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.

Interesting Biochemistry Website

http://biochemsys.com/

This website designs environmentally save products using biochemistry. I think this website is interesting because now a days everyone is trying to be more green and what better way than using environmentally friendly products using the same ideas we learn in biochemistry
They manufacture anything from graffiti erasers to brake cleaner. A lot of their products are non-toxic and some are biodegradable. I think if anyone is interested in being green and having a healthier environment they should look up this website. One of the things that I liked most about this website is that they supply Material safety data sheets (MSDS) for all their products so one can know exactly what they are getting.

What knowledge have you connected to past knowledge?

I have made a lot of connections from other classes to biochemistry. I feel I have learned a lot of the material in microbiology. The discussions about the cells and what the organelles do, have all been discussed during microbiology. I feel that microbiology gave me a better way to visualize the scale at which proteins and enzymes work at.
I feel a lot of the genetic make up and amino acid sequences and structures of proteins was all discussed in genetics. Genetics talked a lot about the function and roles of the processes that we are discussing. I have pulled a lot of knowledge from biology too when talking about the cells and how the earth came to be with just the elements. I feel knowledge from chemistry plays a role especially in the log base equations and pHs and Pka’s. Biochemistry truly is a diverse class, which is able to bring in so much knowledge from other scientific fields that one can build on.

Protein as Enzyme 1NPF

The protein that I found is 1NPF myoglobin in the horse heart. My protein clearly has a primary structure because it has an amino acid sequence. My protein has other multiple structures too. All protiens have secondary structure, 1NPF has 6 alpha sheets. It has tertiary structure because it has 3D shape and folds and it twists. It has no quaternary structure because my protein is lacking multiple subunits.
My protein was isolated from equus caballus. This protein is a myoglobin protein used to store oxygen. This protein would be useful in research because its function is already known. Also it plays an important role by storing oxygen so if the scientists needed to research how proteins can store oxygen this is one they could use. In this particular study 1NPF was used to help look at another proteins function. “To the best of our knowledge, the crystal structure of hh Mb(EtNO) is the first such determination of a nitrosoalkane adduct of a heme protein (Copeland DM).” This protein can be useful in finding the function of this other protein so in a research setting one could use this protein with a known function to find out the function of another protein.


Works Cited:
Reference:
Copeland DM, West AH, Richter-Addo GBCrystal structures of ferrous horse heart myoglobin complexed with nitric oxide and nitrosoethaneProteins v53, p.182-192
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/mmdb/mmdbsrv.cgi?Dopt=s&uid=25253&log$=seqview_protein_structuread_title

What is Biochemistry and how does it differ from the fields of genetics, biology,chemistry and molecular biology?

There are a lot of similarities and differences between biology, chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry. I feel biochemistry sums up all of these scientific fields. When I think biology, I think the study of living organisms and where they live, how they began. In chemistry I think of elements and their reactions and properties. Molecular biology I think about molecular reactions and structures and DNA.
Biochemistry is a mixture of all fields. Biochemistry is a mixture of all fields. Biochemistry is the study of chemical reactions and structures in living organisms. Biochemistry has to do with amino acids, proteins, fatty acids etc.
I think that it is different because biochemistry is a broader field. It encompasses all of the fields. It doesn’t just focus on structure and chemical reactions. I feel that the other fields are very specific and defined and I feel biochemistry is not specific.