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MOLECULES AND LIFE - Study Notes

PROFESSOR INFORMATION

  • Name: Prof. Ruben Gonzalez

  • Department: Chemistry

  • Affiliation: Columbia University

WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (2015 DATA)

  • Representation of women and minority groups in science and engineering (S&E) occupations compared to U.S. general population:

    • White Men:

    • S&E: 49%

    • U.S. Population: 18%

    • White Women:

    • S&E: 31%

    • U.S. Population: 14%

    • Asian Men:

    • S&E: 3%

    • U.S. Population: 7%

    • Asian Women:

    • S&E: 3%

    • U.S. Population: 3%

    • Black Men:

    • S&E: 6%

    • U.S. Population: 2%

    • Black Women:

    • S&E: 7%

    • U.S. Population: 4%

    • Hispanic Men:

    • S&E: 9%

    • U.S. Population: 2%

    • Hispanic Women:

    • S&E: 8%

    • U.S. Population: 2%

    • Other Men and Women: 13%

  • Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation

UPCOMING EVENT

  • Science Spotlight Presents: Prof. Martin Chalfie, 2008 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

  • Date and Time: Monday, October 27, 2025, 7:35 PM

  • Location: Pupin 428, Columbia University

  • Topic: The Continuing Need for Useless Information

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

MOLECULES OF LIFE

MAIN TOPICS

  • Chemistry of Life

  • Molecular Machines

  • DNA Replisome

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

  • Impact of Studying the Molecules of Life:

    • Molecular Basis of Disease

    • Drug Discovery

    • Genetic Engineering

    • Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics

    • Bioinformatics

    • Personalized Medicine

    • Biotechnology

    • Medical Diagnostics

    • Synthetic Biology

    • Environmental Monitoring

    • Food Science and Agriculture

CANCER STATISTICS

  • Estimated Cancer Cases and Deaths in the U.S. (2007-2022):

    • 2007: 1,500,000 cases, 600,000 deaths

    • 2022 (Estimates): 2,000,000 cases

CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

  • Questions Addressed:

    • Why do chemists study biology?

    • What biology do chemists study?

    • How do chemists study biology?

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND OTHER SCIENCES

  • Interdisciplinary Focus:

    • Chemistry

    • Biology

    • Biophysical Chemistry

    • Physics

SPATIAL SCALES IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY

  • Depicting the sizes from protein, atoms, lipids to various types of cells

  • Relative sizes presented on a logarithmic scale from:

    • 0.1 nm (atoms) to 10 m (buildings)

MOLECULES OF LIFE: NUCLEIC ACIDS

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

  • Nucleic Acids (DNA and RNA) as polymers of nucleotide monomers:

    • Nucleotide Composition:

    • DNA: C9H10N2O8P

    • RNA: C9H10N2O8P (similar composition)

    • Dinucleotide Structure:

    • Described for both DNA and RNA

PROTEINS

STRUCTURAL DETAILS AND CLASSIFICATION

  • Proteins are biopolymers composed of amino acid monomers

    • Example structure of amino acid: C2H5NO2

    • 20 different amino acids in proteins

    • Dipeptide Formation

REVIEW OF KEY CONCEPTS

  • Impacts of Studying Molecules of Life:

  • Biophysical Chemistry:

  • Spatial Scales relevant in chemistry and biology: atoms to cells

  • Chemical Structures of Nucleic Acids and Proteins:

INTERACTION OF LIGHT AND MATTER

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

  • Properties Explained:

    • Electric and Magnetic Fields

    • Wavelength, Amplitude

  • Electromagnetic Spectrum:

    • Ranges include radio, microwave, visible light (780-380 nm), ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma-ray (from 10 m to 0.000001 nm)

BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & IMAGING TECHNIQUES

  • Methods Used:

    • X-Ray Diffraction (Crystallography)

    • Bragg’s Law explained by William Henry and William Lawrence Bragg (Nobel Prize in 1915)

    • Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM)

    • Enables imaging of biomolecules in atomic detail during movement

    • Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 for advancements in technology by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson

MOLECULAR MACHINES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

  • The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology:

    • Processes Explained:

    • DNA Replication

    • Transcription (DNA to RNA)

    • Translation (RNA to Protein)

  • Key Enzymes Involved:

    • DNA Polymerase for replication

    • RNA Polymerase for transcription

    • Ribosomes for translation

ORGANIZATION OF DNA

  • Definitions:

    • DNA: Carrier of genetic information

    • Gene: Segment of DNA coding for RNA or protein

    • Chromosome: Long DNA molecule containing genetic material

    • Genome: Complete genetic information of an organism

CONCLUSIONS AND REVIEW

KEY DISCUSSIONS

  • Overall understanding of the flow of genetic information through the Central Dogma of molecular biology

  • Organization of DNA into various structures: genes, chromosomes, genomes

  • Molecular machines' roles in the processes of replication, transcription, and translation as fundamental mechanisms of life.