A Diet to Die For: An Exploration of Oxidative Phosphorylation

By Terry Platt, Department of Biology, University of Rochester

Eric Ribbens, Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University

Part I

$$Cheryl$!$ Come here!$$ Charles called to his twin sister excitedly.

$$What$?$ asked Cheryl.

$$You know how my JV wrestling coach wants me to get down to the $145-$pound weight category? Well,

it$$s here!$$

$$What$$s here?$$

$$The solution! DNP$!$

Cheryl picked up the invoice. $$Seventy$-$one bucks for $11$ tablets? What is musle$-$man.com anyhow?$$

Charles nodded. $$It$$s not cheap, but it$$s been scientifically proven to work. Here are the instructions.

Take one pill the first day, two tablets each of the next four days...$$

$$So this really works? What does it do$?$

$$I don$$t know, and I don$$t care. But it should help me get rid of these eight pounds in only a week. It$$s

fast, and it$$s proven to work.$$

Cheryl was intrigued. $$Maybe this could help me trim back too. I could sure use it in a few crucial

places... Hey, does your coach know about this? Maybe it could help the whole team!$$

$$Heck$,$ no$!$ Charles exclaimed, $$It$$s my secret for now; besides, he wouldn$$t care $$ he just wants us to

win, and this is my first college match!$$

Two days later, Cheryl met her brother crossing campus after dinner and learned that he had taken an

extra two pills in the afternoon, since he thought he wasn$$t losing weight fast enough to make his cutoff

next weekend.

$$You know, you don$$t look so good $$ you seem kind of flushed, and you$$re breathing pretty fast $$ have

you been running?$$

$$Actually$,$ Charles confided, $$I haven$$t$,$ and I$$m a little scared because my body feels like its racing, even

though I$$m not...$$

$$I feel kind of nauseous, too, and weak in the knees,$$ continued Charles, $$and I$$m sweating like a horse

$$ look how damp my shirt is$.$

$$We better get you to Student Health,$$ urged Cheryl. $$The sooner the better.$$

$$Well$,$ okay, but don$$t tell my coach about this, or he might not let me compete on Saturday!$$