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26: Biochemistry

Last updated

Mar 21, 2025
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- 25.20: Polymerization - Condensation Polymers
- 26.1: Monosaccharides

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26.1: Monosaccharides
This page discusses the brain's dependence on glucose for energy, accounting for 25% of the body's glucose consumption despite its small weight. It highlights carbohydrates as the primary energy source, especially for athletes, and explains monosaccharides like glucose and fructose as simple sugars with unique properties. Additionally, it mentions pentoses, which are vital for the structural integrity of DNA and RNA.
26.2: Disaccharides
This page discusses the importance of milk for children's nutrition, highlighting its essential vitamins and minerals. It also addresses lactose intolerance, which can cause discomfort in some individuals, suggesting avoidance or lactose-free alternatives. Furthermore, it explains the formation of disaccharides from monosaccharides and their role in digestion for nutrient absorption.
26.3: Polysaccharides
This page discusses the preparation of serious runners for marathons in hot temperatures through carbo-loading to maximize glycogen storage. It explains polysaccharides, including starch (energy storage in plants), glycogen (energy in animals), and cellulose (structural component of plants). Starch, found in foods like corn and potatoes, is comprised of glucose and can be broken down for energy, while cellulose is largely indigestible but crucial in various plant materials.
26.4: Amino Acids
This page discusses the growing trend of athletes using amino acid supplements to boost performance, indicating that these products mainly profit manufacturers. It emphasizes that a balanced diet is more beneficial for users. The page also covers the characteristics of amino acids, which are essential compounds in living organisms, highlighting the 20 biologically relevant amino acids and their representation in abbreviated forms.
26.5: Peptides
This page explains protein synthesis in cells and highlights the evolution of peptide synthesis techniques. Robert Merrifield's manual method earned him a Nobel Prize in 1984, and modern automated systems have accelerated the process. Peptides are made of amino acids connected by peptide bonds in condensation reactions, forming dipeptides.
26.6: Proteins
This page discusses hemoglobin's quaternary structure, composed of alpha and beta subunits containing iron ions, and how oxygen binding influences its shape. It highlights the complications faced by individuals with hemoglobin S due to a genetic mutation that causes sickle cell disease when inherited.
26.7: Enzymes
This page discusses the isolation of urease by James Sumner in 1926, highlighting its role as the first enzyme and earning Sumner a Nobel Prize in 1946. It explains enzymes as biological catalysts that facilitate reactions by binding substrates at active sites, and describes how inhibitors can disrupt their function either competitively or non-competitively. Additionally, it notes that some enzymes need cofactors, which are non-protein molecules essential for their activity.
26.8: Triglycerides
This page discusses the rising interest in healthy diets and heart health, resulting in higher sales of omega-3 fatty acids for lowering triglycerides. It emphasizes that supplements cannot substitute for a balanced diet and exercise. Triglycerides, composed of glycerol and fatty acids, are energy storage forms.
26.9: Phospholipids
This page explains how anesthetics disrupt ion movement across cell membranes to prevent pain during dental procedures. It describes the structure of cell membranes formed by phospholipids, highlighting their hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails that create a lipid bilayer. This bilayer acts as a barrier while enabling selective passage of substances through embedded proteins that assist in the movement of specific ions and molecules.
26.10: Waxes
This page discusses the historical hunting of sperm whales for oil from the 1700s to the late 1900s, which resulted in drastic declines in whale populations and subsequent international protection by 1988. It also covers waxes, which are natural esters used for waterproofing in plants and animals, mentioning common types like beeswax and lanolin, and their applications in human products such as floor polish and car wax.
26.11: Nucleic Acids
This page discusses cancer treatment strategies that manipulate DNA to control abnormal cell growth and prevent cancer spread. It highlights the role of nucleic acids, discovered by Friedrich Miescher, which are large biopolymers made of nucleotides. DNA is essential for storing genetic information necessary for protein production, while RNA helps translate that information into proteins.
26.12: DNA and RNA
This page discusses Linus Pauling, a notable twentieth-century scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace. Despite proposing an incorrect DNA model in the 1950s, he remained respected in the scientific community. It explains the composition of DNA and RNA, noting their nucleotide differences, and highlights the correct double helix structure discovered by Watson and Crick in 1953.
26.13: Genetic Code
This page summarizes the Human Genome Project, which aimed to sequence human DNA and was completed in April 2003. It discusses the role of DNA in determining protein production through genes, the genetic code's structure, and the significance of unique DNA sequences in heredity and biodiversity.
26.14: Protein Synthesis
This page discusses two key concepts: the assembly line, developed in the early 1900s to enhance mass production of cars, which transformed manufacturing efficiency, and the biological process of protein synthesis, highlighting transcription and translation where DNA, mRNA, and tRNA collaborate to rapidly produce proteins, often in under a minute.

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