Haters Will Say Hemoglobin Is Meant To Carry O₂

Haters Will Say Hemoglobin Is Meant To Carry O₂
hemoglobin-memes, biology-memes, chemistry-memes, carbon-monoxide-memes, biochemistry-memes | ScienceHumor.io

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!

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