Heart Beat Bugs

Ron: Why do I have to do both?

Laura: Because you just do. Hello and welcome to another episode of Lex Education. It's the comedy science podcast where comedian me, Laura Lex, tries to learn that pesky science from her, uh, about to go on holiday. Brother Ron. Hello, Ron. What's up?

Ron: It's Ron. Why are you going cockney?

Laura: Don't know. Just a bit different, isn't it? I can't see you so I feel extra mischievous.

Ron: Yeah, I was just setting that up. Uh, I'm on because I'm recording on mother of the podcast's laptop because I forgot. Madon Gal, are you at Family? Oh, yeah.

Laura: I didn't know this.

Ron: Why do you think I asked if dad still had your old mic?

Laura: I don't know, just thought you were being a weird creep or something.

Ron: No.

Laura: What you doing there, Ron?

Ron: Seeing, uh, sister at the podcast, mate.

Laura: I thought she was coming to Bristol.

Ron: Yeah, but see it for multiple days and also see nephew of the podcast.

Laura: Oh, that's so nice. I love nephew of the podcast. Yeah, he's one of my top three nephews.

Ron: Same. Um, he's, he's violent but he's nice.

Laura: Yeah, he's quite feral I think, compared to the other two.

Ron: Yeah, he's having a good time but you know, he's relaxing into being here. We're trying to get him to build a den in the.

Laura: Someone's at the door. Who's at the door? Who's at the door? Someone better answer it. Oh God. Can you tell I have a 3 year old? 10 points if you're listening people. And you know what? That was from Carol. Carol will know.

Ron: Passing by. Quality food. Um, to be honest, me, I don't live here. This is my parents place, so.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: Better to bring back another day as regular.

Laura: What was that? A person just came to the door singing Mr. Tumble over. What the hell was going on though? I think I can hit.

Ron: Did the micro. Did the microphone pick that, uh, up?

Laura: Yeah, but I was singing so I didn't quite hear what they offered. What happened?

Ron: He was a meat and fish man, just passing through.

Laura: What do you mean? Like made of meat and fish?

Ron: I think he had meat and fish that he wanted to sell.

Laura: Why didn't you buy some? That sounds delicious.

Ron: Because I'm midway through a podcast record. I can't be doing deals right now.

Laura: Wow, our parents really do live in the Shire.

Ron: Yeah, they really do.

Laura: Just a meat and fish guy popping round. So. Sounded young. A young meat and fish guy?

Ron: Yeah, yeah, very young.

Laura: Feels like it might be stolen meat and fish.

Ron: He was wearing an official, um, meat and fish jacket. Yeah. Um.

Laura: Wow.

Ron: Went to the cafe that Mum's volunteering at, uh, yesterday.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: How was that? Uh, yeah, it was all right.

There's some science in this episode, so do enjoy that

Um, now we have to bleep the names.

Laura: Stop fiddling with whatever you're fiddling with, please.

Ron: I have to bleep the names here, but was there a story from your primary school of someone shitting in some stickle bricks?

Laura: Yeah, yeah, there was. Yeah.

Ron: What was the name? Last name? I thought it was the Smiths. Don't worry. All right.

Laura: Oh, no. Is that.

Ron: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Laura: Do they work there?

Ron: I swear, did I shit somewhere once? Um, but, um, no, their mum. Yeah. And she was. She was like, oh, you probably knew my boy. And I was like, yeah, strangled me with my time my first day of school. She was like, yeah, he was assistant manager at Halfords now.

Laura: Wow. Gosh, we did not go to a good school, did we?

Ron: No.

Laura: But you had a tie on, Ron.

Ron: I did. I did have a tie.

Laura: Um, right, we've got an episode now, Ron. Um, it's fully edited, but, um, I thought I was making notes through it, but I've literally just written down proteins and enzymes, so I think that's what it was about. Um, I remember this was the day we. I was about to go paddleboarding.

00:05:00

Laura: You were cross, uh, about work. I don't think you'd had breakfast. There's some science, though, so do enjoy that.

Ron says his house smells like bad drains because it's been so hot

I had a lovely exchange with youngest, um, sister of the podcast yesterday, where, um, I, uh, text her just to see how she was, because she was a little hungover at the weekend. And then, uh, she was sitting in a new garden chair that she'd bought catching up on Lex education. And I thought, that's wholesome. And then I got worried that she was listening to the latest episode where we talk about how she, uh, copies all her boyfriends when she's in relationships. And I thought, she's not gonna be happy when she hears that. I wonder if we edited it out.

Ron: Did we?

Laura: Can't remember.

Ron: You edited that one?

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: Who do we compare her to? That Brad Pitt? I mean, that's not that bad.

Laura: It's pretty bad.

Ron: Yeah. At least he's handsome.

Laura: I mean, 10 years ago, I'd have loved to have been compared to Brad Pitt. At the moment, I feel like, you know, also, I saw his last film. Wasn't that great, Actually, I don't know if it was his last film, but I saw, uh, a film he was in recently called Wolfs what's, uh, the matter with you? Should I tell you what's the matter with me, Ron?

Ron: Yeah, go for it.

Laura: My whole house smells like bad drains.

Ron: Is it because you've now got three tiny things running around shitting in it?

Laura: No, it's because the drains smell because it's been so hot.

Ron: Yeah, I hate that. There was an office I had once where if the drains dried they'd start to smell.

Laura: I think that's what's happening here.

Ron: Yeah. And you just had to run a bit of water down there and then it would stop for a few days.

Laura: Yeah, it's stinky and I don't care for it. I'm going paddle boarding today.

