Find an interesting biochemistry website and put its link in this entry, and describe what is found there.

              

(chem4kids.com)

            I chose the website chem4kids.com because I thought it was exceptionally educational for the age group it is meant to reach. It presents biochemistry in the simplest sense using terminology and metaphors that are understandable to those at a younger education level. It is a website that covers all of the basics of biochemistry including metabolism, important cycles such as photosynthesis and glycolysis, and it breaks down things such as lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, DNA, and much more.

TRYPTOPHAN

(chem4kids.com)

            The website incorporates colors and helpful pictures to further push the understanding of the informational text provided. There are activities that include quizzes on each of the sections and links to other sites that cover astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics. This website can definitely be helpful for more than the target age group. This website can give an educational foundation to anyone without a previous background in the sciences. 

Link:

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_intro.html

What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge?

            A lot of the information that we’ve covered so far this semester has been a review. Beginning with the first chapter where we covered things such as the structural organization of the human body from simple to complex, I can recall learning about this back in junior high science. It’s interesting to see over time how there are specific pieces of information are constantly reinforced even up until the college level.

            Many of the things that we’ve also covered so far including hydrogen and covalent bonds, dipole moments, definitions of organelles, and pH are also terms I have seen consistently throughout my education in the sciences. I’ve also related some of the information to psychology classes I’ve taken including the positive feedback mechanism that was covered with small peptide hormones because I had previously learned about positive and negative reinforcements.

            Some of this information has been helpful for my further understanding of in classes I’m also taking now such as Organic Chemistry II. It has helped me have a strong understanding of the basic foundation of things such as the breakdown of amino acids. I’m also sure that the new information that I have acquired up until this point in the semester I will connect many times in my future in medicine.  

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

Glucokinase
(Wikipedia)

The protein I looked at is Glucokinase. This enzyme catalyzes the phosphorylation of glucose to glucose 6-phosphate. This occurs in the cells of the liver, pancreas, gut, and brain of both invertebrates and microorganisms. The glucokinase has important role in regulating carbohydrate metabolism. It does this by acting as a sensor for glucose causing changes in metabolism in response to the lowering or heightening of glucose levels.

            When genes of this enzyme are found they are known to cause unusual forms of diabetes or hypoglycemia. Because glucokinase is the major hexokinase expressed in the liver and in control of blood glucose homeostasis it sends the sensor for insulin secretion in the pancreatic cells. Based on the role that glucokinase plays it is currently causing it to be looked at as a candidate for type 2 diabetic drugs.

            In people with type 2 diabetes they have been found to have defective regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism. Newly diagnosed patients with this type of diabetes have elevated levels where obese patients have decreases levels. However, the defect in diabetes involving changes in glucokinase has still not been confirmed.

Sources:

Targeting Hepatic Glucokinase in Type 2 Diabetes. Ed. Loranne Agius. American Diabetes Association, 24 Oct. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. 

Glucokinase. Wikipedia, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2012

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

Biochemistry is the study including the structure, composition, and all the chemical reactions in living systems. This differs from the other fields of science because genetics is based on heredity or any type of inherited characteristics based on genes. When it comes to biology, biochemistry differs because it only includes part of what the field of biology includes. Biology is the study of all living organism including their structure, function, growth, origin, and evolution. Chemistry is the science that includes the composition, structure, and properties of molecular systems. Lastly, molecular biology is the science that includes the structure and overall function of macromolecules which are necessary for life.

Biochemistry is a combination of many different important aspect of science. It has found its importance in many different areas of our world including food science, medicine, clinical chemistry and almost any field that includes science in our world. Biochemistry allows us to break down chemical compositions and find new methods of development for a range of products. Biochemists have a difficult discipline at hand because their investigative research and techniques are so crucial to our continuous advances in science.

Sources:

Biochemistry. ACS Chemistry for Life, 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

The Free Dictionary. Farlex, 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.