Prions convert cellular prion protein into pathogenic prions through a process wherein cellular prion protein folds into a “lower energy state,” aka, a prion, through direct contact with said prion.
Before I was diagnosed with bipolar, I would have manic episodes which could only be described as pure ecstasy. I was incredibly spiritual, thought numbers had meaning, that songs on the radio were for me, planning all the things I’d do, then swearing I’d changed my life and would never go back to my old ways (of being depressed).
It always felt like a personal failure when I couldn’t maintain my spiritual metamorphosis. I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have it in me to be this beacon of light at all times. I’d kick myself for becoming depressed, feeling guilty about becoming irritable, wanting to be alone all the time, and the worst parts of it like fantasising about ending my own life.
It was honestly like whiplash. The constant cycling compounded my depression, because every manic episode was proof that I could be a divine being- but maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough. Maybe it was all on me.
When I got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was really scared, and in denial. But the diagnosis has actually helped me be kinder to myself when I’m feeling depressed. I now know it’s not my fault, it’s not a personal or spiritual failure, I just have a neurodivergent brain which plays by its own rules.
I don’t like when mental health professionals say, “We treat the symptoms, we don’t talk about diagnosis.” My diagnosis is important to me, because I am bipolar: That’s what my brain is. And it’s helped me be gentler on myself.
Macrophages are the Kirbies of the immune system because they engulf pathogens and present the pathogen’s antigens on their surface, helping to prime the immune system to sniff out pathogens and infected cells.
But these Kirbies of our immune system also cast “macrophage extracellular traps.” These traps are web-like in their conformation and are made of DNA, histones, and anti-microbial proteins. The purpose of these traps are to capture and kill pathogens.
Our macrophages aren’t just Kirbies, they’re like Mystery Inc!
(Also pls forgive my shitty drawings of bacteria and the trap)
Prions are misfolded, pathogenic, and transmissible conformations of cellular prion protein. They are characterised by increased beta-sheet folding (marked by the blue in the diagram). The increased beta-sheet folding makes them far harder to destroy.
Conversely, the alpha-helices, which are more prevalent in cellular prion protein (and much easier to destroy), are marked by pink in the diagram.
Prions interact with cellular prion protein, causing cellular prion protein to misfold in an exponential cascade. This makes them transmissible.
The resultant prion aggregates cause cell damage in the brain, giving rise to vacuoles, “holes,” which is why prion diseases are called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
They’re a bad influence on other proteins!
If so, which shades should I opt for?
Product List:
YSL clash mascara (shade black)
Chroma Cover Matte (shade C2)
Mrs Glam-Mrs Kisses (shade poison plum)
EDIT: I have bipolar disorder and didn’t learn to do makeup during my teenage years because I was so unwell. If you have any makeup tips, please explain them fully :)
Macrophages really are like Kirby. They just straight up inhale pathogens and then gain the power to present fragments, of the pathogen, on their surface to help prime the immune system. Good work, Kirbies of the immune system!
This is me with my new hair (blonde, September 2026). Dark hair is June 2026. Could it be more blonde? Yup, but I’m a very naturally dark brunette and this is the best I could get. Does the blonde make me look more youthful? Also, I ditched the false lashes which people said aged me
How are we feeling about the blonde?
I bought this lipstick online, but I think it’s actually prettier when the excess is dabbed off. It’s a purple-leaning lipstick and leaves a lovely, rosy stain (well I think it’s lovely, but I’m posting here for opinions). I posted the stain and the actual lipstick on
YSL clash mascara (black) and Mrs Glam-Mrs Kisses in shade poison plum
They’re going to carve holes in you with perforin and then dose you with granzymes, resulting in the ultimate, “See I made you slap yourself… OUT OF EXISTENCE.”
And, keep in mind, the water is deionised.
Let’s not forget the infamous story of the chemistry student who mistook an explosive powder for ascorbic acid, dipped his chewing gum in it, then had his face blown open. Can anyone even verify the truth of this story?
The only part of that practical exam, which saved my stupid ass, were the questions about aseptic technique. I can write about aseptic technique, but I fear I’m too clumsy to accurately apply it
Just remember whether it’s Gram positive or Gram negative and remember morphology. And also just remember that mycobacterium tuberculosis is acid-fast. At least you’ll get a couple of marks for that
Holding the fact that electrons exhibit both particle and wave properties, in suspension, is one thing. Being told by a lecturer, “We just describe electrons as clouds of negative charge,” is another. What do you want me to do!? I’m already over sigma and pi bonds 😭
In May, my mental health started to deteriorate. In June, I was hearing voices and struggling to cope. By the end of June, I was struggling with thoughts of ending my own life. A CMHT social worker came out to my house and we had a good chat. He followed up with phone calls since my CPN was on annual leave. I got an emergency appointment with my consultant psychiatrist’s resident. The resident was very compassionate and listened to me cry my heart out about the things I was struggling with. She went and checked some things over with my consultant, who at the end of the appointment, popped in to tell me they were increasing 2 of my medications, but, most importantly, he told me, “We’ll get you through this.”
