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19: Biochemistry

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    396672
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    Biochemistry studies the tools of chemistry and synthesis to understand biology and disease pathways at the molecular level. Advanced Biological Chemistry interests include diverse topics such as nucleic acids, DNA repair, bioconjugate chemistry, peptides and peptidomimetics, glycoscience, biomolecular structure and function, imaging, and biological catalysis. Biophysical Chemistry represents the union of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology using a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches to understand the structure and function of biological systems.

    • 19.1: The Human Genome Project
      The Human Genome Project was a 15 year-long publicly funded project initiated in 1990 with the objective of determining the DNA sequence of the entire euchromatic human genome within 13 years.
    • 19.2: The Cell and Its Main Chemical Components
    • 19.3: Carbohydrates
      All carbohydrates consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms and are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones or are compounds that can be broken down to form such compounds. Examples of carbohydrates include starch, fiber, the sweet-tasting compounds called sugars, and structural materials such as cellulose. The term carbohydrate had its origin in a misinterpretation of the molecular formulas of many of these substances.
    • 19.4: Lipids
      Compounds isolated from body tissues are classified as lipids if they are more soluble in organic solvents, such as dichloromethane, than in water. Fatty acids are carboxylic acids that are the structural components of many lipids. They may be saturated or unsaturated.  Lipids are important components of biological membranes. These lipids have dual characteristics: part of the molecule is hydrophilic, and part of the molecule is hydrophobic.
    • 19.5: Proteins
      The proteins in all living species are constructed from the same set of 20 amino acids, so called because each contains an amino group attached to a carboxylic acid. The amino acids in proteins are α-amino acids, which means the amino group is attached to the α-carbon of the carboxylic acid. Humans can synthesize only about half of the needed amino acids; the remainder must be obtained from the diet and are known as essential amino acids.
    • 19.6: Protein Structure
      Proteins can be divided into two categories: fibrous, which tend to be insoluble in water, and globular, which are more soluble in water. A protein may have up to four levels of structure. The primary structure consists of the specific amino acid sequence. The peptide chain can form an α-helix or β-pleated sheet, which is known as secondary structure and are incorporated into the tertiary structure of the folded polypeptide. The quaternary structure describes the arrangements of subunits.
    • 19.7: Nucleic Acids- Blueprints for Proteins
      Nucleotides are composed of phosphoric acid, a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a nitrogen-containing base (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, or uracil). Ribonucleotides contain ribose, while deoxyribonucleotides contain deoxyribose.

    Thumbnail: DNA double helix. (public domain; NIH - Genome Research Institute).

     

    19: Biochemistry is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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