List of biochemistry topics

List of Biochemistry Topics

Biochemistry, a branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms, is a dynamic and essential field of study in understanding life's complexity. It bridges the sciences of biology and chemistry by focusing on the molecular level of organisms. This article aims to provide a comprehensive list of topics within the realm of biochemistry, each playing a pivotal role in the understanding of life's biochemical processes.

Fundamental Concepts

• Cell: The basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all known living organisms.
• Protein: Large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues.
• Enzyme: Biocatalysts that speed up chemical reactions in cells.
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid): A molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix, carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.
• RNA (Ribonucleic Acid): A polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes.
• Lipid: A group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, and phospholipids.
• Carbohydrate: Biological molecules consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1.

Metabolism and Bioenergetics

• Metabolism: The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.
• Glycolysis: The metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+.
• Citric Acid Cycle (Krebs Cycle): A series of chemical reactions used by all aerobic organisms to generate energy.
• Oxidative Phosphorylation: The metabolic pathway in which cells use enzymes to oxidize nutrients, thereby releasing energy which is used to reform ATP.
• Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.

Genetics and Molecular Biology

• Gene: A unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.
• Genetic Code: The set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences) into proteins.
• Transcription: The process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA.
• Translation: The process in which ribosomes in a cell's cytoplasm create proteins, following transcription of DNA to RNA in the cell's nucleus.

Structural Biochemistry

• Amino Acid: Organic compounds containing amine (-NH2) and carboxyl (-COOH) functional groups, along with a side chain (R group) specific to each amino acid.
• Nucleic Acid: Biopolymers, or large biomolecules, essential for all known forms of life.
• Protein Structure: The three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in an amino acid-chain molecule.

Biochemical Techniques

• Chromatography: A laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture.
• Electrophoresis: A method used in biochemistry and molecular biology to separate DNA or RNA molecules by size.
• Mass Spectrometry: An analytical technique that ionizes chemical species and sorts the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio.

Pathways and Regulation

• Signal Transduction: The process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events.
• Cell Cycle: The series of events that take place in a cell leading to its division and duplication.
• Apoptosis: The process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms.

Clinical Biochemistry

• Blood Test: A laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample.
• Enzyme Assay: A laboratory method for measuring enzymatic activity.
• Hormone: Chemical substances that act like messenger molecules in the body.

This list represents a fraction of the vast and ever-expanding field of biochemistry. Each topic is interconnected, demonstrating the complexity and beauty of life at the molecular level.