In early August, my grandmother was admitted to hospital with a dislocated hip. Turns out, it wasn’t dislocated. She had a broken femur, a broken spine, 2 blood clots in her lungs, and pancreatic cancer which spread to her lungs, liver, and bones (hence the fractures). It was such a shock. I had to sit a major exam whilst my grandmother was dying and whilst I was dealing with side-effects from the new medication dosages. Some of those side-effects included issues with word recall.
I failed the exam. I explained to a lecturer that I’d sat the exam under very challenging circumstances and he told me to submit an academic appeal, so that when I resit the exam again, it won’t be capped at 40%. I had to gather evidence. I phoned my GP who wrote me a letter. I was hesitant, but I asked my CPN to write a letter. And she didn’t just write a basic letter, she wrote a full page describing my struggles and her professional opinions on how everything I’d gone through had affected my academic performance.
So, shoutout to my CPN, my psychiatrist, my psychiatrist’s resident, and my GP. You guys are amazing and deserve all the credit
All those years of suffering academically, chugging caffeine to stay up all night studying, either to get your ego bruised by a child prodigy or “outsmarted” by someone who has “done their research.”
Physicists have to deal with flat earth people. And the “I use quantum entanglement to manifest” people.
Ecologists have to plead with people to get their cats neutered and explain to climate change deniers the devastating effects of climate change on ecosystems.
Healthcare-aligned scientists have to deal with anti-vaxxers who have 0 clue that there’s even different types of vaccines.
Chemists have to deal with the people who use the word “chemicals” to describe something they don’t like the vibe of… when everything is a chemical.
Microbiologists have to constantly explain why drinking unpasteurised milk is dangerous.
It’s rough-going 😭
We got a call from the nursing home to say that my grandmother had dislocated her hip. That was terrible enough. Then they took her for a CT scan. She had actually fractured her femur, not dislocated her hip. The CT scan found “disseminated cancer.” They were able to tell us that it started off as pancreatic cancer and it was now in her bones, liver, and lungs. It was such a shock.
It seems like everything just went from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. She was admitted to hospital in early August and passed on the 12th of August.
Years ago, my grandmother was admitted to hospital (for suspected sepsis). They did a PET scan and said they thought she had pancreatic cancer, then dismissed it as “probably infection.” Now I’m sat wondering if they actually caught her pancreatic cancer in the early stages, but dismissed it because of her age and the fact that she had Alzheimer’s disease.
I’m left in shock. I think we all are as a family. Please, if there’s ever a query about an “infection of the pancreas,” demand further testing. I just can’t believe all of this happened. It doesn’t feel real
I’ve been worshipping God in different ways. When I’m alone, I like to walk around the house singing hymns. I lie in bed and say my prayers and thank God for everything. I also like to say the rosary often.
Well, I prayed to God that I would pass this major exam. Unfortunately, I got word yesterday that I had failed it. And I’m not one bit upset about it.
I’m taking this as a blessing in disguise, and a new opportunity to rethink the direction that my life was headed in. It’s time to contemplate, reflect, and be charitable. I’ve got an application to join a youth ministry, which I’m going to fill in. I hope to get myself involved in charities. I’m going to start Pilates.
Thanks be to God. He truly knows best.
I ended up in hospital, back in May 2023, because of a suicide attempt. I had attempted suicide because of severe paranoia and the fact that I heard a demon’s voice telling me, “I’m going to kill people and make it look like you did it.”
I wasn’t sleeping, and I think that was a major contributor, but my mood was high at the time. I was sure to tell them I felt like my emotional state was high, which they noted in my records.
However, as I continued reading, they had written, “Not showing signs of psychosis.”
How the hell do you end up with a patient hearing voices, acting on it so that people don’t die, then say the person isn’t showing signs of psychosis?
Oof that hurt my feelings. It’s as if they didn’t listen to me at all.
I stopped reading my notes after that. I only read them because I had to get them for disability allowances. I shouldn’t have read them at all. So much more bs they’ve listed like “normal affect” when I was CRYING. SMH 🤦🏻♀️
To all the young girls reading this, I hope I at least took the burden off you even if just for a moment.
I think I was far too nice, but I was in shock. I feel like I’ll drag the pedos through hell next time I encounter one.
Some women get a partial shedding of the endometrium during ovulation, because of a drop in oestrogen.
It’s well known that some women get light spotting during ovulation- but mine’s is different.
I get actual pieces of the endometrium and blood (bright red) passing out for a couple of days around ovulation.
It looks like stringy, dark purple goop and bright red blood. I first thought it was bacterial vaginosis, but I got antibiotics for that and it didn’t stop. Then I thought it was bleeding from my back passage, but tracking my cycles with a period tracker made me realise it’s normal for me during ovulation.
Does anyone else have this?