#Metabolic pathway

[pharmaguidelines]

Amino Acid Metabolism: The Crossroads of Cellular Nutrient Use

Amino Acid Metabolism: The Crossroads of Cellular Nutrient Use In the intricate symphony of cellular processes, amino acids stand as versatile players, serving as the building blocks of proteins, precursors for various molecules, and even energy sources. Their metabolic fate is determined by the body’s needs and energetic demands, making amino acid metabolism a crucial pathway that ensures the…

[whats-in-a-sentence]

A comparison of metabolic pathways that are either stimulated (by SAGs) or repressed (by SDGs) during sequential leaf senescence in Arabidopsis is shown in Figure 22.17.

"Plant Physiology and Development" int'l 6e - Taiz, L., Zeiger, E., Møller, I.M., Murphy, A.

[tenth-sentence]

The major metabolic pathway in the starchy endosperm is, as the name implies, starch biosynthesis: the precursor molecule, ADP-glucose, is synthesized in the cytosol and then imported into the amyloplast, where it is enzymatically polymerized into amylose and amylopectin.

"Plant Physiology and Development" int'l 6e - Taiz, L., Zeiger, E., Møller, I.M., Murphy, A.

[freddyfreeman]

Finally discovered a combination of supplements to help me get 4h of sleep: .05 Estradiol, 100mg micronized progesterone (sometimes additional progesterone cream), DIM, 400mg magnesium citrate, 50mg allithiamine, a B Complex. That’s it.

[hidden-but]

For work, I’m reading the article where Moderna shows how different ionizable lipids they synthetised work when tested on mice and non-human primates, to optimise them to serve as safe and effective carriers for mRNA vaccines (”We sought lipids that enabled high levels of protein expression, demonstrated rapid tissue clearance, and resulted in a toxicity profile that would support chronic therapeutic indications”).

This is your regular reminder that all the We Can Replace ALL Animal Testing With Simulations, AI and Testing On Human Volunteers are, and will be for the next decades at the very least, naively hopeful sci-fi at best, maliciously misleading misinformation at worst.

[onion-existence]

Really got into designing magazine covers for a bit. So I made one for Raven. See if you can spot all the dumb molecular biology jokes I’ve put in here

[opaleyedprince]

just typed rate limiting step as rat limiting step. ratatouille real

[grimark]

also it's not a competition but i did way too much biochemistry in undergrad to be scared by a straightforward and fairly intuitive little diagram like that one. sorry

[greencarnation]

unfortunately i've gotten to the point where deadlines are simply suggestions. due wednesday? ah what's the harm in doing it thursday. or next week. or never. i don't like being at this point. please help

[xtruss]

Stanford Reverses Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s With Brain Metabolism Drug

Neuroscientists at Stanford have Linked Alzheimer’s Disease to the Disruption of Brain Metabolism via the Kynurenine Pathway, which is Affected by Amyloid Plaque and Tau Proteins.

— By Stanford University | August 22, 2024

Stanford Researchers Have Found That Blocking the Kynurenine Pathway in the Brain Can Reverse the Metabolic Disruptions Caused By Alzheimer’s Disease, Improving Cognitive Functions in Mice. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Alzheimer’s Disease and Brain Energy Metabolism

Their research has demonstrated that drugs blocking this pathway can restore cognitive function in Alzheimer’s mice by improving brain metabolism. This discovery not only bridges the gap between neuroscience and oncology but also provides a fast track to repurposing existing drugs for Alzheimer’s treatment.

Neuroscientists believe one of the key mechanisms by which Alzheimer’s disease impairs brain function is through the disruption of glucose metabolism, which is essential for energizing a healthy brain. Essentially, a decrease in metabolism deprives the brain of vital energy, thereby hindering cognitive functions and memory.

Against that backdrop, a team of neuroscientists at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute have zeroed in on a critical regulator of brain metabolism known as the kynurenine pathway. They hypothesize that the kynurenine pathway is overactivated as a result of amyloid plaque and tau proteins that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Restoring Cognitive Function in Lab Mice

Now, with support from research and training grants from the Knight Initiative, they have shown that by blocking the kynurenine pathway in lab mice with Alzheimer’s Disease, they can improve, or even restore, cognitive function by reinstating healthy brain metabolism.

