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8: In The Beginning

  • Page ID
    306636
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    • 8.1: Introduction - Basic Chemistry
      To understand biochemistry, one must possess at least a basic understanding of organic and general chemistry. In this brief section, we will provide a rapid review of the simple concepts necessary to understand cellular chemistry. Chemistry is chemistry, whether in a cell or outside it, but biological chemistry is a particular subset of organic chemistry that often involves enormous macromolecules, and that happens in the aqueous environment of the cell.
    • 8.2: Introduction - Water and Buffers
      When it comes to water, we’re literally drowning in it, as water is by far the most abundant component of every cell. To understand life, we begin the discussion with the basics of water, because everything that happens in cells, even reactions buried deep inside enzymes, away from water, is influenced by water’s chemistry.
    • 8.3: Prelude to Structure and Function
      In this chapter, we will examine the structures of the major classes of biomolecules, with an eye to understanding how these structures relate to function.


    This page titled 8: In The Beginning is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kevin Ahern, Indira Rajagopal, & Taralyn Tan.

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