I understand something like Carbon Monoxide which physically takes up space that should have oxygen there but what about lead in my blood kills me? Is it a chemical reaction that steals nutrients? Does it puncture blood cells?
In: Chemistry
Many functions within the body rely on little worker molecules called enzymes that fit to specific other molecules like a lock and key – the enzyme being the lock.
The lock molecule holds the key molecule while it transforms it according to what the body needs to do with it.
There are 2 ways to stop the lock molecule working properly. One is to trick it with a similar key molecule (like carbon monoxide looks like oxygen). It doesn’t stop the lock molecule from working but depending on how many fake keys there are it can be a problem.
The other way is to deform the lock so the key doesn’t work. That’s what lead and mercury do. They bind to the lock (usually somewhere away from the actual keyhole) and distort it so the keyhole is all wonky, and the key won’t fit.
This is generally irreversible and the more lead or mercury poisoning the more it builds up with more locks being distorted.
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