“We were surprised that these metabolic improvements were so effective at not just preserving healthy synapses, but in actually rescuing behavior. The mice performed better in cognitive and memory tests when we gave them drugs that block the kynurenine pathway,” said senior author, Katrin Andreasson, a neurologist at the Stanford School of Medicine and member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

The study, which included collaborations with researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Penn State University, and others, was published on August 22, 2024, in the journal Science.

Hungry Neurons

In the brain, kynurenine regulates production of the energy molecule lactate, which nourishes the brain’s neurons and helps maintain healthy synapses. Andreasson and her fellow researchers specifically looked at the enzyme indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 — or IDO1, for short — which generates kynurenine. Their hypothesis was that increases in IDO1 and kynurenine triggered by accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins would disrupt healthy brain metabolism and lead to cognitive decline.

“The kynurenine pathway is over activated in astrocytes, a critical cell type that metabolically supports neurons. When this happens, astrocytes cannot produce enough lactate as an energy source for neurons, and this disrupts healthy brain metabolism and harms synapses” Andreasson said. Blocking production of kynurenine by blocking IDO1 restores the ability of astrocytes to nourish neurons with lactate.

Potential Fast-Tracking of IDO1 Inhibitors

Best of all for Andreasson, and for Alzheimer’s patients, IDO1 is well known in oncology and there are already drugs in clinical trials to suppress IDO1 activity and production of kynurenine. That meant Andreasson could circumvent the time-intensive work of identifying new drugs and to begin testing in lab mice almost immediately.

In those tests, in which mice with Alzheimer’s Disease must navigate an obstacle course before and after drug intervention, Andreasson and team found that the drugs improved hippocampal glucose metabolism, corrected deficient astrocytic performance, and improved the mice’s spatial memory.

Promising Results Across Different Pathologies

“We also can’t overlook the fact that we saw this improvement in brain plasticity in mice with both amyloid and tau mice models. These are completely different pathologies, and the drugs appear to work for both,” Andreasson noted. “That was really exciting to us.”

Better yet, this intersection between neuroscience, oncology, and pharmacology could help speed drugs to market if proved effective in ongoing human clinical trials for cancer.

“We’re hopeful that IDO1 inhibitors developed for cancer could be repurposed for treatment of AD,” Andreasson stressed.

A Glimpse into the Future of Alzheimer’s Treatment

The next step is to test IDO1 inhibitors in human Alzheimer’s patients to see if they show similar improvements in cognition and memory. Prior clinical tests in cancer patients tested the effectiveness of IDO1 inhibitors on cancer but did not anticipate or measure improvements in cognition and memory. Andreasson is hoping to investigate IDO1 inhibitors in human trials for Alzheimer’s disease in the near future.

Reference: “Restoring hippocampal glucose metabolism rescues cognition across Alzheimer's disease pathologies” 22 August 2024, Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.abm6131

Stanford Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute / Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Authors:

Paras S. Minhas (co-lead), Amira Latif-Hernandez (co-lead), Aarooran S. Durairaj, Qian Wang, Siddhita D. Mhatre, Takeshi Uenaka, Joshua Crapser, Travis Conley, Hannah Ennerfelt, Yoo Jin Jung, Yeonglong Albert Ay, Matthew Matrongolo, Edward N. Wilson, Tao Yang, Marius Wernig, Frank M. Longo, and Katrin I. Andreasson (corresponding).

Other Contributing Institutions

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies (including co-lead author Jeffrey R. Jones), Keio University, Princeton University, Penn State University, UC San Francisco, and the Banner Sun Research Institute.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute / Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Support:

The research was supported by an Innovation Award and a Brain Resilience Scholar Award from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. The study made use of Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Community Laboratories: the Stanford Behavioral and Functional Neuroscience Laboratory and the Stanford Neuroscience Microscopy Service, as well as the Stanford Mass Spectroscopy Core.

— Competing Interests: Andreasson is a Co-Founder, Board Member, and Consultant for Willow Neuroscience, Inc. Longo is a Founder of, Board Member of, and Consultant for and has Financial Interest in PharmatrophiX, a Company Focused on Small-Molecule Development for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders.