Ron: Oh yeah?

Laura: Going down to Cookmere Haven, which is this cute quiet little fat river. And uh, and I'm gonna paddle board.

Ron: Just for fun.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: Trying to get somewhere?

Laura: No, just for fun. It's a bit windy today to go out on the sea so we're just gonna go to this like quiet little bit of river.

Ron: Uh, is it the place that you've been before?

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: I've seen pics of you paddle boarding on a river.

Laura: Yeah. When we first had charter the podcast, we took a kayaking out there.

Ron: That's pretty cool, eh?

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: I am just working today then we've got a friend coming over for dinner and play some games and I was thinking about, um, making pasta, but I, I think might go to the gym instead.

Laura: O he's got to burn off a third of a pizza. Uh. Oh yeah, yeah. I've been doing really well on a sort of more thoughtful eating bent. And then last night I was gigging at commedia and I thought I'll have dinner when I get there. And then they only had the sides menu on. They didn't have the full menu on. So I ate a bowl of halloumi fries for my dinner. And um, today I feel like I ate a bowl of cheese for my dinner because I did.

Ron: Yeah. I just, I don't know why. My body or my brain I guess rather never learns the lesson that the bowl of cheese don't make you feel good.

Laura: No.

Ron: Uh, you feel bad for a lot longer then the bowl of cheese makes you happy.

Laura: Hundred percent. Ron. Maybe we should get that on a T shirt.

Ron: Yeah, I mean that was succinct and well phrased.

Laura: It will be a big T shirt.

Ron: Yeah. I haven't really gotten back on the good eating wagon since getting back from my trip, but I'm hoping that when I get back from Brussels this time I'll Be able to.

Laura: Mmm.

Ron: But we'll see. We'll see.

Laura, can you remember what we were doing on biology A level M

Laura, can you remember what we were doing last time on biology A level M?

Laura: Let me check. The old spreaderoo. You can't remember biology. We were doing Rob Schneider, the Schneid man himself. Um, protein levels of structure on.

Ron: Yeah, give me a brief recap of that, eh?

Laura: Christ. Well. Oh, here we go.

Ron: Ron.

Laura: Um, is this the one we get zhuzh for? I feel really lacking in zhuzh.

Ron: No, we get zhuzh in chemistry. When I can think about how to do it.

Laura: Okay, um,

00:10:00

Laura: right, we're looking at primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary. Primary, secondary and tertiary. These are single polypeptides. Quaternary is a multiple polypeptide chain. Polypeptide chains? Mm mhm. That's what I've written down. Um, proteins vary massively in size. Ron. The smallest protein is just three amino acids.

Ron: What's primary structure?

Laura: I don't know. I haven't got there yet. Um, smallest protein is three itty bitty living space. And the largest is like 34,000. Ron. Whoa. Okay. Primary is a sequence of amino acids. And then in brackets, what aminos do we have in the protein chain? DNA determined. I don't know why I've written this in the style of a Ross Kemp introduction to a show, but that's what's happened.

Ron: It's odd.

Laura: Secondary alpha helix beta sheets. Viennetta. Uh, common in proteins. Hydrogen bowls to carboxyl groups. Actually, I think that says bonds. Um, tertiary. The famous R group of a. Non determinable status. How the R groups interact with each other. Hydrophobes unite. This is ma, quaternary. All of the above make a chain. And this level is. Is about multiple chains coming together.

Ron: That was one of those where everything you just read was correct, but the tone of your voice really makes it seem like you weren't processing it as you were saying it.

Laura: But Ron, it was like five weeks ago. 27th of May. That is seven weeks ago, Laura.

Ron: I learned this over a decade ago.

Laura: You are interested in it, whereas I find it to be bogus. Good Gump.

Ron: Yeah, you do. You don't have a high calibre brain for this sort of thing.

Laura: It's not about high calibre, Ron. It's about. It's about having a connection to the material. That's why the Zhuz is so great for me. Like whatever the it was we learned when we had Rylan. That went in.

Ron: Did it? What was that then?

Laura: No idea. Something about Rylan. Exactly.

Ron: You just remember the zhuzh. And I understand your point about, you know, it's not about high calibre. Um, you know, you got to be interested in it. It's a hell of a lot about the way that it's taught. You got to have a good teacher. And you've been dealt a bumhand there as well. But, Laura, with you, it is a bit about not being high calibre as well.

Shapes are a big part of protein bonds, Ron says

Laura: No.

Ron: Okay, Laura, we're gonna finish off just the last little, um, wiggins of protein stuff.

Laura: These little things to convert a USB into a usbc. And I love them. They're so tiny little nub.

Ron: Now, that was not a high calibre contribution.

Laura: I also like this phone thing that they've popped out of. Looks like two little Minecraft hip flasks. Yeah, okay, sorry, Ron, carry on.

Ron: See, we're trying to do a level here, and you're way more in the sort of reception class. Look at these shapes. These shapes are amazing.

Laura: Hey, sometimes shapes are cool. And shapes are a big part of protein bonds.

Ron: How so?

Laura: Um, because the shape of the, um, molecules in the bond is all determined by the, um, by the dipolarism of the. Of the structure. And it gives it different properties, and the structure is determined by the properties of the bonds, and then that determines the properties of the feature that we're making.

Ron: Absolute word salad now, you know, I.

Laura: Mean, what's that thing called dipolarism? Bipolarism. What's the thing where the bond goes on a diagonal because of how it connects?

Ron: Electronegativity.

Laura: No, what was it called?

