tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) [-hiâ²drÅkÉnabâ²inol] the active principle, occurring as two psychotomimetic isomers, in the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, used in the preparation of marijuana, hashish, bhang, and ganja. THC increases pulse rate and has variable effects on blood pressure.
Over the last 3.7 billion years or so, living organisms on the Earth have diversified and adapted to almost every environment imaginable. The diversity of life is truly amazing, but all living organisms do share certain similarities. All living organisms can replicate, and the replicator molecule is DNA. As well, all living organisms contain some means of converting the information stored in DNA into products used to build cellular machinery from fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Three Domains of Life
RNA molecules once filled all of the roles of protein and nucleic acid. macromolecules, and acted in both an information storage capacity and as the. source of the enzymatic activity required for metabolic reactions. In general, RNA is less suited to acting as genetic material than DNA, and is less. suited to forming efficient catalysts than proteins. Assuming that the RNA world. once existed, nearly all of its functions have been taken over by other biological. molecules. However, some vestiges of the RNA world may still exist.