[er-cryptid]

NAD-Linked Glycerol Dehydrogenase

-- part of oxidoreductase family

-- catalyst is NAD+

-- oxidizes glycerol

-- forms glycerone

[pharmaguidelines]

Gluconeogenesis: The Backbone of Cellular Metabolism

In the intricate symphony of cellular processes, glucose stands as the maestro, providing energy for a diverse array of cellular operations. However, when blood glucose levels plummet, a backup plan kicks in, ensuring that energy demands are met. This remarkable process is known as gluconeogenesis. A Journey from Non-Carbohydrates to Glucose Gluconeogenesis revolves around the conversion of…

[rro-bots]

AAAGGGH i should have majored in microbio but i will utilize my biochem degree to work in microbio EVENTUALLY

[sefinaa]

❝𝐏𝐀𝐂: 𝐏𝐬𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐞𝐲? 𝐇𝐞𝐲? 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧? 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞? 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭.❞

Who is the next person coming into your life?

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Pac summary!

🦋 Who are they?

🦋 The reason they are coming.

🦋 End results of it.

Moodboard | Divider

Pile I

Who are they?

King of pentacles reversed and death. 

Uptight. The person coming into your life after you heal some open wounds is uptight. Good grief, they are stubborn as hell. Intuition tells me this person is here to end a karmic cycle for you. This person is very ambitious with what they want. So if you are in the way, best believe you aren’t going to be saved. They do not care about other people’s feelings if it means they can have what they want. So if you want to be kind to someone like this (as you always have to others), then go ahead, but remember that this is to end a cycle. So make sure you are aware of this. Intuition tells me they are successful, they have a lot of wisdom in the material world, and they give me lex luthor vibes, but healthy? Ironically, I am hearing they are a healthy person but can be immature when it comes to their goals. You are someone who doesn’t like change, and you always resist the change coming into your life because you are scared. That fear will be removed with this person. I do advise you to be alert around them since they aren’t a ray of sunshine. The death card explains that this person will make a meaningful change in your life, but you must take it. 

The reason they are coming.

Change. Card came out so quickly. They will appear in your life quickly, kind of like a spontaneous decision on their side since they know you. And you know them damn well. I keep hearing about a breakup, so it’s possible that for some of you they are an ex, and for the rest it’s an old acquaintance. 

The lovers and ten of pentacles.

The lovers confirms the ex coming back into your life if you resonate with it. As for the rest of you, it is possible that it’s a relative you stopped speaking to out of disrespect or a third party you left for a relationship. I feel a lot of third party energy, it’s possible it’s someone who didn’t approve of your relationship or marriage or wanted to steal your lover or you. So the reason they are coming into your life isn’t for forgiveness or that they are sorry, it’s for their own security. Having you in their life provided them material wealth or some type of abundance. They were able to leech off on you and they want to do the same. This is why intuition mentioned a karmic cycle. You must end this and not allow them to come into your life. Intuition tells me, ‘’leeches, leeches. Always coming back for more. Do not be your past self. Acceptance is key. Leave them.’’ 

End results of it.

Seven of cups reversed, knight of wands reversed, and the moon reversed.

You have all three reversed cards. Ouch. This is about a blockage in your life, and this person is truly not interested in you in the way you hope. Stop seeing the good in people, especially those who hurt you. It’s fine to see the best in people, but not those who hurt you, love. They aren't good for you and surely, your healing shouldn't go in vain, right? There are two pathways here. 

You let them into your life: if you decide to let them into your life, all your hard work of healing goes in vain. You will be miserable and become restless. You will struggle to keep up with your life and fuck up your bedtime routine. Fuck your grades and start gaining weight from stress despite having a good metabolism. I also see acne breakouts, and you are crying constantly. Some hair loss and a lot of fear are running through me which is how you will feel. This person will be arrogant and stubborn, as mentioned, and make you lose your self-worth again. You will be stuck in the same cycle again, and that’s not worth it. Unless, of course, you are interested in being your own enemy? Don't be, and do not let your past self hard work in healing go to crap. 

If you don't let them in: you will be slightly happier. Not in a bad way, but you are still healing, and you will feel guilty for not allowing them to come back. But you will find the clarity you need and realize many things about yourself. You will start to become stronger and learn that your intense emotions are not your enemy. You will start becoming creative again and start to draw, animate, read, exercise, etc. Right now, it’s kind of distant with your hobbies, but that’s okay because healing takes time, so stop being harsh on yourself. Anyway, your control over your mental diet will improve, and everything will become positive for you. You will eat healthier and, overall, become healthier. You will find your passions again and find a new job in your hometown, and it will give you the abundance you need to start anew. 