Ron: Polar molecules. Polar, uh, bonds.

Laura: Oh, no. You know, we talked about how some things connect to each other.

Ron: Disulfide bonds. Disulfide bonds.

Laura: No, it wasn't sulphide. What was it about?

Ron: Hydrogen bonds.

Laura: It was in chemistry.

Ron: Right,

00:15:00

Ron: so it's in chemistry. So it's got all to do with what we're talking about.

Laura: Maybe it was in biology then. Uh, but they all link together anyway, Ron. That's the whole part of it.

Ron: In some ways they do, yes.

Laura: What was that called? It was in. Aha. It's even more annoying to half remember something than to just have forgotten the whole thing. Why have I got no notes about it? What it is, Ron, it's like. It's like, you know, Ron. You know, Ron, right? Shut up for a minute. Let me think. Remember that.

Ron: Good times, happier times.

Laura: Okay, so what it's like, Ron, when you got a protein and. And you've got a hydroxyl group connecting within the hydroxyl group, carboxyl group. To the main C and then the, the way the oh connects. Like the bond between the C and the O is tighter than the O to the H.

Ron: Yeah. Hydrogen bond. Yeah. Electronegativity. Polar bonds. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Laura: Polar bond.

Ron: I said that, I said that ages ago and you said. No, carried on looking.

Laura: Uh, that thing. Why were we talking about that?

Ron: Because you said shapes are amazing. Sometimes the shape of a, um, protein affects the bond.

Laura: Right, okay. So back to my original point there. The shape that the molecule M creates is important to its strength and its structure and where it's likely to break.

Ron: Yeah, yeah. I mean it's more about the atoms that are involved than necessarily sort of the shape of it.

Laura: But, but the shape is important as well.

Ron: Uh, for things like chirality lock, uh, and key. Lots of things. The shape is important.

Laura: Now Laura, every time you say chirality I think about like a cat, human, like, like a chimaera. Right.

Ron: That's not what a chimaera is. You know that. Right.

Laura: I thought a chimaera was a mix of two animals.

Ron: A chimaera in Greek mythology I think has the head of a goat. Um. What is it? It's a goat, it's got the, its tail is a snake, it's got a goat, a dragon and a lion. The wings of a dragon and then it's tail. Tail is a snake.

Laura: M a m monstrous fire breathing hybrid creature. Typically it's depicted as a lion with a goat's head protruding from its back and a tail ending with a snake's head. The term chimaera has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals to describe anything composed of disparate parts or perceived as wildly imaginable, implausible or dazzling. In other words, a chimaera can be any hybrid creature. We're both right.

Ron: Ron.

Laura: Um, my mouth feels noisy today.

Laura is fighting against the poop because if I give in to needing a poop

Ron: Yeah, you've got a lot of, um, a lot of vim.

Laura: Yeah. I think what it is is a quite neat little poop and I'm um, trying not to make that be a Debbie Downer.

Ron: Right. But why would that be interesting?

Laura: I'm fighting against the poop because if I give in to needing a poop, then I'll get distracted and I'll just try and like the lesson away just to get it done. So I'm trying to engage.

Ron: Laura, should we do some science?

Laura: We are. We've been talking about polarity. Uh, polarity polality. He sounds like a sort of travelling talesman from the deep south. Polality would knock on your Door. And everybody would come round and have a barbecue.

Ron: Yep, he's. It sounds like he might be mates with Rusty. Uh, sugar.

Laura: Oh, yeah.

Ron: We never did, uh, Detention and

00:20:00

Ron: Bayou's.

Laura: I don't know why you're saying we never did. It's on the list, Ron. It'll come up. What have we got coming up? We've got. You've just had Sweden and the Fjords and Rosalind Franklin. Next up, Ron, it's flaked almonds and carnival.

Ron: Wait, so, wait, hang on.

You're doing Rosalind Franklin this week and then next week you'll do Sweden

Little, um, aside. So this week I'm doing Sweden and the Fjords. You're going to tell us about Rosalind Franklin.

Laura: No, these are two separate episodes. You're doing Rosalind Franklin this week, and then next week you'll do Sweden and the Fjords.

Ron: Can I do Sweden and the Fjords this week?

Laura: No.

Ron: Why?

Laura: Because you can't. It's not what's in the spreadsheet. Uh, if you sneak into the spreadsheet and change it, then you can do whatever you like. But I am guided by the spreadsheet.

Ron: Okay. I had an idea that I wanted to put on the spreadsheet today.

Laura: Ooh. Do you know what, Ron? We're only two Patreon episodes.

Ron: Oh, yeah, uh, sorry. I remember I wanted to do the Mysteries of the Pyramids.

Laura: Oh, that would be fun. Last thing I put on is Avicii.

Ron: Yeah, that's not happening.

Laura: Mysteries of the. Ah. I thought of one that I really wanted to do the other day. Ron, can we do an episode on the Channel Tunnel?

Ron: Sure.

Laura: Isn't the Channel Tunnel amazing?

Ron: Uh, I don't know much about it.

Laura: No, exactly. It's just a big tunnel under the sea.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: Gah.

Ron: God. Laura, let's do a bit of science.

Laura: Waiting for you. Polality.

Ron: Uh, we're just gonna pinch off the last little bit of protein.

Laura: Don't say pinch off. You know I need a poop.

Ron: Yeah, we're just gonna squeeze out the last little bit of protein. Um, structure. And then we're gonna talk about enzymes, which are, of course, still proteins, but, um, a certain type of protein.

Laura: Fizzy protein, aren't they? That's how I think about time.

