Eli5: How and why is uranium bad / deadly for the human body?
In: 40
So everything is made up of atoms….you, me, water, air, dirt, wood, metal, all matter.
These atoms pair up to form things called molecules. Like H20, O2, table salt.
Think of these molecules like 3D puzzle pieces. They interact with their surrounds based on the way that they’re shaped.
In the human body, many things happen based on how different molecules interact with each other.
The thing that unzips DNA so it can replicate, the thing that reads RNA to make proteins, the proteins that allow us to perceive light, the proteins that help us break down food, the proteins that carry oxygen in our blood, the protein channels that allow our nerves to fire.
Now, if you’ve ever gotten frustrated with a puzzle, sometimes you call it quits and just stick two pieces together. They may be slightly off, but they fit well enough that it makes it so you can’t put the *right* piece there.
Heavy metals are also molecules, and like puzzle pieces they have bits hanging off them that can connect where we don’t want them. Imagine having one puzzle with all the correct pieces, and then someone dumping a handful of EXTRA pieces in.
What if a heavy metal puzzle piece connects to the puzzle piece that helps sperm cells form? Well, you’ve not got malformed sperm cells. What it a heavy metal puzzle piece sticks its bits in the neuron puzzle pieces that help your brain cells communicate?
If you just have one or two extra pieces thrown into your original puzzle, it’s not a huge deal. But what if 100 extra pieces are thrown in? 500? Pretty soon you’ve got too many puzzle pieces for the puzzle to function the way it was supposed to.
And then the puzzle falls apart–goes to pieces, really–and dies. Its all very sad.
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