Masterlist.

Pile II 

Who are they?

The cards came out so fast that one of them almost fell on my floor. Their energy is wild. I feel fast-paced and on pure adrenaline, as if I were Superman. 

King of cups, reversed ace of wands, and reversed five of wands.

You have two reversed of wands in your pile. Intuition says this person is afraid of planning ahead and always does things spontaneously; I keep hearing rule breaking. They like to do things to the extreme and make things fun, but they struggle with being decisive. I also hear ‘’fire, fire, fire—help, there is a fire! Just joking.’’ They like to joke around a lot; everything is a playful banter with them, and they will help you ease up a bit. This pile is honestly so beautiful. The king of cups is about compassion and empathy, and that’s the overall energy. A lot of people who are troublemakers get a bad rep and that’s the same with your pile. Make sure to be gentle with them, because underneath all that badass energy, they are a pile of goo and sensitivity. They are amazing at communication and honestly remind me of Ace from one piece. Intuition says, ‘’the sweetest people always get a bad reputation.’’ I hear that sometimes they ruin an opportunity for themselves because they do not have the motivation to keep going, and I hear that depression is something that they have dealt with or will deal with. And yet, with your energy, you make them want to improve. (psst, a love interest). 

The reason they are coming.

Aside from the love interest, I’ll come back to that later. Intuition says they will bring your life pure happiness, but it will be a wild ride. 

Queen of cups, the tower reversed, the chariot, and judgment.

Oh wow, wow, wow. Hey guys, so you are in your spiritual awakening right now? Congratulations on that! That's a huge accomplishment, so I'm proud of you. Moving on, so they are coming into your life because you ended a painful cycle in your life that has caused you to have a glow up both mentally and physically. Congratulations on the weight loss or weight gain too!! You should be proud of yourself and show more compassion to yourself with the queen of cups. Tarot says you need to realize how hard you worked to get where you are and understand that you will gain or lose weight more, but you cannot do that without accepting the progress you made. Stop looking at the big picture and focus on the smaller details. Our bodies change all the time, just as a plant grows into something beautiful, but it takes time. Everything needs patience, unless it’s a gut feeling and you have to make a spontaneous decision. They are coming into your life because you ended a cycle in your life. You found something you wanted, and you decided to make an inevitable change in your life. This change has made you stressed out, but it has also made your body healthier. I need you to stop worrying about the bigger picture and focus on the smaller details. Intuition says, ‘’love. I am proud of you. The hardship you went through to get where you are is amazing. Have more compassion and self-love for yourself. This person cannot appear and be your lover in the near future without this. Love is necessary within before it’s given outward. ’’ They are coming to make you feel warm and loved. They want to be your rock and your knight. They want to see you happy and lively. They want you to stop being so rigid and focused on your hobbies. They want you to travel with them and fall for them, just as they will fall for you. Some of you are hopeless romantics, and so are they. I keep hearing a ‘’match made in heaven.’’ Congratulations on a healthy relationship. 

End results of it.

The reversed eight of swords came flying so fast, fell on my floor, and the first word to appear was, ‘’that’s too much love.’’ This person is going to be so loving, oh my god. So damn cute. I see a bunch of flowers on your table with love letters written on each of them, always saying how much they adore you, but all with details. This person loves you so much, and the amount of time they take to show you both with words and action is so mesmerizing. 

Eight of swords reversed, five of pentacles, and the empress. 

Awh, okay. So basically, a lot of you struggled to believe in the idea of love after encountering a lot of shitty people who shamed you for your weight. This caused you to hate yourself further, and you stopped caring about your emotions and yourself. The idea of loving yourself made you feel grossed out, and whenever you saw confident people with your body weight, you judged them internally, never outwardly, because you found it wrong. Because you have learned to heal yourself, you were able to find freedom within. You were able to heal yourself from those thoughts as they haven’t appeared since, but they are resurfacing in your obsession to become skinnier or gain more weight. But the person coming into your life is here to teach you how to harness your emotions into something beautiful. ‘’I want you to blossom into the beautiful flower that you are.’’ That is what I heard from them, which explains the imagery. They want you to release your limiting beliefs about yourself and help you understand that you control your life, not these thoughts. They will teach you how to become more confident—not falsely confident, but genuinely confident. You're going to feel so good, and I'm so happy for you. In a way, they will teach you how to take care of yourself without being so harsh on yourself. And make you feel happy. With them, you will have a happy, healthy relationship with them, amazing communication, and you both will be so loyal to one another.

