What is biochemistry the science of?
Molecules in living organisms, their reactions, enzymes, and metabolic regulation.
How do biochemistry and medicine relate?
They have a mutually cooperative relationship.
What does biochemistry contribute to?
Cell biology, physiology, immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology, inflammation, cell injury, and cancer research.
In which year did the Büchner brothers demonstrate cell-free yeast fermentation?
In 1899.
Which compounds were identified in cell-free fermentation research?
Inorganic phosphate, ADP, ATP, NAD(H), and phosphorylated sugars.
What reactions and enzymes were studied in cell-free fermentation research?
Those converting glucose to pyruvate or to ethanol and CO2.
What metabolic intermediates were identified in research starting in the 1930s?
Intermediates of the citric acid cycle and urea biosynthesis.
Which vitamin-derived coenzymes were established in 1930s research?
Thiamin pyrophosphate, riboflavin, coenzyme A, coenzyme Q, and cobamide coenzyme.
Which biological materials were used to study biochemical processes?
Animal models, perfused organs, tissue slices, cell homogenates, subfractions, and purified enzymes.
Which techniques enabled analysis of intermediates in complex biochemical pathways?
Analytical ultracentrifugation, chromatography, and radioisotopes.
Name three radioisotopes used to trace biochemical intermediates.
Carbon-14, tritium (hydrogen-3), and phosphorus-32.
What was X-ray crystallography used for in biochemistry?
Determining three-dimensional structures of proteins, polynucleotides, enzymes, and viruses.
What difference was found between normal and sickle cell hemoglobin?
A single amino acid sequence difference.
Who showed alkaptonuria and similar diseases are genetically determined?
Archibald Garrod.
When did Archibald Garrod identify inborn errors of metabolism?
In the early 1900s.
Which diseases did Archibald Garrod classify as inborn errors of metabolism?
Alkaptonuria, albinism, cystinuria, and pentosuria.
What did studies of familial hypercholesterolemia clarify about mutations?
They clarified disease-causing mutations.
What cellular mechanisms were clarified by familial hypercholesterolemia studies?
Mechanisms of cell receptors and molecular uptake.
What specific molecular uptake was studied in familial hypercholesterolemia?
Cholesterol uptake.
How does WHO define health?
Complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not just absence of disease.
What is required for maintaining health regarding diet?
Optimal intake of vitamins, certain amino acids and fatty acids, minerals, and water.
What causes many diseases at the biochemical level?
Abnormalities in genes, proteins, chemical reactions, or biochemical processes.
What are examples of biochemical disturbances affecting health?
Electrolyte imbalance, defective nutrient absorption, hormonal imbalances, toxins, and genetic disorders.
In which year was the entire human genome sequence completed?
2003
How long after Watson and Crick described DNA's structure was the human genome sequenced?
About 50 years later
What did sequencing genes and gene knockout experiments reveal?
Previously unknown genes and products
What insights did gene sequencing and knockout experiments provide about humans?
Insights into human evolution
How did gene sequencing help in medical research?
It helped identify disease-related genes
Which model organisms are genetically manipulable for gene function studies?
Yeast, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and zebrafish
What do genetically manipulable model organisms help scientists understand?
Individual gene functions and human diseases
What is genomics?
The in-depth study of an organism's complete set of genes and their functions.
What does transcriptomics study?
RNA transcripts.
What does proteomics study?
Proteins.
What does glycomics study?
Carbohydrates.
What does lipidomics study?
Lipids.
What does metabolomics study?
Metabolites and their changes in metabolic states.
What is pharmacogenomics?
The use of genomic information to optimize drug discovery and development.
What is bioinformatics?
The collection, storage, and analysis of biological data like DNA, RNA, and protein sequences.
What does molecular diagnostics use to assist medical diagnosis?
Molecular approaches such as DNA probes.
What size are medical devices developed in nanotechnology?
Only a few nanometers in size.
How many meters equal 1 nanometer in nanotechnology?
1 nm equals meters.
What are stem cells capable of in stem cell biology?
Self-renewal and differentiation into any adult cell type.
What does synthetic biology combine to build new biological functions?
Biomolecular techniques with engineering approaches.
What does ENCODE identify in the human genome?
Functional elements.
What does GenBank store?
Known biological nucleotide sequences and their translations.
What does PDB store?
Three-dimensional structures of macromolecules.
Test your knowledge with 17 questions on Biochemistry and Medicine Foundations.
1. What does biochemistry primarily investigate in living organisms?
2. How do biochemistry and medicine influence one another?
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