Fish Exist, Actually

Chemists: "Ethanol is quite poisonous, so don't drink it." Meanwhile, humans have built entire industries, social rituals, and weekend plans around consuming precisely that toxin. The liver, nature's most dedicated chemical engineer, silently weeps while converting ethanol to acetaldehyde (which is, ironically, even more toxic). Classic human behavior - ignoring scientific warnings when they interfere with having a good time. The LD50 is just a suggestion, apparently.

Regular DNA polymerase is that crying cat giving a thumbs up—trying to act tough but clearly dying inside at 80°C. Meanwhile, Taq polymerase is just chilling in literal hellfire with a coffee mug saying "this is fine." That's because Taq comes from Thermus aquaticus , a bacteria that lives in hot springs and basically laughs at temperatures that would denature other proteins into sad little molecular puddles. This is why PCR works—Taq keeps replicating DNA while the thermal cycler is basically cooking everything else. The molecular equivalent of that friend who somehow thrives in saunas that make everyone else pass out.

This meme is hilariously misusing biochemistry to make a political point! The creator is trying to sound smart by pointing out that hemoglobin has a higher affinity for carbon monoxide than oxygen (which is actually true!), but completely misses WHY this is the case. That's exactly what makes carbon monoxide so dangerous! Hemoglobin's job IS to carry oxygen, but CO is basically oxygen's evil twin that sneaks into the binding site and refuses to leave. It's like when your friend's annoying roommate crashes on your couch and won't go home - except this roommate can kill you! The 220% higher affinity is precisely why CO poisoning is deadly - it kicks oxygen off hemoglobin and prevents your cells from getting the O₂ they desperately need. Trying to use this as some kind of "gotcha" moment is like saying "if water is meant for drinking, why can you drown in it?" Science doesn't care about your political stance, it just wants you to understand how molecules work!

The wordplay is brilliant! Instead of "Elf on the Shelf," we've got "Cage on a Phage" - Nicolas Cage's face superimposed on a bacteriophage virus. Bacteriophages are these bizarre-looking viruses that infect bacteria, with their geometric heads and spider-like legs that attach to bacterial cell walls before injecting their genetic material. They're basically nature's nanoscale zombifying injection systems! The molecular biologist crowd is silently high-fiving each other right now while everyone else is still processing the pun.

The ultimate molecular identity crisis! Glutamate is that overachiever who can't decide on a single career path. It's literally sitting there with its chemical structure (complete with carboxyl groups and that NH 2 ) sweating bullets because it functions as BOTH an amino acid AND a neurotransmitter. Talk about work-life balance issues! Most molecules are content with one biochemical role, but glutamate's out here multitasking like it's got something to prove to the other biomolecules. Next thing you know, it'll add "part-time protein building block" and "excitatory signal enthusiast" to its LinkedIn profile.

Darwin's face says it all. The meme shows a platypus greeting Darwin with "Que onda pa?" (Spanish for "What's up, dude?") while Darwin responds with pure scientific bewilderment. The platypus—nature's ultimate prank with its duck bill, beaver tail, and ability to lay eggs despite being a mammal—basically broke evolutionary classification systems. Imagine spending decades developing your elegant theory of natural selection only to encounter this bizarre chimera that seems to have been designed by a committee of drunk gods. No wonder Darwin's looking at it like it personally offended his entire scientific career.