Thursday, May 3, 2012

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.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you about these topics repeating many times in our science courses. ATP and ADP do have an important role in the human body. The way I think of amino acids is like Legos. Amino acids get together and form peptides or polypeptides. There about 20 different amino acids that form the shape and size of the proteins formed. Common essential amino acids are glutamine, glycine, and phenylalanine which were taught in our biochemistry lecture. These essential amino acids cannot be put together unless by ingestion through food. I was taught in a previous science class that the most common amino acid is tryptophan, it helps to generate a stronger immune system.

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  2. Oh wow, I never thought about the lego analogy. Amino acids are so important in our everyday life and it's interesting to see how many things related to it this semester. If tryptophan helps generate a stronger immune system, does that mean we should eat more turkey to stay healthy?

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