Chemical Weapons III. How Nerve agents work
Written by Translator on July 19, 2008 – 7:35 pm -Crossposted at Dailykos.com
I had a change of plans. It is easy to understand that materials like chlorine or phosgene, or even mustard agents work because they chemically attack cells, either destroying proteins and lipids, of by corrupting DNA.
Nerve agents work very differently, so this aside may shed some light on how these horrible materials work. First, some basic physiology. There are numerous chemical messengers in the body and brain, including dopamine (why people get addicted, but that is another post), norepinephrine, GABA, serotonin, and many others. This has to with one called acetylcholine.
Tags: Acetylcholine, Acetylcholinesterase, Atropine, Chemical warfare, nerve agent, Pralidoxime, Synapse, Teaching
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