Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.
John Holt
Lecture 1
What is biochemistry?
Biochemistry is the discipline that uses the principles and language of chemistry to explain biology.
Biochemistry has emerged as an independent science only within the past 100 years.
Lecture 2 – Water
Water is the most abundant molecule in most cells, accounting for 60% to 90% of the mass of the cell.
Water is the solvent for various biological systems.
The macromolecular components of cells – proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and lipids – assume their characteristic shapes in response to water.
Lecture 3 – Acid and Base
Strong acids or strong bases are compounds that is completely ionized in aqueous solution
Weak Acids or Weak Bases are compounds that are incompletely ionized in aqueous solution
Buffered solution are solutions that resist changes in pH as acid and base are added.
Lecture 4 and 5
- primary structure
- secondary structure
- tertiary structure
- quarternary structure
Lecture 6, 7, 8 and 9
Enzymes are large biological molecules that are extraordinarily efficient, selective, biological catalysts. The word enzyme is derived from Greek meaning “in yeast”. All cell has hundreds of different enzymes that catalyze reactions essential for life – even the simplest organisms contain hundreds of different enzymes for thousands of metabolic processes.
Lecture 10: Cofactors and Vitamins
Cofactors are organic or inorganic molecules that are required for the activity of a certain enzymes. Coenzymes can be loosely or tightly bound to an enzyme.
Vitamin derived coenzymes must be obtained from diet. Vitamins must be enzymatically transformed to function as a coenzyme. Vitamins can be classified into 2 classes, which are water-soluble vitamins (vitamin B and C) and fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D,E and K).
Lecture 11: Carbohydrates
It is the most abundant biological molecules on Earth and it is organic compounds with the empirical formula Cn(H2O)n (with n>3). It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water). Thus, carbohydrates is often be viewed as hydrates of carbon.
Lecture 12: Lipid and membrane transport
Lipids are biomolecules that are soluble in organic solvents. Lipids perform three biological functions:
- Lipids containing hydrocarbon side chains serve as energy stores.
- Lipids in the forms of a bilayer are essential components of biological membranes.
- Intra and intercellular signalling molecules.
Biological membranes contain a mixture of proteins and lipids. Protein to lipid ratios vary with membrane function. The phospholipid bilayer is a fluid matrix. The fluidity of the bilayer is greatly affected by temperature.
Lecture 13: Introduction to Metabolism
What is metabolism?
The process performed by living systems to acquire and use free energy to carry out functions, reactions and pathways to degrade and synthesize biomolecules. It requires highly coordinated cellular activity. Hundreds of enzyme reactions organized into discrete pathways via many specific intermediates
Lecture 14: Glycolysis, Kreb’s cycle and Electron transport
Glucose catabolism is carried out in all cells. Glucose will initially undergo glycolysis. Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate. 3 final products – 2 Pyruvate molecules, 2 ATP and 2 NADH.
Kreb’s Cycle is a cyclic process in that oxaloacetate reacts with acetyl CoA to form citrate to start a series of several other reactions. The final reaction in the series involves the regeneration of oxaloacetate. Kreb’s cycle completely oxidized the carbons in the pyruvate, producing a small amount of ATP, and reducing NAD and FAD into higher energy forms (NADH and FADH2) .
The capacity to learn is a GIFT; the ability to learn is a SKILL; the willingness to learn is a CHOICE.
— Brain Herbert
The joy of learning is as indispensable in study as breathing is in running.
— Simone Weil
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