Ron: We're gonna very quickly talk about a, ah, test for protein. Maybe you can test whether protein is around.

Laura: What you do is you put it in your mouth, and if it's delicious, it's protein.

Ron: No, that's. That's just wrong and unscientific. Um, no.

Biuret reagent contains alkali and copper sulphate

All right. You get a liquid solution of the sample you want to taste. Okay. Taste test.

Laura: Oh, somebody likes chicken. Imagine how many chicken noises I'm gonna have put in this episode by now. Ron, we've been talking so much about protein. That was one of the first things you hated about this podcast.

Ron: Yeah. Oh, God. The first draught you did was really bad.

Laura: Then what you do is you downtaste test.

Ron: You treat the sample with either sodium or potassium hydroxide. This makes the solution alkaline.

Laura: Okay, Ron, is that with sodium or potassium hydroxide or with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide?

Ron: Sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.

Laura: Got you. Thank you for that clarity. So you treat it with one of those two. It gets beautiful highlights.

Ron: Uh, that makes it alkaline.

Laura: Oh.

Ron: What does it do to the ph?

Laura: Makes it lower. Uh, higher.

Ron: Makes it higher.

Laura: Higher.

Ron: Then what you do is you add a couple of drops of copper to sulphate. Okay.

Laura: Couple of drops of it onto copper sulphate.

Ron: No. Couple of drops of copper sulphate to your sample.

Laura: Okay. Some drops of copper sulphate to the sample.

Ron: Copper sulphate is famously a beautiful sapphire blue colour.

Laura: I love a sapphire blue. I've got in sapphire ring run.

Ron: Yes, it's lovely.

Laura: Thank you. It's.

Ron: Yep, it's good. Put it down. Now.

Laura: I got two sapphire rings.

Ron: The, um. You can buy the two steps that we've just talked about in one go. That's called biuret reagent, and it contains an alkali and copper sulphate.

Laura: Didn't that come up when in the exam?

Ron: No, I think that was Benedict's reagent, wasn't it?

Laura: Uh, no. Maybe.

Ron: So BI reagent is those two things that we've just

00:25:00

Ron: talked about. But it's good to know what's going on inside.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: If the solution changes from blue to lilac, then there is protein present.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: If it remains blue, no protein.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: Laura, is this test.

Laura: Quantitative? Qualitative?

Ron: It's qualitative because you wouldn't be able.

Laura: To tell how much protein. You'd just be able to say there's some, um.

Ron: Exactly. Now, there's one caveat to this.

Laura: Okay.

Ron says the podcast is too quiet on Spotify

We're gonna go to an ad break.

Ron: Apu's urgent.

Laura: Yeah. Thank you for that message from our sponsors. Okay, little caveat. The sponsor was my butthole.

Ron: You couldn't have waited to poop after the caveat?

Laura: No, no, no, no. I'd have pooped in. The caveat.

Ron: Um, there need to be at least two. What's a peptide bond, Laura?

Laura: Um, a chain of amino acid groups. No, no. Good try there, Laura.

Ron: Absolute faff. Just fucking nothing. Just words. Just Saying things, I suppose. No, the peptide bond is the bond between two amino acids.

Laura: I wasn't just saying things, was I?

Ron: You were.

Laura: You said it was a chain of amino acid groups.

Ron: What does that even mean?

Laura: But, but, Ron, that's so much better than. Imagine if I'd said, like, oh, it's a star galaxy. I was in the right country.

Ron: Yes. In the right country. Just saying things. That's always been the problem.

Laura: No, I think sometimes I'm not in the right country.

Ron: Yes, sometimes. Yes. But then you don't get a. Stop just saying things. You get a. You're in the wrong country.

Laura: So what's a peptide bond?

Ron: It's the bond between two amino, uh, acids.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: Amine group of one and the carboxyl group of the other.

Laura: You've gone quiet again. Um, your green is only going, like, halfway up.

Ron: Oh, yeah, my input volume got turned all the way down for some reason. There we go.

Laura: That's much better. That's the level of Ron that we know and love. Um, we got an email about the podcast being too quiet on Spotify, and I'm trying to sort it out.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: Loud.

Ron: Just one person. Oh, yeah, big up. Victoria Neek, who puts a lot of comments on the. The Spotify. You seem grand.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: If you're ever in any of the cities that we live in, let us know. We won't hang out. We're socially awkward, but we'll give you some tips and maybe lend you some toys.

Laura: We sure will.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: I, um. What's I gonna say? I. I logged into the Instagram account for Lexed the other day and noticed that, um, lovely Steven, who's not only super active in the discord, also sharing some stuff out in the real world. And again, very grateful for anybody spreading the word.

Ron: Yeah, always. Great. If someone.

Laura: You are currently doing more work for this podcast than Ron. Hey, now, you never share the podcast.

Ron: I don't have social media. What am I supposed to be sharing it on?

Laura: It's a real problem.

Ron: What am I supposed to be sharing it on?

Laura: You could use the Lexed accounts and just do stuff there.

Ron: I don't have any of the apps.

Laura: Get them. Like, just telling me how badly you're, um, joining in is not an excuse.

Ron: No, I have healthy work life boundaries.

Laura: No, no, it's not a healthy work life boundary. It's a work life boundary. That's incredibly unhealthy for the podcast.

Ron: Yeah, but it's healthy for me.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: Which makes social media.

Laura: So then accept that you're not pulling your weight. On it.

Ron: I do loads. I do absolutely loads.

There need to be at least two peptide bonds present in any protein molecule

I'm trying to tell you about bayurette reagents at the moment.

