Enzymes Memes

Biochemistry naming conventions strike again! The cartoon perfectly captures that moment when enzyme names seem logical at first—argininosuccinate gets broken down by argininosuccinase into arginine—until the surprise twist of "and fumarate" appears out of nowhere! It's like biochemists are playing a cruel joke: "Here's a perfectly reasonable naming pattern... PSYCH! Random metabolite has entered the chat!" This is why biochemistry students develop eye twitches by finals week.

Nature vs. synthetic chemistry in one perfect image. The biochemical pathway is all smiles and 37 gentle enzymatic steps at body temperature, while organic synthesis is just some mad scientist in a dark lab mixing fluoroantimonic acid with things that shouldn't exist, heating to 300°C, and praying the fume hood can handle the resulting carnage. Both get you the same molecule, but only one requires signing a hazardous materials waiver and possibly your last will and testament.

The eternal lab rivalry unleashed! Organic chemists spending decades synthesizing compounds that could've been made by bacteria in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, biochemists are just chilling with their enzymes like "Nature already solved this problem, but thanks for the 47-step synthesis with 0.02% yield!" The irony of organic chemists demanding respect while drawing hexagons all day is peak scientific comedy. They're over there with their fancy glassware making molecules nobody asked for, while biochemists just extract the same stuff from a fungus growing on cheese. Organic chemistry: where you spend your career making compounds that either kill you slowly or have no purpose. Biochemistry: where you harness the power of billions of years of evolution to actually solve problems. Sorry not sorry, hexagon enthusiasts!

The virgin vs. chad meme of chemistry! On the left, we have the boring "Average LAH and NaBH4 fan" - the timid chemist who sticks to standard, safe reducing agents like lithium aluminum hydride and sodium borohydride. Meanwhile, the chaotic "Average carrots and mouth bacteria enjoyer" on the right represents the mad scientist who knows that nature's own reducing agents can do the job too. Your mouth bacteria and vegetables contain enzymes that perform reduction reactions - just with more style and fewer safety protocols. Next lab meeting, try telling your PI you're replacing expensive reagents with saliva. The unemployment line has great reducing agents too!

The chemical formula C 3 H 6 OS isn't just random letters and numbers—it's the molecular structure of syn-propanethial-S-oxide, the notorious tear-jerking compound released when you cut an onion! The cartoon perfectly captures that moment of scientific hubris when you think you're immune to basic biochemistry, only to be betrayed by your own lachrymatory glands. What happens is that when you slice an onion, you damage its cells, releasing enzymes that convert amino acid sulfoxides into sulfenic acids. These unstable compounds then rearrange to form this volatile gas that diffuses through the air, reaches your eyes, and forms sulfuric acid on your moist eyeball surface. Your body's natural defense? Tears to dilute the irritant. Chemistry: 1, Human confidence: 0.

Chemists spend weeks perfecting reactions with expensive equipment and hazardous conditions, while bacteria just casually flex with nitrogenase enzymes fixing nitrogen in milliseconds. The Haber Process requires 450°C, 200 atmospheres of pressure, and iron catalysts to make ammonia. Meanwhile, bacteria are doing the same thing at room temperature with their enzyme toolkit. It's like comparing someone building a house with hand tools versus a 3D printer that spits out mansions. Nature's been optimizing these reactions for billions of years while we're still figuring out the instruction manual.