Reflecting back on the course, what are three major themes you would identify that connect the various topics discussed in this course – how are they

If I had to choose three major themes to describe this course would be the production of energy, production of enzymes, and the storage mechanisms in cells. These are connected to many aspects of the course such as glycolysis and the citric acid cycle for energy production and the many intermediate enzymes used in the various cycles and processes. There was also a lot of talk about metabolism which involved many storage mechanisms within both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. And metabolism is the production of energy which was discussed throughout the course.
I learned a lot about these three different aspects though as I did not know how much is put into the production of energy and all of the various steps involved in energy producing processes and all of the enzymes and substances involved in each step. Also these enzymes are always very specific too which is extremely important for the processes to be successful. And that storage mechanisms like glycogen which is used for long term storage of energy. I would say that in all these three topics cover a good deal of what is discussed in biochemistry.

How would you explain the connection between glucose entering the body and energy created by the body to a friend, using your new biochemistry knowled

If i had to explain to a friend the relationship between glucose entering the body and energy being made by first telling them that the conversion of glucose into energy by the body is done by a process called glycolysis. Glycolysis takes a glucose which is a simple sugar and converts it into pyruvate which is an organic acid used in many different processes. The whole process takes place in ten reactions with ten intermediate compounds. The intermediate compounds are important through out the process because they provide entry points for glycolysis to occur. And that all through the process free energy is being made and that it is this free energy that is so important to the body because it is used in making high energy molecules such as ATP and NADH. And both of those substances are involved in many cellular processes.

What knowledge i have connected with past knowledge 2.

There was a few new things introduced in biochemistry lecture. A few of these topics are subjects that i had touched on previously but just glanced over very quickly and didn't really get much from it. But after a few lectures I have been able to tie things together from what I had previously learned. For example when going over glycolysis I remembered talking about the process in other bio classes and hearing about the different intermediates used in the process but never knew the importance of these at all. The intermediates are an access point for glycolysis to occur and that things such as monosaccharides are converted to one of these intermediates to allow it to go through glycolysis.
Another concept i was able to better understand was the citric acid cycle. I was not aware that it was so important and used in all cells that use a form of oxygen for respiration. And that in aerobic organisms the process is very important in the conversion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into a usable energy source.

Find an interesting biochemistry website and put its link in this entry, and describe breifly what is found there

The website I chose can be found at www.brenda-enzymes.org/

When I first went to this site I was surprised to see how well organized it was. But basically this site has a database that contains most of the known enzyme information that has been published. One can basically look up any enzyme known to man and they will show you all the different published articles about the enzyme.
It goes beyond just giving facts about the different enzymes though as it also has a disease reference section which shows enzyme related diseases and how they work as well as how to isolate or prepare enzymes. They also go over enzyme stability and reactions as well so essentially anything that one would want to know about enzymes is all here and it is free to use which makes it even more useful.

What knowledge have your connected with past knowledge?

Since starting biochemistry in January I have learned a lot of new and interesting things. And with this I have also been able to make connections with previous things that I have learned in various science courses. A small example would be when going over amino acids we touched upon how tryptophan makes a person tired and how dopamine will give a person an energy boost but I had never understood why. Well I found out that tryptophan and dopamine are both chemical precursors and that tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin which explains the sleepiness and dopamine is a precursor to adrenaline which explains the energy boost.

Another topic that we touched on protein structure and the four types of structural components (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary) and there roles in the protein. For example I knew from previous courses that these are very important and that the structures found in these components are very important in determining the protein. But i did not know that this overall structure depends on the proteins function and that one small substitution can completely change a protein for good or for bad. It seems that changes on such a small level would not be very important yet in the overall picture of the organism it is extremely important.

Find a protien using PDB explorer- describe your protien, icluding what disease state of other real-world applictation it has.

The protein I chose was MOG or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotien which helps with the myelination of nerves and is believed to be involved in the disease multiple sclerosis . When observing the structure under the different views given one can see that the difference when looking at the backbone view and the all atoms view that the backbone picture does not show the R groups while they are shown in the all atoms form. The module allows you to examine the secondary structures were one can see alpha helices and beta pleated sheets. From looking at this protein I was able to see the structure of the molecule in 3D which is very helpful in determining structures and different bonds. This is all very useful because with the general structure of a protein given one can determine the proteins overall function and importance to the organism. Also one would be able to figure out how to possible make this molecule based on its overall structure.

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

The science of biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that take place in living organisms and the structures and functions of the biomolecules that are involved in these processes. Other fields such as chemistry, biology, and genetics discuss many of the topics touched upon in biochemistry but what makes it different is that biochemstry focuses on the monomers and polymers that make up the main molecules that biochemist focus on which are lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and protiens. It is the structure and propeties of these molecules that are the main focus of biochemists and how they function in living organisms.