Masterlist.

Pile III

Who are they?

There are multiple people coming into your life. As I was shuffling, so many cards came out, and one card flipped, indicating it was your card. Intuition tells me, ‘’a lot of people are coming, but you will be able to spot one person to come. It will be magical.’’ Someone is coming into your life, but you have a lot of people stopping you from allowing them to come, hence ‘’multiple people coming in.’’ This person will teach you a lot of things, but truly bring out your inner child and help them heal. Lots of tea parties, and I had an urge to listen to Alice’s theme song. 

Two of pentacles reversed, ace of cups reversed, and the lovers.

A lot of you repress your emotions and wonder why the things you want won’t come into your life. I was telling someone today, ‘’if you do not heal with your repressed or bottled up emotions, then you cannot get what you want. Your thoughts create your reality; the things you say to yourself are what come towards you.’’ This is what you needed to hear. You honestly struggle to believe in yourself and lack confidence and self-love. A lot of people have mentioned that to you, but you ignore them. The person coming into your life will say the same thing. I am hearing they can be a teacher? Something with a nurturing vibe or mother nature; someone very calm, perhaps a bit too calm and very sweet. I feel drowsy, but in a relaxed way; that’s how you will feel with them. They are going to be honest with you and could never lie to you unless it’s to protect you. Intuition says they will teach you a lot about the world since you’re always in your room or feel caged in. a lot of overbearing and/or overprotecting parents/guardians. And they will teach you how to balance your intuition and feelings because you mistake your intuition for your anger or sadness. 

The reason they are coming.

I feel suicidal energy with all of you. And I feel so empty inside. At first, I thought it was with me until I saw your cards. 

Reversed ace of cups, reversed ten of cups, and reversed four of cups. 

Awh, love. You are so worthy and loved; maybe you don't see it with others, but here with me, you are. I love you lots, and I am very proud of you that you are moving forward in life despite the struggles you are facing. Understanding your emotions is hard, isn’t it? Everything is a mess with you. You think of yourself one way, then it changes a lot, and you feel like you are lying to other people, but guess what? You are not. Change is about to happen, and you are figuring out who you are, and that’s okay. It’s okay to not know what you want in your life, that’s what it means to be alive. I hear that some of you are part of the furry community and do not feel loved or accepted, but you are accepted here, and the person coming in will feel the same. So they are coming into your life to show you that you are loved and accepted. With the four of cups reversed, tarot tells me you are struggling to find motivation in your life and find new opportunities. Remember, a flower cannot grow without sunlight, water, or patience. So you cannot find opportunities without patience, self-love, and acceptance of yourself. The person wants to show you that and give you what you need. And I keep hearing discord. Since a lot of you have broken families, the person will be coming online, but mainly on Discord. 

End results of it.

Happiness, so much happiness. Your future self is happy and fulfilled. They are comfortable with who they are and express themselves better because their family also accepts them. But this was done with a lot of patience and understanding. Communicating and understanding one another, teaching each other about their cultures, traditions, etc. 

Three of pentacles.

This confirms it for you. The three of pentacles are about positive endings, and you are on the right track. The opportunities you have been craving will come as you speak to this person. They will teach you so many things without expecting anything in return. They remind me of the dad or mom friend, always showering their friends with so much love and yet not caring for themselves. So teach them how to let go of being so selfless and teach them how to take care of themselves. After all, this isn’t a one sided friendship; things should become equal. I know that you guys will get a lot of rewards after this person meets you. Like the things you wanted before? You already have them. You will feel so relaxed and happy; a lot of you haven’t smiled, and if you have, it was fabricated. It will be genuine with them. They make your life better, and your family will know about them and think about allowing you guys to meet up. I hear that you have mentioned it or that both of you are comfortable with it. Either way, both of you would be down for it. 

Masterlist.

[macgyvermedical]

I encountered a drug called "Dextromethorphan" when looking up things that react with grapefruits for a fic. I found out it's been banned in Sweden since the 90s, so I couldn't use it for this specific story, but if you've got any interesting history I'd be happy so know!

