Biochemistry

The study of life or more aptly put, of chemical processes in living organisms.
Biochemists research includes cancer and stem cell biology, infectious
disease as well as membrane and structural biology and spans molecular
biology, genetics, mechanistic biochemistry, genomics, evolution and systems
biology.
Biochemistry, according to many scientists can also be explained as a
discipline in which biological phenomena are examined in chemical terms.
Examples are digestion and cellular respiration.
For this reason biochemistry is also known as Chemical Biology or Biological
Chemistry.
Under the main umbrella of biochemistry many new sub-branches have
emerged that modern chemists may specialize in solely. Some of these
disciplines include:
1.
Enzymology (study of enzymes)
2.
Endocrinology (study of hormones)
3.
Clinical Biochemistry (study of diseases)
4.
Molecular Biochemistry (Study of Biomolecules and their functions).
There are also others like Pharmacological Biochemistry, Agricultural
Biochemistry and more.

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the

study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms.
By controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and
the flow of chemical energy through metabolism, biochemical
processes give rise to the complexity of life. Over the last decades
of the 20th century, biochemistry has become so successful at
explaining living processes that now almost all areas of the life

sciences from botany to medicine to genetics are engaged in

biochemical research. Today, the main focus of pure biochemistry is
on understanding how biological molecules give rise to the
processes that occur within living cells, which in turn relates greatly
to the study and understanding of tissues, organs, and whole
organisms that is, all of biology.
Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, the study of
the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information encoded in
DNA is able to result in the processes of life. Depending on the exact
definition of the terms used, molecular biology can be thought of as
a branch of biochemistry, or biochemistry as a tool with which to
investigate and study molecular biology.
Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, functions and
interactions of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic
acids, carbohydrates and lipids, which provide the structure of cells
and perform many of the functions associated with life. The
chemistry of the cell also depends on the reactions of
smaller molecules and ions. These can be inorganic, for
example water and metal ions, or organic, for example the amino
acids, which are used to synthesize proteins. The mechanisms by
which cells harness energy from their environment via chemical
reactions are known as metabolism. The findings of biochemistry are
applied primarily in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. In medicine,
biochemists investigate the causes and cures of diseases. In
nutrition, they study how to maintain health and study the effects
of nutritional deficiencies. In agriculture, biochemists
investigate soil and fertilizers, and try to discover ways to improve
crop cultivation, crop storage and pest control.

History
At its broadest definition, biochemistry can be seen as a study of the
components and composition of living things and how they come
together to become life, and the history of biochemistry may
therefore go back as far as the ancient Greeks. However,
biochemistry as a specific scientific discipline has its beginning

some time in the 19th century, or a little earlier, depending on

which aspect of biochemistry one is being focused on. Some argued
that the beginning of biochemistry may have been the discovery of
the first enzyme, diastase (today called amylase), in 1833 by
Anselme Payen, while others considered Eduard Buchner's first
demonstration of a complex biochemical process alcoholic
fermentation in cell-free extracts in 1897 to be the birth of
biochemistry. Some might also point as its beginning to the
influential 1842 work by Justus von Liebig, Animal chemistry, or,
Organic chemistry in its applications to physiology and pathology,
which presented a chemical theory of metabolism, or even earlier to
the 18th century studies on fermentation and respiration by Antoine
Lavoisier. Many other pioneers in the field who helped to uncover
the layers of complexity of biochemistry have been proclaimed
founders of modern biochemistry, for example Emil Fischer for his
work on the chemistry of proteins, and F. Gowland Hopkins on
enzymes and the dynamic nature of biochemistry.
The term "biochemistry" itself is derived from a combination
of biology and chemistry. In 1877, Felix Hoppe-Seyler used the term
(biochemie in German) as a synonym for physiological chemistry in
the foreword to the first issue of Zeitschrift fr Physiologische
Chemie (Journal of Physiological Chemistry) where he argued for the
setting up of institutes dedicated to this field of study. The
German chemist Carl Neuberg however is often cited to have been
coined the word in 1903, while some credited it to Franz Hofmeister.
Another significant historic event in biochemistry is the discovery of
the gene and its role in the transfer of information in the cell. This
part of biochemistry is often called molecular biology. In the
1950s, James D. Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin,
and Maurice Wilkins were instrumental in solving DNA structure and
suggesting its relationship with genetic transfer of information. In
1958, George Beadle and Edward Tatum received the Nobel Prize for
work in fungi showing that one gene produces one enzyme. In
1988, Colin Pitchfork was the first person convicted of murder
with DNA evidence, which led to growth of forensic science. More
recently, Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello received the 2006 Nobel

Prize for discovering the role of RNA interference (RNAi), in the

silencing of gene expression.

