Themes of Biochemistry

The three main themes that have been discussed in this class are biomolecules such as lipds and protein/enzymes, transcription/translation and different cycles. All of these themes have been previously discussed in other classes but not to the same extent and detail as it has been dicussed in Biochemistry. They are also all connected to each other since we get biomolecules due to the cycles in the body and they sometimes start the cycles and in order to get biomolecules like proteins one has to go through transcription and translation to make the amino acid sequence and genetic codes.



Biomolecules I now know they are more than just a composition of protines made up of amino acids they can be carbs and lipids too. Mostly we focused on proteins. I learned about protein structure (secondary, tertiary etc) and what roles as enzymes they play. I learned about proteins in Biology as being enzymes in reactions and the roles they have in the body but not to this extent ad actually knowing the names of the proteins. I have also learned about proteins in Organic chemistry and some mechanisms they are involved in and how amino acids bind and the properties of the amino functional group.



Transcription and Translation I knew about coming into this course since we went over it extensively in genetics and microbiology. I did not know about the exact enzymes involved in the processes and which fall off in what order and how the processes are controlled and regulated. I feel that I hae an overall better understanding of the process from this course.



The third theme was the cycles. We have discussed the Citric Acid Cycle, Oxidation Phophorylation and Glycolysis to name the ones I feel we focused on. I knew of these cycles in Anatomy and Physiology as well as Biology. Again I only knew the basics such as what goes in and how much ATP come out. We didnt nearly cover all the steps that we did in Biochemistry. I know the steps and enzymes involved. My biggest achievement on the cycles is knowing how they all connect and I feel I have an understanding of them which I was lacking in the other classes. Biochemistry took everything I learned in my other classes and amplified it so I could see even the smallest details.

Glucose Entering The Body

When someone digests something such as after lunch. The body breaks down the sugars to make glucose. The glucose then starts the glycolysis cycle. The glycolysis cycle is a 10 step process in which glucose and produces pyruvate and 2 ATP's that the body uses as energy. The pyruvate can then go three different ways. It can be fermented like in yeasts or ethanol, stored in the muscle as lactate or go through an aerobic process to produce Acetyl CoA. The Acetyl CoA continues on to the citric acid cycle to produce more energy.



The body uses the glucose for many things. The body gets energy out of the glycolysis cycle and the body stores the lactate made from the glucose in the muscles so when one works out the lactic acid is released into the body which gives one energy and endurance. As we learned in class ahve too much or not enough glucose is harmful and is something that everyone should be aware of.

What Knowledge Have You Connected With Past Knowledge?

As for the next section that we did in class about transcription and translation. I feel that this part of the course is more like the knowledge I gained in microbiology. We really focused on DNA in microbiology and this section of the course is too. I feel that I have learned more about the enzymes involved in the processes that were skipped over in other classes that dicussed this topic too.


I also feel that the thermodynamics and carbohydrates section of the class was a mix of what I learned in Anatomy and Physiology and Biology. We discussed carbs and why the body needs them and what roles it has in different processes. We also learned a little about thermodynamics in Biology class too. I feel that in this class out of all my other classes I can really see how the knowledge is building up. This class goes more in depth about topics discussed in other classes but puts all the pieces together. This class does not leave out information such as the enzymes involved just for simplification like other classes may do.