Reflecting back on the course

If I had to choose three major themes of this course they would include: connection, creating energy, and the building blocks of life. The first theme is connection, which includes topics and ideas from other courses that have been incorporated into this course. These include knowledge of glycolysis, chemistry and proteins. The second theme pertains to glycolysis, the krebs cycle and the electron transport chain. All of these processes create the energy used to sustain life. The last theme covers the topics of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids and the associated mechanisms, including transcription and translation, that are the building blocks of life.

How would you explain the connection between glucose entering the body and energy created by the body to a friend?

Glycogen or starch are needed for the process of glycolysis to begin. Glycolysis has 10 steps.
1. Hydrolysis occurs- water breaks down glucose. A phosphate molecule is removed from ATP forming ADP and then the phosphate group is added to the glucose molecule forming Glucose-6-Phosphate.
2. The enzyme isomerase then reconfigures Glucose-6-Phosphate to Fructose-6-Phosphate
3. Fructose-1,6-biphosphate is created because 1 ATP phosphoralates Fructose-6-Phosphate
4. Fructose-1,6-biphosphate is cleaved creating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate snf dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
5. Dihydroxyacetone phosphate is isomerized to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.
6. Oxidation and phosphorylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-biphosphoglycerate
7. A phosphate group is transferred from 1,3-biphosphoglycerate to ADP to make ATP an give 3-phosphaoglycerate.
8. 2-phosphoglycerate is formed through the isomerization of 3-phosphoglycerate
9. Dehydration of 2-phosphoglycerate occurs giving phosphoenolpyruvate
10. A phosphate group is transfered to ADP from phosphoenolpyruvate to form pyruvate.

The net gain of glycolysis is 2 ATP and 2 pyruvate molecules

What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge? Take 2

We have touched on many topics that I am very familiar with and have studied extensively. Glycolysis was a topic that we looked at in depth in general microbiology. We had to learn all of the steps, enzymes, products, how those products were used, etc. It was refreshing to look at this again and to just look at the big concepts of the process, because quite frankly I don't remember all of the steps anymore and I could very easily look them up in a book if I needed them. To study it in the way that we are is perfect, we get a great overview and understanding of the process and know the basic steps and products. Also, thermodynamics was a review from general chemistry and even before that. It is always comforting to review topics. Overall, this class has connected with a lot of my previous learning.

Interesting biochemistry website

http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbiochem/

BMC Biochemistry is an open access journal that publishes peer-reviewed research articles in all aspects of biochemical processes. There are many journals available under the broad topic of biochemistry including: Cell Communication and Signaling, Cell Division, Nutrition and Metabolism, and Proteome Science.
One interesting article that I looked at in the Nutrion and Metabolism journal was Accuracy of DXA in Estimating Body Composition Changes in Elite Athletes using a Four Compartment Model as a Reference Method. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) provides an affordable and practical assessment of multiple whole body and regional body composition. However, little information is available on the assessment of changes in body composition in top-level athletes using DXA. This study looked at the accuracy of DXA in tracking body composition changes including relative fat mass, absolute fat mass, and fat-free mass in relation to the 4C method of 27 elite judo athletes averaging 22 years old. The data of the study indicated that both at group and individual levels DXA did not present an expected accuracy in tracking changes.
This website also has many other science topics and journals to browse and provides a lot of great free information and studies.

What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge?

So far in the course we have studied the properties of water, amino acids and proteins, proteins as enzymes and enzyme mechanisms. Most everything we have covered I have been taught in other science courses. The importance of hydrogen bonding, R-groups, and structure of molecules was covered in organic chemistry. Lipids, proteins, and amino acids were discussed in biology. So far this semester it has been a review, but it is nice to have a little refresher at the beginning to make sure that we understand the basic concepts before moving on to the more complex topics.

Find a protein using PDB explorer- describe your protein, including what disease state or other real-world application it has.

The protein I investigated was 1A2K, which is a transport nuclear protein. This protein is made up of alpha helices and beta pleated sheets and is composed of 5 subunits. You can find it in the nucleus and in the cell cytoplasm during mitosis. You can find this protein in Ratus norvegicus and Canis lupus familiaris. This protein facilitates protein transport into the nucleus and RNA transport out of the nucleus. It is involved in chromatin condensation and control of cell cycle.

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

Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes in living organisms. It studies the structure and function of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and carbohydrates. Biochemistry is an accumulation of the fields of biology, chemistry, genetics and molecular biology.

Genetics is the biological study of heredity and variation in living organisms. This discipline deals with the study of nucleic acids. Biology is a broad study of life that contains many subdivisions including structure, function, evolution and origin. Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter and how molecules change through chemical reactions. The field of molecular biology studies macromolecules and macromolecular mechanisms found in living things. Biochemistry takes pieces of each discipline to form its very own subject.