Laura: Well, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Ron: Yeah, I know. And it's really hard work. It's quite stressful.

Laura: Did you get that, um. Did you get that reference, Ron?

Ron: I know that it is a reference. It's one of those things that was already in, like, third degree references by the time I was born.

Laura: Oh, like fifth or ninth degree. It was a Rhett Butler, as in by your Rhett Butler.

Ron: There need to be at least two peptide bonds present in any protein molecule for the test to work. So it doesn't work if it's just amino acids or dipeptides.

Laura: So two peptide bonds present for this, um. What's this test called?

Ron: Biuret. Well, yeah, Biuret test. It's fine.

Laura: How do you spell bayure? I've just been sort of squiggling and then doing some t's and e's at the end.

Ron: B, I, U, R, E, T. Oh.

Laura: Um, I've made it much Frencher with, like a double te at the end.

Ron: Oh, wow. I guess it could be a bayre.

Laura: Bayoret, how you say? And then in English we'd say, like, bur eat.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: Ah. I was listening to a podcast. Sorry. To promote other podcasts on the podcast. I was listening to a podcast this week about the history of tourism, and it has just occurred to me that tourism is called tourism because it was all started by people going on the grand tour. They were touring wrists.

Ron: Yeah. Going on tours.

Laura: Yeah. I've never ever made that link before.

Ron: No.

Laura: This is my first. I've put gel pens in the book today. This is the turning around of a level, Ron. I'm doing it in gels.

Ron: Back on.

Laura: Back, back.

Ron: Knock in. I'm tired.

Laura: Yeah, listen, that. That was meant to be the little endy bit of the last one, and it's taken us 27 minutes to get through it.

Ron: Yeah, yeah. For real, it has. Um, all right, Laura, we're gonna do 10 minutes of proteins, and then we've got to stop.

Laura: Okay. Then I'm going paddleboarding. Spoosh, spoosh, spoosh, spoosh.

Ron: I gotta work a full day, then go to the gym and then cook for two people.

Laura: Weee. Waa, waa.

Ron: Look, sorry that we can't all sit around on a paddleboard eating bon bons, Laura, but I wouldn't be eating bon.

Laura: Bons on the paddle board, Ron. A paddleboard would get Sticky. It would actually be really good if it's sticky because I don't have one of those ankle straps for it yet, so. So, um, if I'm stuck to it, it's probably.

Ron: Maybe you need to eat some bon bons.

Laura: I was never allowed bon bons as a kid. They were one of those sweets that made me go over the edge. I did love lemon bon bons. I love that powdery outside and then they're like stiff, chewy, you know? Yeah, stiff, chewy. Name me your last Star wars fan fiction.

Ron: Nice.

Laura, tell me everything you know about enzymes right now

Laura, tell me everything you know about enzymes right now.

Laura: Enzymes have little teethy mouths and they love chomping up things. They're active, busy guys. Catalysts, often found in your body. Loads of them. In your mouth, in saliva acid. That's it.

Ron: Okay, um, not bad. What are enzymes like molecularly?

Laura: Molecularly. Molecularly. Um, what are, ah, enzymes Molecularly. It's a great question, Ron, and it's a question I don't think science really definitively knows.

Ron: Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura. I think I said this at the beginning of the episode, but also just think about what we're talking about at the moment.

Laura: It's a peptide.

Ron: Oh, me. It's a protein.

Laura: It's a protein. Everything's protein. Everything is protein.

Ron: That's not true. Don't sing that. Because if you sing it then it becomes part of your brain.

Laura: Yeah, that's true. Um, uh, enzymes are proteins.

Ron: They are proteins. Are they fibrous proteins or are they globular proteins?

Laura: Um, globular.

Ron: They are globular. Well done.

Laura: Enzymes are globular proteins.

Ron: You correctly said they are catalysts.

Laura: Yes.

Ron: What are catalysts?

Laura: Catalysts are, ah, things that make things happen for other people. The movers and the shakers of the protein world.

Ron: What? Speak with some specificity. What do you mean by make things happen?

Laura: Um,

00:35:00

Laura: reactions.

Ron: Yes indeed. Do they create new reactions?

Laura: Umm, um. No.

Ron: What do they do?

Laura: You're so quiet again.

Ron: Yeah, for some reason my settings just keep leaping down. I'm gonna have to keep my eye on that.

Laura: You have to. The people need to hear you. Do the people hear you, Pod? Um, I feel amazing today.

Ron: That's really nice to hear.

Laura: Oh, don't worry. I'll be crying by lunchtime. Never last.

Ron: I haven't eaten. I think that's my issue.

Laura: Yeah, and your personality. Two big issues for Ron.

Ron: Some people like my personality.

Laura: Everyone likes your personality, Ron.

Ron: It's just one of my two big issues. If it makes you feel better, Laura, your personality, which.

Laura: Which one?

Ron: Very, very Similar to mine and also rotten. Don't even make your top three big issues.

Laura: No, that's, uh, fine. I would say it goes forehead choices. Teeth.

Ron: Yeah, it's a family. We do have dog shit teeth.

Laura: Oh, horrible teeth. Absolutely horrible teeth. I'm having to try and get child of the podcast to stop sucking her thumb at the moment. And I just hate it because I remember how awful it was trying to stop sucking my own thumb. And so I have to be, like, strong about it. But also I'm like, oh, God, I don't really want to have to make you do this, but you should. What was the question? She never took to a dummy.

Ron: Yeah, I had a dummy. And then I just remember that getting taken away at some point. Reading a book called the Noo Noo Tree.

