Three main topics that I have found interesteing are proteins, amino acids, and enzymes. They are connected to each other and our existence depends on them. Amino acids are molecules which contain an amine group, a carboxylic acid group, and a side chain that is specific to each amino acid. Amino acids serve as building blocks of proteins. Proteins are derived from amino acids using information encoded in genes. Each protein has its own unique amino acid sequence
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides which are usually folded and facilitate biological functions. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residue. Like other biological macromolecules, proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in every process within cells. Many proteins are enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions and are vital to metabolism.
Enzymes are biological molecules that catalyze chemical reactions. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur. They work by lowering the activation energy for a reaction.
All three of these topics are crucial for the organisms and they have been covered in almost every class. I think everyone should know their main functions whether they major in natural sciences or social sciences.
Friday, May 11, 2012
How would you explain the connection between glucose entering the body and energy created by the body to a friend, using your new biochemistry knowledge?
Glucose can enter the body through the mouth. It does not need to be digested, but it can be absorbed directly. From the stomach, glucose is carried away by the blood stream. Then it is absorbed by the arteries to arterides to capillaries where it leaves the blood stream to go directly into a cell.
Cellular respiration allows organisms to use energy store in the chemical bonds of glucose (C6H1206). The energy in glucose is used to produce ATP. Cells use ATP to supply their energy needs. In respiration, glucose is oxidized and thus releases energy. Oxygen is reduced to form water. The carbon atoms of sugar molecule are released as carbon dioxide. The complete brakedown of glucose to carbon dioxide and water reqires two major steps: 1) glycolysis 2) aerobic respiration.
Glycolysis occur in the cytoplasm and does not require oxygen. There are ten steps in glycolysis and each one is catalyzed by a specific enzyme. In the end of the glycolysis 2 ATP molecules are produced.
The aerobic respiration requires oxygen and yields more energy. Aerobic respiration is divided into two processes, the krebs cycle and the Electron transport chain, which produces ATP through chemiosmotic phosphorylation. The aerobic respiration can produce 34 or more ATP if oxygen is present.
Cellular respiration allows organisms to use energy store in the chemical bonds of glucose (C6H1206). The energy in glucose is used to produce ATP. Cells use ATP to supply their energy needs. In respiration, glucose is oxidized and thus releases energy. Oxygen is reduced to form water. The carbon atoms of sugar molecule are released as carbon dioxide. The complete brakedown of glucose to carbon dioxide and water reqires two major steps: 1) glycolysis 2) aerobic respiration.
Glycolysis occur in the cytoplasm and does not require oxygen. There are ten steps in glycolysis and each one is catalyzed by a specific enzyme. In the end of the glycolysis 2 ATP molecules are produced.
The aerobic respiration requires oxygen and yields more energy. Aerobic respiration is divided into two processes, the krebs cycle and the Electron transport chain, which produces ATP through chemiosmotic phosphorylation. The aerobic respiration can produce 34 or more ATP if oxygen is present.
Ref Work
Campbell,M;Farrell,S. Biochemistry 7th edition.
What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge?
Biochemistry is one of those subjects that really integrates several different other courses. One concept that I really connect with the past courses was the structures of different proteins. While protein structure was discussed in general biology going to the website where I could see all the 3D structures of the different proteins was actually quite interesting. Another concept that can be connected to a past course is from organic chemistry and the R groups of amino acids. I ended up getting a good grade for organic chemistry because I got to understand the structure of amino acids. I didn't have any trouble when I learned the reactions in organic chemistry. Recently we just covered the Krebs cycle and Glycolysis. Last semester I was enrolled in microbiology and I had a hard time understanding and distinguishing these two processes. I feel like I only memorized the steps of of Krebs cycle and Glycolysis and didn't get the way those cycles functioned. This semester we redid Krebs cycle and Glycolysis in biochemistry. I really appreciate your help. The slides that presented the Krebs cycle and Glycolysis helped me a lot because I tend to understand things easier when I look at the images.
These are just a few concepts connected from past coursework with many more to come in the future.
These are just a few concepts connected from past coursework with many more to come in the future.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Find an interesting biochemistry website and put its link in this entry, and describe what is found there.
The Worthington Enzyme manual contains technical information on enzymes including molecular weight, composition, activators, specifity, inhibitors, stability, ionc effects, temperature effects, as well as applications and extensive references. It summarizes in simple terms the basic theories of enzymology. The Worthington Enzyme is also the primary producer of enzymes and biochemicals. They offer products that are useful for a variety of plant biology and plant pathology.
What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge?
A lot of the information that we have covered so far for the biochemistry class has been a review of the things I learned in the past. Biochemistry also has expanded my knowledge by introducing me to new material. The first chapter covered things such as the structural organization of the human body from simple to complex, I can remember about this back in my freshman year. Most of the topics include terms from biology which makes it easier for us to understand the material. Many of the things we've covere so far including hydrogen and covalent bonds, dipole moments, pH, names of amino acids, the structures of amino acids and all the reactions involved in the production of important molecules are also things that I have consistently seen in my general chemistry and organic chemistry classes. Some of this information has been helpful for my understanding of the material in other classes.
I am currently taking organic chemistry 2. Biochemistry has helped me to have a strong understanding of the basic foundation of things such as the breakdown of amino acids. I am sure that the new information that I have acquired up until this point in this semester will help me understand other classes as well.
