BIOCHEM WEEK 2 LESSONS REVIEWER

BIOCHEMISTRY

It is the study of life processes, structures, mechanisms, reactions, at a molecular level.

Chemistry, Biology, and Genetics

3 disciplines of biochem

Biochemistry

language of biology

science of the chemical basis of life

Biochem can be defined as the “_______”.

physiological chemistry

Biochemistry was developed as an offshoot of organic chemistry, and this branch was often referred as “______”.

Friedrich Wohler

he synthesized urea, an organic compound from the inorganic precursor – ammonium cyanate.

Eduard and Hans Buchner

they found that dead yeast cells are still able to undergo fermentation, demonstrating that reactions can occur in vitro.

Gregor Mendel

father of genetics, determined the composition of a DNA

James Watson and Francis Crick

proposed the structure of the DNA in 1953.

Carl Neuberg / Dr. Carl Alexander Neuberg

father of modern biochemistry

coined the term "biochemistry" from Greek words, bios (= life) and chymos (= juice).

life

bios means “_”

juice

chymos means “_”

Oxidation, Reduction, Hydrolysis, Condensation, Decarboxylation, Transfer reactions

6 chemical reaction occurring in living organisms

Theory of Special Creation

Theory of Spontaneous Origin

Theory of Extraterrestrial Origin/Panspermia

Theory of Biochemical Evolution

Theory of Special Creation

5 theories of the ORIGIN OF LIFE

Theory of Special Creation

life is a result of a supernatural event, beyond the descriptive powers of physics, chemistry, and other science.

Life formation on earth may have taken place due to divine forces (Hindu/Christian/Islam concept).

WHAT THEORY????

Francesco Redi

conducted a scientific experiment to test the spontaneous creation of maggots by placing fresh meat in three different jars

Louis Pasteur

he rejected the theory of spontaneous generation and demonstrated that life came from pre-existing life

Theory of Spontaneous Origin

this theory suggests that life could come from nonliving things, decaying and rotting matter like straw, mud, etc.

life, particularly simple forms, spontaneously and readily arises from nonliving matter in short periods of time, today as in the past.

Theory of Extraterrestrial Origin/Panspermia

This theory suggests that life on Earth arose from “panspermia,” microscopic spores that wafted through space from planet to planet or solar system to solar system by radiation pressure.

Life is coeternal with matter and has no beginning; life arrived on Earth at the time of Earth’s origin or shortly thereafter.

Theory of Biochemical Evolution

Life arose on the early Earth by a series of progressive chemical reactions. Such reactions may have ben likely or may have required one or more highly improbable chemical events. THEORY OF???

Formation of simple organic compounds

The atmosphere of primitive earth had various elements like H, O, C, S, P, N, etc. These free atoms combine to form molecules and simple inorganic compounds like ammonia, water vapor, etc. FORMATION OF???

Formation of simple organic molecules

The simple inorganic compounds formed in atmosphere interacted and combined to produce simple compounds such as simple sugars, purines, pyrimidines, amino acids, etc. The source of energy for chemical reaction might be solar radiations such as UV rays, lightning, radiations from radioactive rocks and heat of earth. The simple organic compounds forms reached the ocean with rainwater. FORMATION OF???

Formation of complex organic molecules

The simple organic molecules have undergone polymerization to form complex organic molecules like proteins, nucleic acids, etc. Formation of these molecules plays a key role in the chemical evolution of life.

cell

basic membrane-bound unit that contains the fundamental molecules of life and of which all living things are composed

prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell

2 types of cell

PROKARYOTIC CELLS

These are organisms composed of simple cells, with no membrane-bound organelle system. Its genome consists of a single circular loop DNA; respiratory processes may or may not be present.

EUKARYOTIC CELLS

Organisms made up of complex cells with highly organized organelle system.

mitochondria

Respiratory processes occur in the organelle called ____

oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus

99% of the human body is composed of 6 elements:

Carbohydrates

It functions primarily as storage of chemical energy and as durable building materials for biological construction

lipids

They play a great importance to the body as the chief concentrated storage form of energy, besides their role in cellular structure and various other biochemical functions.

proteins

are the most abundant and carries out virtually all of the cell’s activities.

nucleic acids

serve as repositories and transmitters of genetic information.

water

the most abundant inorganic molecule in the living organisms and it makes up about 60% to 70% of the total body weight of most organisms

atoms

connect with each other through chemical bonds to form molecules

electronegativity

strongly influences how atoms interact with each other and how they combine to form molecules.

ionic bonding

Complete transfer of valence electron(s) between atoms

covalent bonding

Sharing of electrons between atoms.

Stereochemistry

deals with three dimensional representation of molecule and their effect on physical and chemical properties

CONSTITUTIONAL ISOMERS

isomers with a different connectivity of their atoms

Stereoisomers

 have the same connectivity but differ in the way in which the constituent atoms are oriented in space.

Enantiomers & Diastereomers

Stereoisomers can be divided into: (2)

Enantiomers

stereoisomers which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other.

chier (hand)

Objects that have non-superimposable mirror images are called

Diastereomers

stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other, have a different arrangement around one or more atoms while some of the atoms have the same arrangement

isomers

different compounds with same molecular formula

carvone

is a chiral, plant-derived molecule that contributes to the smell of spearmint in the R form and caraway (a spice) in the S form