Laura: Yeah. Was that about the monster that buried the Noo Noo in the garden?

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: Yeah. The thing with you was you just never made a fuss, so you were probably gutted, but just shrugged and walked away from your dummy. And we were like, well, that was easy.

Ron: Yeah. Very placid.

Laura: Very placid. Not like an enzyme.

Ron: No. So they don't create new reactions, Laura, what do they do?

Enzymes facilitate reactions, Ron. Um, they don't create new particles

I can see that little bar sneaking down. Why are you doing that? Little bar? Stop.

Laura: Um, they facilitate reactions, Ron. They offer a space.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: They beckon. Beckon fizzy people into the. Into a world.

Ron: They speed up the rate of chemical reactions that already happen. They don't. Yeah. Um, they don't sort of create new particles.

Laura: They're a safe haven for change.

Ron: So you mentioned their toothy little mouths. That's obviously what we call the active site. Can you remember what we call the thing that goes in the active site?

Laura: The lock and key.

Ron: That's just saying things there. No, lock and key is just a sort of visual metaphor to help you understand what's going on.

Laura: It's worked. I'm doing really well at this.

Ron: It's called a substrate.

Laura: The thing that goes in there, substrate gravel.

Ron: And then we're gonna have to do enzymes next time. We're simply out of time. But, um, to finish, sort of correcting what you said, you talked about it, um, you know, them specifically breaking things down and whatnot.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: So that is, uh, that's what we would call a catabolic steroid. Not steroid, rather enzyme. Um, they do break things down, but they also build things up. So, you know, so your. Your DNA synthetase and things like that. That's an enzyme that joins things together.

Laura: I like enzymes. Enzymes are the other, like, they'd live in la, you know, mingling, making deals happen. They've got nothing to offer of their own accord, but they're buzzy. They know everyone. They're the who's who.

Ron: Mingling sounds, um, like a horrible word.

Laura: Mingling.

Ron: And that's all we'll do today.

Laura: Don't you think that they'd be little Hollywood creeps.

00:40:00

Laura: Someone would pitch their idea, they break it down, rebuild it into something worse. Bazaar.

Ron: I think you're giving enzymes a hard time.

Laura: No, they're very successful. They've got a helicopter pad in the back garden.

Ron: Enzyme. Enzymes do everything, man. They're the, uh. They. It's really like everything else is just kind of there. And then the enzymes make it all work.

Laura: Yeah, Enzymes.

Ron: Most important bit.

Laura: Yeah? And they get well remunerated for it.

Are you hydrated, Ron? You probably haven't had enough water today

Ron: Right, let's end this so I can go eat some toast before I gotta start work.

Laura: Yeah, eat some bloody toast, you miserable little git. Love you, Ron.

Ron: Love you.

Laura: Bye Bye. I sort of forgot we had a quiz. For some reason I thought we didn't need to do one. But you're absolutely ruddy.

Ron: I mean, we could do quiz later on in the week if you want, but there's no reason to. Okay. I don't think we. Oh, good. Pick you on.

Laura: Biggie.

Ron: On.

Laura: Are you hydrated, Ron? You probably haven't had enough water today. I've got this massive water bottle these days. Look how big it is. Ron loves drinking.

Ron: I think I've drunk enough. I think I'm malnourished, but that's okay.

Laura asked a test to see if proteins are present in plants

Um, Laura, I don't think we got a lot done in this episode.

Laura: Are you sure? No.

Ron: Uh, but I think I felt like.

Laura: It was a good one. No.

Ron: Uh, do you remember what we were talking about?

Laura: Bureterine. Buterine. Butat.

Ron: Oh, yeah. We did. Um, buy your Et Buzos Biuret agent.

Laura: By your rat agent.

Ron: Oh, yeah, Tell me about that. For two marks.

Laura: This is a piece of shit, by the way. Do better.

Ron: Um, I'd forgotten we'd covered that. I've only got questions on enzymes. Bi. Urette's Agent. By your. By your. By your agent.

Laura: Bayou. Agent Bay.

Ron: Urette Bay. Your A. Bay.

Laura: E. It was like a test to see if proteins in stuff.

Ron: One mark. Three more marks.

Laura: You said there were two marks.

Ron: Now there's four.

Laura: Fuck this. This doesn't feel scientific. Stop playing with the print. Alora. Um. You put vinegar on the thing. Or not vinegar, but like something. What are you spritzing my plant? Don't spritz Your plant now, it's.

Ron: Don't you hate it when your plants get dusty?

Laura: Yeah, I vacuum my plants.

Ron: M smart. You're smart. You're a smart lady.

Laura: I've got a really big ficus in my dining room.

Ron: My ficuses aren't great.

Laura: Why not?

Ron: I just don't, um. I don't think I was watering them enough. Now they've started watering them properly, they've started growing, which is.

Laura: I water my ficus every day. Ah.

Ron: Yeah, I was ordering it like once a week, maybe every two weeks.

Laura: Whatever's left in the dog bowl every day.

Ron: Yeah. And yours is lush.

Laura: Yeah. And I've had it for like 10 years.

Ron: Yeah, I'm watering mine a lot more now.

Laura: Yeah. Um, right, so you have. Copper sulphate is sitting at the end of my nose. So I'm gonna say copper sulphate. And you put that on the stuff that you're testing for protein. And then it's kind of like a litmus test. If it goes, uh, I don't know, blue, there is protein in it. And if it goes green, there is no protein in it. It's quantitative. No, it's qualitative. It's a qualitative test. Uh, you probably use a pipette.