I am currently taking organic chemistry 2. Biochemistry has helped me to have a strong understanding of the basic foundation of things such as the breakdown of amino acids. I am sure that the new information that I have acquired up until this point in this semester will help me understand other classes as well.
Find a protein using PDB explorer-describe your protein, including what disease state or other real-world application it has.
Hemoglobine is the protein that transports oxygen in the blood. It is an allosteric protein that changes shape when it binds to oxygen. Hemoglobin is the protein that makes blood red. In mammals, this protein makes up about 97% of the red blood cells dry content, and around 35% of the total content including water.Hemoglobine in the blood carries oxygen from the respiratory organs to the rest of the body where it releases the oxygen to burn the nutrients to provide energy to power the functions of the organism and collects the resultant carbon dioxide to bring it back to the respiratory organs which would be dispensed from the organism. Hemoglobine picks up the largest possible load of oxygen in the lungs and delivers all of it where and when needed. The molecule also carries the important regulatory molecule nitric oxide which is bound to the globin protein thiol group and it is released at the same time with oxygen. Nitric oxide affects the walls of blood vessels and helps in their relaxation. Hemoglobine also helps in the regulation of blood pressure by distributing nitric acid through blood.
Hemoglobin deficiency can be cause either by decreased amount of hemoglobin molecules, as in anemia, or by decreased ability of each molecule to bind oxygen. In both cases, hemoglobin deficiency decreases blood oxygen carrying capacity. Other factors that cause the low hemoglobin are: the loss of blood, nutritional deficiency, chemotherapy, kidney failure, or abnormal hemoglobin.
High hemoglobin levels can be caused by exposure to high altitudes, smoking, dehydration, or tumor.
The decrease of hemoglobin leads to the symptoms of anemia.
The genes for the protein chains of hemoglobin show small differences within different human populations, so the amino acid sequence is slightly different from person to person. In most cases the changes do not affect protein functions. However, in some cases these different amino acids lead to major structural changes. On such example is that of the sickle cell hemoglobin, where glutamate 6 in the beta chain is mutated to valine. This change allows the dexygenated form of the hemoglobin to stick to each other so they produce stiff fibers of hemoglobine inside red blood cells. This in turn deforms the red blood cell, which normally has a smoth disk shape. The mutations in the globin chain have led to diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
David,G; Dutta,S; Molecule of the month (May, 2003) doi:10.2210
sickle cell hemoglobine
Hemoglobin deficiency can be cause either by decreased amount of hemoglobin molecules, as in anemia, or by decreased ability of each molecule to bind oxygen. In both cases, hemoglobin deficiency decreases blood oxygen carrying capacity. Other factors that cause the low hemoglobin are: the loss of blood, nutritional deficiency, chemotherapy, kidney failure, or abnormal hemoglobin.
High hemoglobin levels can be caused by exposure to high altitudes, smoking, dehydration, or tumor.
The decrease of hemoglobin leads to the symptoms of anemia.
The genes for the protein chains of hemoglobin show small differences within different human populations, so the amino acid sequence is slightly different from person to person. In most cases the changes do not affect protein functions. However, in some cases these different amino acids lead to major structural changes. On such example is that of the sickle cell hemoglobin, where glutamate 6 in the beta chain is mutated to valine. This change allows the dexygenated form of the hemoglobin to stick to each other so they produce stiff fibers of hemoglobine inside red blood cells. This in turn deforms the red blood cell, which normally has a smoth disk shape. The mutations in the globin chain have led to diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
Ref work
http://www.pdb.org/pdb/101/motm.do?momID=41David,G; Dutta,S; Molecule of the month (May, 2003) doi:10.2210
Friday, February 10, 2012
What is biochemistry, and how it does differ from the fields of genetics, biology, chemistry, and molecular biology?
Biochemistry is the application of chemistry to the study of biological processes at the cellular and molecular level.
Biology is the science that studys living organisms. It examines the structure, function, growth, origin,evolution,distribution and classification of all living things. Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between them. It tends to focus on the properties of substances and the interactions between different types of matter.
Biochemistry is both a life science and a chemical science. It explores the chemistry of living organisms and the molecular basis for the changes occurring inliving cells. It uses the methods of chemistry.
Molecular biology tends to deal with the molecular manipulation of DNA study and understands genes and their functions. It is a branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity.. This field is related to biochemistry as well. It mainly concernes with understanding the interaction between types of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.
Genetics is the study of the effect of genetic differences on organisms. It includes a greater amount of theory and it analyses the inheritance of genes.
ref work
William A. Denny, ACS publications: Biochemistry
Biology is the science that studys living organisms. It examines the structure, function, growth, origin,evolution,distribution and classification of all living things. Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between them. It tends to focus on the properties of substances and the interactions between different types of matter.
Biochemistry is both a life science and a chemical science. It explores the chemistry of living organisms and the molecular basis for the changes occurring inliving cells. It uses the methods of chemistry.
Molecular biology tends to deal with the molecular manipulation of DNA study and understands genes and their functions. It is a branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity.. This field is related to biochemistry as well. It mainly concernes with understanding the interaction between types of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.
Genetics is the study of the effect of genetic differences on organisms. It includes a greater amount of theory and it analyses the inheritance of genes.
ref work
William A. Denny, ACS publications: Biochemistry
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