Vampires

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Vampires
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Legendary Habits of Vampires

• Come out only at night.
• Drink peoples blood by biting their neck
• with their large fang teeth.
• 3. Afraid of sunshine.

Where did these legends come from?
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• They came from a terrible genetic disease called
• PORPHYRIA

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• Porphyrins are large molecules, one of which is
  heme, an important part of hemoglobin, which
  carries oxygen in the blood.

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• Heme is made in a number of different steps

Each step depends on an enzyme. If one enzyme is
defective, this process stops.
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If the process stops, there are too
many unfinished porphyrins in the blood.
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• The half-finished porphyrins travel to the skin
  where they can absorb light and cause painful
  skin damage.
• People with porphyria must
• stay out of sunlight

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Compare porphyria symptoms to Vampire habits

• Sensitivity to sunlight
• The skin around the mouth is damaged the canine
  teeth stand out the most looking like fangs.
• Have dark red urine
• due to the porphyrins,
• so people thought they
• drank blood.

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• All this is due to incorrect covalent bonding!