Three Common Themes

                The basic functions of a cell are taught in general education science classes. Simple information on the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, etc. are identified and their uncomplicated roles show what cell is known to do in an elementary sort of way. The cell’s conversion of energy and specific roles in the body is a common theme throughout all the chapters. ADP and ATP are vital within an organism’s body in order to work and do work.

                Amino acids are building blocks that repeatedly come up in science classes and can connect with majority of the topics discussed in the duration of this course. Proteins as enzymes can catalyze reactions and are critical to a cell’s function. Amino acids are also what are synthesized via DNA translation. These building blocks are far from simple and are involved in majority of life processes.

                Chemical structure is important to understand, because it repeats itself throughout the course. The way a polypeptide chain connects depends on the structure of the different compounds and carbon placement. Sometimes a simple reconversion of the molecule will completely change the function of it.

A Simple Explanation of Glucose Breakdown

            Everybody loves sugar, but the best part is that our body actually needs it for energy! Glucose is a monosaccharide, otherwise known as a sugar. The formula for glucose is C₆H₁₂O₆. It contains high energy carbon bonds. When a cell needs energy it breaks down the glucose via glycolysis and cellular respiration and then energy in the carbon bonds eventually gets transferred the to ADP allowing it to form ATP.

In glycolysis energy is transferred from bonds in the glucose molecule to phosphate bonds in ATP and GTP, and hydrogen bonds in NADH and FADH. Your body then uses the ATP produced to power cellular processes. It’s all a matter of energy transfer.

More Past Knowledge Connections

                The understanding of chemical structure and function is adamant into the study of biochemistry. Labeling carbons to identify where covalent bonds are going to attach, or where carbon chains are going to get cleaved would not be easy if one did not take organic chemistry prior to biochemistry. In nutrition classes one is taught about the way the body responds carbohydrates, fats and sugars and which is bad/good to consume in large quantities. Biochemistry takes this much further and shows the chemical dynamics of each. The step by step reactions and what results in usable energy for the body is examined and thoroughly explained in the glycolysis chapter. Thermodynamics and the equation of the difference in enthalpy and entropy are exhibited and that had been connected to the past knowledge of organic chemistry.

                It is interesting to have genetics at the same time as this class, because DNA replication and the processes of transcription/translation were taught simultaneously. Genetics looked further into the possible mutations that can occur on nucleotides, and biochemistry looks more into the hydrogen bonds between the anti-parallel double helix and the octamers.

Interesting Website

http://www.wiley.com/college/boyer/0470003790/animations/animations.htm

A website I discovered online is an interactive website created by a company who has also published a biochemistry textbook. The John Wiley and Sons Publishers Company placed their second edition of their Boyer textbook online, entitled “Concepts of Biochemistry”. This website has easy access to their entire text book among many other educational pages organized for the user's efficiency. The most interesting aspect of this website is their interactive tutorials. It may seem a slight elementary due to the cartoon factor, but the animations are very helpful in understanding different biochemical processes. One section goes into detail about proteins folding, comparing it to everyday analogies for better understanding. It also goes into detail about the six different major types of metabolism. The amount of material and information found within this website is outstanding and I would recommend it to anybody struggling in class or on a specific subject in biochemistry.

Past Knowledge Connections

As mentioned before, biochemistry is a collective science that combines the studies of chemistry, biology, genetics and microbiology. Another field that has been helpful to have as a basis of knowledge for this class is anatomy. The signaling pathways of proteins would not make any sense to a person with the background of knowing the location and functions of organs, tissues, bones, etc.
The molecular composition of chemicals such as glycerol is familiar from a previous organic chemistry class. The stability and polarity of molecules is also connected to chemistry classes. After reviewing lipids and membranes that week, it brought back material from my nutrition class. In nutrition, there was a brief overview of the functions of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Last week went much further to explain how the human body is able to process these substances and the importance of east at a cellular level.
This class has also been helpful for present courses. The processing of drugs is easier to understand with biochemistry and how it affects the body via inhibiting and activating sites. Overall, it's nice to see everything related from past knowledge and to deepen an understanding on life processes.

PDB Protein

Insulin is a tiny protein associated with the well-known disease, Diabetes Mellitus. It moves rapidly through the blood from its origin of the pancreas and is added throughout the blood after meals when the sugar levels are high. Similar to other proteins of its size, cells would find it difficult to fold it into a stable structure. This problem is solved when a longer protein chain is synthesized. The “extra” is clipped off and the two smaller chains are in the mature form. Disulfide bridges assist in continuing to stabilize. Damage to the pancreas, aging, or obesity can lead to insufficient insulin distribution in the body, increasing the levels of glucose in the blood. These increased glucose levels can severely damage other organs within the body. Glucose attaches to other proteins in the body; compromising their function by building up and distorting the cells. The body attempts to flush out the excess sugar in the urine, creating dehydration. The body also tries to deliver energy in the form of other acidic molecules, which creates dangerous pH levels in the blood. The treatment to Diabetes is physically injecting the insulin enzyme into the blood. Pig and cow insulin are both very similar to the human enzyme and are recognized by it for proper function. With modern technology today, the tiny protein is synthesized in a lab by bioengineering. 

The above picture represents the protein structure of human insulin. It is a visual of how stable insulin is due to the cluster of carbon-rich amino acids. The cluster forms the hydrophobic core, with the surface covered in amino acids favorable to water. The three bridges mentioned previously are also displayed.

http://www.pdb.org/pdb/101/motm.do?momID=14

What is biochemistry?

   Biochemistry is the field of study concerning the composition, structure, function and chemical reactions of the substances found within living organisms. It is a combination of organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. This field of study combines different sciences to derive the sources of energy in which living things can work. There is overlap between biochemistry and the other sciences, such as biology, genetics and molecular biology. 

   In comparison to genetics, biochemistry looks further in depth to the chemical basis of heredity rather than the proteins, amino acids and traits studied in genetics. In molecular biology, the essential macromolecules are studied to understand life processes of cellular respiration, excretion and reproduction. Biology appears to be a more generalized study of life. The concepts of evolution, origin, cell structures, mitosis, meiosis, interactions and relationships are some of the few areas considered by biologists. In other words, the material studied in biochemistry stems from previous knowledge learned throughout prior sciences courses and combines them for a new understanding of metabolic pathways of life.