Are you ready for this? Like. Ask yourself. Are you really ready for this?

In 1954, a researcher with the US Public Health Service received $282,215 (1954 dollars) from the US Navy, ostensibly to find a non-addictive alternative to an opiate drug called codeine (used for pain and and as a cough suppressant).

So the researcher found a bunch of people who had substance abuse disorder and tested 800 substances on them, trying to find ones that couldn't cause physical or psychological dependence, even on people who were prone to that sort of thing.

(Now, you might be asking if this experiment was ethical. The USPHS was concurrently doing the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study, so while I couldn't find any concrete answer, imma guess no.)

Out of these 800 tested substances, we use 3 today: propoxyphene (used as a painkiller), diphenoxylate (used as a diarrhea medication), and dextromethophan (a cough suppressant (and, as of 2022, part of a fast-acting antidepressant)).

Importantly, it was later noted that all of these are addictive substances and today most of them require a prescription. Though depending on where you are in the world, you might just have to be over 21 and show an ID.

You might think this sounds like a pretty standard story.

You would be wrong.

Because while the US Navy was the one handing the money to the USPHS, the US Navy had come by it via the Central Intelligence Agency.

Yes. The good ol' CIA.

So what stake did the CIA have in a non-addictive codeine replacement? Nothing, it turns out. That's just what they'd told the US Navy. What they really wanted was an incapacitant- a drug that causes incapacitation like unconsciousness or continuous hallucinations- without killing. Incapacitants are also useful for discrediting prominent political figures by making them look like they have severe mental health concerns, which was another reason the CIA wanted them.

This was part of a project called MKPILOT.

And wouldn't you like to know which of the three listed above they liked the most? Dextromethorphan. Because at high doses it causes severe- and incapacitating- hallucinations (this is also why it is banned in Sweden).

The problem with it is that it requires really, really high doses (about 3 grams, which would have to be packaged in some other substrate)- this would make it difficult to slip into a drink or food.

(It should be noted that around the same time, the US Army was doing research into a much more usable incapacitant called 3-Quinuclidinyl Benzilate which required as little as 150mg of the substance to be useful- it was featured in a MacGyver episode and I did a nice little review of it here. While I have no sources that say the CIA was directly involved in funding this, based on their extensive funding of similar DoD projects at the time, they probably did.)

But you wanted to know about how grapefruit interacts with dextromethorphan:

A substance in grapefruit (along with seville oranges, limes, pomelos, and possibly pomegranates) blocks the pathway by which many drugs are metabolized in the liver. This causes the levels of drug in the body to be much higher than expected. In the case of dextromethorphan in particular, it can mean that the drug stays in the body a lot longer- up to 24 hours instead of the usual 3-4 hours. It can also make side effects and toxic effects significantly worse, leading to hallucinations and sedation, even at low doses normally used for coughing.

[kaidatheghostdragon]

Halfas and Fear Gas

Ive seen a lot of "fear gas makes danny high." Its hilarious and i love it. Other variations i recall seeing are: fear is not as potent, complete immunity, 'food supplement' fear gas, and the boring 'effects him like normal.'

BUT.

I haven't really seen anyone treat effect effect on the brain and core as separate processes. In other words, humans get affected one way, ghosts get affected another way, and halfas get blasted by both.

We already know how normal humans are affected, so we dont really need to go over that. Ghosts, however, are free reign. (Unless there's a canon incident where a ghost like boston brand or gentleman ghost are exposed to a fear gas attack? Any DC canon nerds out there that know of something like that?)

The options I've seen or thought up so far:

Complete immunity - ectoplasm just doesn't react to physical matter in a way that impacts the ghost. Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, has no effect whatsoever.

Effects ghosts like humans. Straight forward, it's a bit weird if you think about it, but eh.

Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, is like ghost weed, or perhaps something stronger. Might be hallucinogenic, but in a bad trip sort of way rather than a worst fear sort of way

Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, is accidentally a super effective health suppliment for ghosts

If emotions are food to ghosts, fear gassed humans can span the range between 'delectable snack sprinkled with extra sugar' to 'weird chemical food that isnt healthy but will still sustain you' to 'supercharged health snack completely saturated by nutrients'

Fear gas, either the chemical itself or the people affected by it, has a distinct smell. It could be good, bad, or neutral, possibly related to how it affects the ghost. (Or deceptive, for humor and/or angst.)