Starting materials: the chemical elements of life

Around two dozen of the 92 naturally occurring chemical
elements are essential to various kinds of biological life. Most rare
elements on Earth are not needed by life (exceptions
being selenium and iodine), while a few common ones
(aluminum and titanium) are not used. Most organisms share
element needs, but there are a few differences
between plants and animals. For example, ocean algae use bromine,
but land plants and animals seem to need none. All animals
require sodium, but some plants do not. Plants
need boron and silicon, but animals may not (or may need ultrasmall amounts).
Just six elementscarbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium,
and phosphorusmake up almost 99% of the mass of living cells,
including those in the human body (see composition of the human
body for a complete list). In addition to the six major elements that
compose most of the human body, humans require smaller amounts
of possibly 18 more.

Biomolecules
The four main classes of molecules in biochemistry (often
called biomolecules) are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic
acids. Many biological molecules are polymers: in this
terminology, monomers are relatively small micromolecules that
are linked together to create large macromolecules known
as polymers. When monomers are linked together to synthesize
a biological polymer, they undergo a process called dehydration
synthesis. Different macromolecules can assemble in larger
complexes, often needed for biological activity.

Carbohydrates

The function of carbohydrates includes energy storage and providing

structure. Sugars are carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrates are sugars. There are
more carbohydrates on Earth than any other known type of biomolecule; they are
used to store energy and genetic information, as well as play important roles in cell
to cell interactions and communications.

Lipids
Lipids comprises a diverse range of molecules and to some extent is a catchall for
relatively water-insoluble or nonpolar compounds of biological origin,
including waxes, fatty acids, fatty-acid
derived phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycolipids, and terpenoids (e.g.,
retinoids and steroids). Some lipids are linear aliphatic molecules, while others have
ring structures. Some are aromatic, while others are not. Some are flexible, while
others are rigid.

Proteins
Proteins are very large molecules macro-biopolymers made from monomers
called amino acids. An amino acid consists of a carbon atom bound to four groups.
One is an amino group, NH2, and one is a carboxylic acid group, COOH (although
these exist as NH3+ and COO under physiologic conditions). The third is a
simple hydrogen atom. The fourth is commonly denoted "R" and is different for
each amino acid. There are 20 standard amino acids, each containing a carboxyl
group, an amino group, and a side-chain (known as an "R" group). The "R" group is
what makes each amino acid different, and the properties of the side-chains greatly
influence the overall three-dimensional conformation of a protein. Some amino
acids have functions by themselves or in a modified form; for
instance, glutamate functions as an important neurotransmitter. Amino acids can be
joined via a peptide bond. In this dehydration synthesis, a water molecule is
removed and the peptide bond connects the nitrogen of one amino acid's amino
group to the carbon of the other's carboxylic acid group. The resulting molecule is
called a dipeptide, and short stretches of amino acids (usually, fewer than thirty)
are called peptides or polypeptides. Longer stretches merit the title proteins. As an
example, the important blood serum protein albumin contains 585 amino acid
residues.

Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids, so called because of its prevalence in cellular nuclei, is the generic
name of the family of biopolymers. They are complex, high-molecular-weight

biochemical macromolecules that can convey genetic information in all living cells
and viruses.

Relationship to other "molecular-scale"

biological sciences
Biochemistry is the study of the chemical substances and vital
processes occurring in living organisms. Biochemists focus
heavily on the role, function, and structure of biomolecules.
The study of the chemistry behind biological processes and the
synthesis of biologically active molecules are examples of
biochemistry.
Genetics is the study of the effect of genetic differences on
organisms. Often this can be inferred by the absence of a
normal component (e.g., one gene). The study of "mutants"
organisms with a changed gene that leads to the organism
being different with respect to the so-called "wild type" or
normal phenotype. Genetic interactions (epistasis) can often
confound simple interpretations of such "knock-out" or "knockin" studies.
Molecular biology is the study of molecular underpinnings of
the process of replication, transcription and translation of
the genetic material. The central dogma of molecular
biology where genetic material is transcribed into RNA and
then translated into protein, despite being an oversimplified
picture of molecular biology, still provides a good starting point
for understanding the field. This picture, however, is
undergoing revision in light of emerging novel roles for RNA
Chemical biology seeks to develop new tools based on small
molecules that allow minimal perturbation of biological
systems while providing detailed information about their
function. Further, chemical biology employs biological systems
to create non-natural hybrids between biomolecules and
synthetic devices (for example emptied viral capsids that can
deliver gene therapy or drug molecules)