Ron: You got three marks out of five. I'm gonna stop you there.

Laura: Okay.

Ron: So you don't put vinegar in it. Um, you actually treat it with sodium or potassium hydroxide to make it alkaline. So kind of the opposite of vinegar, which is, of course an acid.

Laura: Delicious acid.

Ron: Copper sulphate was completely correct. And that's really cool of you. Well done. Um, copper

00:45:00

Ron: sulphate is blue. So it actually starts out blue, which is where the blue came from. And then it goes lilac purple. If there's protein present. Uh, it is qualitative.

Laura: Yes. Do I get a mark for blue, though?

Ron: No.

But it does go blue if there's no protein

Laura: But it does go blue if there's no protein.

Ron: Yes. And you said it goes blue if there's protein.

Laura: Oh, fuck. Okay. Pretty good, though.

Ron: Pretty good. Um, so that was three out of five.

Laura, what are enzymes? Enzymes are a catalyst. What type of catalyst? A live catalyst

Laura, what are enzymes?

Laura: Enzymes are a catalyst.

Ron: What type of catalyst?

Laura: A live catalyst. Location spot.

Ron: No, better.

Laura: A cycle area.

Ron: What? Note focusing on live. You use better words. Do better.

Laura: Uh.

Ron: It'S a specific two word phrase.

Laura: It's about like being a, uh, bullseye, isn't it? No.

Ron: Huh. That's not what I'm asking for.

Laura: Isn't it?

Ron: I thought it was focus in on the live thing that you said, but just do better.

Laura: They're heartbeat.

Ron: Think better.

Laura: Heartbeat bugs.

Ron: Better thoughts. They are they're not heartbeat bugs.

Laura: They're like. What's it called?

Ron: It's a mad thing you just said.

Laura: No, it's not. They're. What's it called when they're like the electric trampoline? Um, activity.

Ron: No, Catalysts is one of the word. There's something. Catalyst is what I'm asking for. It's a similar word to live, but I'm asking you to do better.

Laura: Living. Catalyst, almost.

Ron: What subject is this?

Laura: Biological catalyst.

Ron: There we go. That's the two word phrase that we needed.

Laura: Great. Never heard that phrase before.

Ron: Yes, you have. Laura. What's a catalyst?

Laura: It's, um, something that speeds up a reaction, a rate of reaction or provides a spot for the reaction to happen.

Ron: It increases the rate of reaction. And.

Laura: That'S good.

Ron: Right? One mark out of two, it increases the rate of reaction and is not used up in the process.

Laura: Oh, yeah. That is good information that I do know.

Ron: Yeah. What are the two types of enzymes?

Laura: Big and small. Lock and key. Teeth ones.

Ron: No.

Laura: Acid and alkali.

Ron: Um, no.

Laura: Cogs and smooth wheels.

Ron: Yeah, yeah. Cogs and smooth wheels. Yeah.

Laura: Cogs and smooth wheels. Sounds like an early Noughties, like soft dance music duo sweet like.

Ron: Oh, I. I thought it sounded more like, uh, you know, Henry Ford's rival, Cogson.

Laura: Smooth wheels. He definitely lives in the bayou.

Ron: No, he's, um, he's the big. He's the big city developer, uh, coming to pave over the bayou.

Laura: You'll never have our bayou. My granddaddy didn't toil on, um, this bayou for you to. To pave over it.

Ron: This whole by you is going to be a multistory car park by the end of July. Gods and sm. No, anabolic and catabolic are the two types of enzymes. Of course. Um, Laura, what's the name of something that the enzyme fits with? What's like the scientific name for the key that goes in the lock?

Laura: Prozyme.

Ron: It's not often when you're just saying things that you make up a word. Prozyme. Prozymes and enzymes.

Laura: Yeah, that sounds right, doesn't it?

Ron: No, they're not called lox and prolocks.

You really treat the lesson in the quiz as well

Laura: All right. Enzyme and start. Zymes.

Ron: Startzymes.

Laura: Yeah, no, um, startzymes. Enzyme.

Ron: M. It's called a substrate.

Laura: Oh, I do remember talking about substrates. Yeah. Gravel. Yeah, yeah, yep.

Ron: Remember talking about it because we did a lesson on, uh, it.

Laura: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ron: You really treat the

00:50:00

Ron: lesson in the quiz as well.

Ron says social media and other things have rotted your brain

Completely disconnected events.

Laura: They just feel so long apart and that's mad today, because this was days ago. It was. It was a, uh, one week. And it feels like a lot has happened this week. A lot, a lot has happened.

Ron: And, um, social media and other things have just rotted your brain.

Laura: I don't really look at social media.

Ron: Yeah, you do, all the time.

Laura: No, I don't. I post a lot. I don't read what anybody else is saying, which in many ways is more toxic.

Ron: Yeah, just screaming into the abyss.

Laura: Well, not even that. I just post jolly little videos and then off it again. The only thing I really watch is.

Ron: Nate the hoof guy and Tiny Chef.

Laura: No, Tiny Chef's really depressed at the moment, so I've stopped watching it because it was bringing me back.

Ron: Why is he depressed?

Laura: His Nickelodeon show got cancelled. Sometimes me and Child of the podcast like compilation videos of babies doing stuff.

Ron: Tiny Chef was mentioned on a different podcast I listened to recently.

Laura: He is funny.

Ron: Yeah.

Laura: No, I really try not to scroll on my phone because, um. Like, because I use my phone a lot for work, so I really try to not do it for funsy stuff. So that Child of the podcast just doesn't have me constantly at my phone. So she sort of knows that if I'm on my phone, it's a work thing.