Fear gas is outright toxic to ghosts. Perhaps the chemical itself is similar to, but just left of, ectoplasm. Like many artificial chemicals that can substitute various nutrients / usurp metabolic pathways in humans, it could have any number of mild to debilitating, short to long term effects on ghosts.

(If anyone has another idea, feel free to add)

Now we get to halfas, who have both a human brain and a ghost core. Dany has a human body and brain that are affected normally by the fear gas: hallucinations, panic attack, adrenaline response, etc etc. Someone better at biology can describe the actual biochemical processes going on.

But the ghost core? Added on top of All That? Can be excessively angsty, somewhat mitigating, or outright hilarious.

Going through the list of options:

Complete immunity.

This sounds boring, but its actually my favorite. Why? Because danny is getting conflicting signals. His brain is compromised and in full panic, but his core is telling him that he's completely safe. As a hybrid, Danny could be capable of having critical thought with both organs. If he's clever enough to recognize the seperation between the two, he can exploit it as a sort of anchor (I'm imagining it somewhat like how a multitasker can do different things with different senses, like listening to an audio book while solving a jigsaw puzzle - the book is auditory, the puzzle is visual and tactile, neither interfere with the other.)

Danny, in this scenario, is definitely in an altered state of consciousness, seeing things that aren't there and right on the cusp of panicking or defending himself. But if he can recognize that his core is unaffected, he can focus on the sensory input that his core is processing, and the whole situation might be somewhat equivalent to becoming lucid in the middle of a nightmare - its terrifying, but just the recognition that it isn't real takes the edge off. To him, it's now like being stuck in a VR horror game and being unable to take the headset off, flinching at all the jumpscares but recognizing that his body isn't actually being attacked or injured.

Affects ghost like humans

Danny could either be affected exactly the same as anyone else or effectively double-dosed as both brain and core fight entirely different hallucinations. Maybe if danny is lucky, he'll just black out from the sensory overload.

Ghost weed

This could make what was initially designed to be a really bad trip into something catastrophic... or mellow it out. Idk. I've never done recreational drugs. Both the brain and core are cut off from reality. The brain is terrified, and the core is tripping out. If his core naturally reacts to his emotional state, it's gonna amplify the effects, which is Really Bad. If the core is compromised to a point where it can't really process anything, then Danny is still trapped in a nightmare state, just more loopy and otherwise no worse than any human.

Health supplement and/or literal food

This one is confusing. Brain is terrified, core is satiated? Energized? A boost to his powers is gonna make him much more difficult to contain and treat. When he comes out of it, there's real potential for angst from danny worrying that the conflicting emotions of absolute terror and hunger satiation are a sign that he's turning evil. Especially if his core was instinctually feeding off of the fear of nearby civilians who were also gassed during the trip. That undercurrent of predatory satisfaction is gonna leave him awake at night for a few weeks.

On the plus side, feeding his ghost core might help it clear out the toxin faster, so the trip is much shorter. Maybe he even pulls out of it before he accidentally causes any damage with his powers.

Smelly

Pretty straightforward. If it smells bad, Danny is automatically gonna hold his breath, limiting his exposure. If it smells good, he might take a good few wiffs before realizing what's up and holding his breath, or just keeps dosing himself more and more as that effects, good or bad to the core and definitely bad to the brain, settle in.

Toxic

Has the potential to be much more long-term and insidious. You can run the full gamut here. Does he need to be restrained and taken to the far frozen for days or even weeks of treatment? Does the ectoplasm incorporate the drug, and Danny has to suffer weeks or months of microdosing until it's used up, turning him into a paranoid schizophrenic during that time? Is it blood blossoms 2.0? Does it have no mental effects but screws with his powers? Does it influence his emotional self-control? Does he grow the ghost equivalent of a tumor that encapsulates the toxin and has to be surgically removed? Does he need supplemental ecto to remain healthy, temporarily, or permanently? Does it affect his ectosignature or peak power level? Injure his core? Lower his healing factor?

All of this is on top of the initial fear gas trip, which he may have never even fully pulled out of. The angst possibilities are endless.

Then, there are liminals who have the potential to be affected like halfas or in an entirely different way. Does your headcanon give them proto-cores or baby ghost cores, or are they just severely ectoconaminated? How would that change their symptoms?

