the development of a newborn animal. The process can be disrupted by chemicals at various stages so that the embryo develops with malformations or other abnormalities. The stages when the limbs and organs are developing are the most sensitive to disruptions that cause malformations. Disruption of early and late stages is more likely to result in smaller babies or abortions. 44 Bodily Functions chemical that causes this kind of effect by interfering with the organs involved with and essential to the immune system (the thymus, which produces white blood cells).