Ron: That's fair. If I ever have a child, it won't know what a phone is.

Laura: Why? Where will your phone go?

Ron: I'll hide it in, um, a. In the attic. And I'll say, you're never allowed up there, and sort of create tension.

Laura: Oh, uh, she has a little plastic phone that the other day she couldn't find it, and she asked me to ring it for her to find it. Uh, I love your thought, but I can't do that, babe. Um, right, we should probably go record an episode.

Ron: Yeah, you got five out of 11 there.

Laura: Okay. Now, Ron, I know you haven't listened back to that episode, but I think the listeners will agree. I was really trying.

Ron: You're often trying, but not in a.

Laura: Like, ha, ha ha. The peasants are revolting. I think I was really trying to do science.

Ron: Maybe you were. Uh, I haven't listened. Yeah, we stopped listening back at some point.

Laura: Yeah, I think it was when we didn't have many, um, in the vault. So we were just editing and recording, editing them that week and then getting them out. And now we're just busy beans. We're busy.

Ron: Yeah, maybe we'll, you know, we'll get back in the habit at some point.

Laura: You won't.

Ron: No. But then ultimately, do I need to.

Laura: No M. Maybe not. Was this better before we did? Who knows?

Ron: Listen, I don't think anyone's joining for the intro's outros. Like, God, I hope they're making pithy M on the money remarks about the episode we're about to listen to.

Laura: It's anyone's guess as to why we.

Ron: Even put them in the intros Outros.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: As you remember, been against it from the start.

Laura: Yeah. But here we are, three and a bit years in. Still doing it, baby.

Ron: Gotta have that complicated timeline.

Laura: I love it. I think it means it stretches a feature through a month. I just edited the last episode that has the pub quiz in the. That I don't think has even started happening for listeners. Riet.

Ron: Yeah, the pub quiz. All those episodes that had a smack of Schneider to them.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: I mean, I do enjoy that.

Laura: It rinses flavour. It really uses the tea bag twice. I think our method of podcasting.

Ron: Yeah, we get everything out of a bit.

Laura: Sometimes too much.

Ron: With the Native Americans of podcasting, we use the whole cow.

Laura: Yeah. Um, Ron, we've got a new patron and they've come in at a high tier. Ron.

Ron: Where did you send this to me?

Laura: I've just sent it to you on WhatsApp. Right, I see this will mean nothing.

Ron: To you, but you have to do the rumpity pumps.

Laura: Okay. Rumpity bumpity. Um. Thank you.

Graham Hall was the inventor of the electric trampoline

Time. Rumpity bumpity. The pleasure's all mine, rumpy. Thanks for your money. We hope you find the joke rinsing eternally funny. That's the first time I think it's had lyrics.

Ron: Yeah, don't get used to that. It rhymed as well.

Laura: Yeah.

Ron: Graham Hall. Thank you, Graham Hall. Uh, Graham hall was the inventor of the electric trampoline, a device so powerful it was only used once. And then

00:55:00

Ron: it was responsible for the electrifying and sending into space of several adults and at least one child. Graham now lives in witness protection amongst the lab rats who neither judge nor criticise, but instead applaud his scientific mind and also really enjoy playing on the electric Trampoline. Yeah, yeah, that rings less than a bell.

Laura: No. Well, I was trying to remember the term active site, and one of my guesses was Electric Trampoline. Um, but that was one of the. It was one of the options for alternative titles. Alternative title potentials were Fat River Hydrophobes Unite. Something about Rylan Shapes Are Amazing, Polality Back not in Black or Activity. Activity. I can't remember what that was. Um, but those were the potential alternatives titles. But thank you, Graham. I thought I'd wrap your thank you into one of the possible titles.

Ron: Thank you, Graham. Thank you. We really. We support. We. We. We support your support of us.

Laura: Yeah. I'm especially grateful this week because I've literally cleared out every penny of my bank account to have to buy a new car. So, guys, you're the only thing keeping me afloat right now.

Ron: Yeah. Laura is currently living life as one of the characters in Nottingham.

Laura: Yeah, I need to break my legs so I can hide some coins in my foot.

Ron: It's gonna say, yeah, tapping all of the coins out of her shoes.

Laura: Uh, it'll be okay, though. Don't worry about it. It's fine. Um, thanks, guys. Have a lovely week and we'll be back next week. August episodes, man, they're always something. I fucking hate August. Let's just get August done and get to all the specials in September. Ron's gotta watch A Cinderella Story. Yeah, it's nearly birthday time. Then it's Halloween time. Oh, so many funsies.

Ron: Got a message from girlfriend of the podcast, Judith, today.

Laura: She's like, I wondered if it was a new one.

Ron: Um, she was like, oh, it's my birthday month. And I sent nice exclamation mark with a smiley face. Now, apparently was not excited enough for her birthday month.

Laura: She's got such great energy. Uh, I was watching the Taskmaster series with Rose Mattefeo in it yesterday. We're nearly at the end of that series, and the outfit Rose wears for the tasks, I think is very girlfriend of the podcast. A sort of rust suit in cord.

Ron: Flaming Apeshead. Um, on the Discord has, um, has reminded us that Sarah Pascoe is in season three.

Laura: Ah, okay. Thanks you, everyone. Yeah, that's not one of the ones that's on Netflix. I don't think so. I haven't seen that one.

Ron: That's probably why I've. It slipped my mind as well. It's also got Al Murray, Dave Gorman, Paul Chow, someone else. Um, class dismissed. I guess.

Laura: It.

00:58:35