lecture 5

Doctor Rich Cutler is coming to Loyola to speak.
Background:
- He was a first-generation Loyola student who studied biology.
- He is currently the Vice President and head of Clinical Sciences at Nutrix Therapeutics, based in San Francisco.
- He is interested in helping current Loyola students.

Importance of connecting with alumni for current students:
- Alumni appreciate seeing current students and can be valuable for networking.
Personal experience in alumni relations reveals the respect alumni feel towards their alma mater.

Discussion about personal high school memories and the variability of those experiences.
The significance of nostalgic connections when meeting alumni from one's school.
Importance of utilizing the alumni network when seeking mentorship and professional guidance:
- Referral to Doctor Rich Cutler’s expertise in biotech and his willingness to engage with students.
- Recognition of the tough job market within the biotech field, emphasizing that connections can greatly influence opportunities.

Acknowledgment that not all pre-med students will gain admission to medical school:
- Highlighting different potential pathways, including obtaining a PhD or pursuing careers in biotechnology.
- Mention of an alumni success story who transitioned from bioinformatics to developing advanced prosthetics after obtaining an MD.
Encouragement to explore various careers in science beyond traditional medicine.

Doctor Rich Cutler's talk:
- Scheduled for tomorrow at 04:15 PM.
- Opportunity for students to meet him and gain insights on his journey and career.
Clarification that there are no participation points for attending the talk, respecting students' other commitments outside of class.

Overview of the process of breaking down food molecules in accordance with physical laws, particularly the laws of thermodynamics.
Understanding energy harvesting methods through metabolic processes.
- Both disorder and heat loss occur during energy conversion processes.
Key concepts of thermodynamics relevant to biology:
- First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
- Second Law of Thermodynamics: In an isolated system, entropy tends to increase over time.

Explanation of activation energy and how it allows reactions to proceed:
- Activation energy diagrams show the energy required for a reaction to occur.
The importance of reactions proceeding in small steps to efficiently harness energy and avoid large explosive reactions.
Role of enzymes in reducing activation energy, facilitating reaction pathways, and directing the flow of biochemical reactions.
Discussion about the probability of events in terms of chemistry:
- The difference between possible and probable events in reactions.
- Enzymes can enhance the likelihood of certain reactions occurring by lowering activation barriers.

Description of the cellular environment as crowded and dynamic, highlighting how molecules move and interact in a non-linear fashion.
Types of movements within a cell: translation, vibration, and rotation.

Introduction to entropy using relatable examples (e.g., a messy room as a metaphor for disorder).
Discussion on the need for energy input to organize systems and counteract the natural trend towards disorder.
Understanding the implications for biological systems that adhere to the laws of physics.

Definition of energetically favorable reactions:
- Those more likely to occur due to lower activation energies.
Explanation of free energy and its relation to reaction spontaneity (ΔG):
- A reaction is favorable if ΔG < 0; unfavorable if ΔG > 0.
Discussion about reaching equilibrium between reactions and how certain conditions allow for the predominance of one direction of a reaction over another.

Glycolysis consists of three main phases:
1. Energy Investment Phase: Input of ATP, conversion of glucose to fructose.
2. Cleavage Phase: Splitting of a six-carbon sugar into two three-carbon molecules.
3. Energy Harvesting Phase: Production of ATP and NADH.
Split into 10 steps:
- Key molecules: glucose, fructose, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.
- Breakdown involves multiple enzyme-catalyzed reactions along the pathway.

Steps 1-3: ATP used to phosphorylate glucose.
Steps 4-5: Conversion of fructose bisphosphate into two glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate molecules.
Steps 6-10: Involve oxidation and substrate-level phosphorylation for ATP production.
- Pyruvate is generated as a product at the end of glycolysis, with its fate dependent on oxygen availability.
Lack of oxygen leads to the production of lactate rather than entry into the citric acid cycle.

Upcoming lectures will focus on mitochondria, fatty acid oxidation, citric acid cycle details, and the overall processes of metabolism.
Reference to specific physiological and biochemical mechanisms and the importance of understanding how substances metabolize at the cellular level.

Encouragement for students to take advantage of available learning resources (e.g., study sessions, videos) to prepare for exams.
Reinforcement of the importance of integrating understanding of metabolic pathways with clinical applications in future medical contexts.

Reminder of major upcoming assignments and the need to engage academically in the upcoming discussions.
Note on the interdependence of chemistry and biology in understanding metabolism and energy generation.
Emphasis on the utility of learning pathways to relate and predict biological processes based on metabolic routes.