High Tech

I'm going high tech now. So the other Saturday, I'm down at the med center for a New to Biochemistry Club meeting (NBC). It turns out that during my undergrad and over a decade in pharmaceutical research, I had managed to avoid ever learning anything remotely similar to biochemistry. I take that back. During my undergrad, I learned the process of fermentation pretty well while brewing mead, but I digress. During this review (how I love to spend my Saturdays!), the prof asked how many people had dry erase boards in their apartment. I chuckled until half the group's hands went up. So my significant other bought a cheapie dry erase board from Wallyworld. It's not as high tech as the laptop screens that I see the kids using but it actually worked pretty well.

The first trick is to have a good study partner. I prefer ones that don't say anything. Talking tends to get in the way of learning.

For those of you who've had biochem before, this is pretty elementary. It's TCA, beta oxidation (both saturated and unsaturated), and the all important alcohol metabolism. That reminds me. They're supposed to be edumicating us on how to be docs. Yet the entire part on alcohol was ALL bad. Here's what ethanol can do wrong, here's what acetylaldehyde can do wrong, blah, blah, blah. Hey, the liver is an altruistic organ after all. What's he whining about? Not ONE thing mentioned about the many beneficial effects of alcohol. Moderate imbibing of alcohol is, afterall, one of the few characteristics that always pops up on lifestyles that lead to increased survival. Surely there's some biochemmie doohicky in there somewhere that helps to wave one's hand in explanation of that fact.