Anyways, just some ideas for people to use. My favorite idea so far, that I'd love to see someone use, is that Danny has learned to use his separate brain and core as insurance against mind control and mind-altering drugs. The freakshow incident was a sort of catalyst that helped him recognize the differences between his brain and core, and he taught himself how to lean into one or the other for various advantages in different situations. (Sort of like how a person can lean on either logic or intuition to make different types of choices.)

There's a lot of interesting potential here. Essentially, Danny could teach himself to be immune to mind-control and greatly resistant to drugs, as he can evaluate his surroundings with both organs and identify differences. Mind control wouldn't work unless it targeted BOTH brain and core, as he could shift to the uncontrolled one to break away. Any drug designed to knock out or roofie a human is countered by the fact that danny's core still remains conscious of his surroundings, and creative use of ghost powers counters the accompanying paralysis.

If ghosts dont sleep, one could argue that Danny's core is in a meditative state when his brain rests, which is why his ghost sense can wake him up from a dead sleep - he's never fully unconscious. Workoholic danny could find a way to get homework or paperwork done, or solve a problem, or design a piece of tech, or even play a videogame, while 'sleeping,' even using ectokinesis to move stuff while his body is sleep-paralyzed. Sleep-deprived danny is still functional because his core isn't affected by his brain's lapses in consciousness from micro-naps. (He is a lot moodier, though. His core is more emotion-focused while his brain is more logic-focused, on top of the normal mood-swings from sleep deprivation.)

This version of danny, after being fear-gassed, immediately recognizes that his brain and core are suddenly experiencing two different realities. He would be able to talk himself down from a panic attack and slowly find his way to safety. He probably wouldn't trust himself to hold back if he got in a scuffle, but he would be coherent enough to vaguely understand his surroundings to avoid danger.

And lastly, something I dont recall seeing in any fics - if the bats encountered fear-gassed Danny, and he's aware enough to refuse an antidote, I dont think the bats would push it. Yeah, forcing more medical trauma on our favorite blorbo is all good and fun, but he clearly has an altered metabolism that was affected differently by the fear gas than normal, so there's a heightened risk that the antidote would also have an altered affect, for the reward of removing the effects of fear-toxin (which is no longer guaranteed), which danny is already showing he's capable of working through.

On top of that, medical professionals are not allowed to force treatment if the patient refuses them and can walk it off. (If they are unconscious or can't get up on their own, they can intervene.) Medical conditions and allergies are a thing too, and its the priority of the patient to inform the medical worker as soon as possible to prevent complications. Jazz may have coached Danny about "in a medical emergency, declare closet-meta status with highly modified metabolism and unknown reactions to most drugs."

I see the conversation going something like:

"If you can hear me, im going to administer an antidote."

"Dont. Give it to someone who actually needs it."

And then the bat treats everyone else before approaching danny again to ask how they can help. They would be trained to take all of this into account:

Human male, visibly uninjured (unless the fic writer has different ideas) experiencing non-standard reaction to fear toxin. Probable indication of meta or enhanced status.

Victim is cognizent, replied to verbal communication, denied treatment. Appears to be managing the effects of the fear toxin. Not currently a danger to themselves or others.

Nonstandard reaction to fear-toxin implies potential non-standard reaction to antidote. Victim may be aware of medical condition that could complicate treatment, and is reasonably stable at the moment. Further questioning needed.

There are other victims in the area that are less cognizent, they become higher priority. Approach victim again when all other victims are cleared out, (in case of uncontrolled meta powers, to avoid further casualties), ask more questions and ascertain situation.

Once questioned further, danny drops the memorized line about altered metabolism and unknown effects, and giving Danny the antidote basically immediately becomes a non-viable option. They will probably argue Danny into being taken to Leslie's clinic, as he'll refuse a hospital (probably quite hysterically, given the fear toxin), which i'd imagine is the bat's normal protocol for closet-metas.

At least, that's how I imagine the situation panning out. Danny noping out before the bats return to him or during mid-interrogation is also extremely likely, which is gonna put the bats in panic mode for the next several hours. (Going to *any* secondary location with the bats is a non-option to Danny, for many potential reasons.) Danny is definitely going on a watch list (as in, possible meta with unknown powers, keep an eye out in case he gets caught up in another rogue scheme, need more information).