lec1-4 organized.pdf - Biochemistry as a discipline...

Biochemistry concerns the study of living things
at the molecular level.
• Essentially, it is a chemistry-based approach to
studying life.
Early biochemists isolated enzymes and studied
metabolic processes. Examples:
• Discovery of amylase in 1833, an enzyme
that breaks down starch. This was the first
enzyme to be discovered.
• Enzymatic pathways leading to the
breakdown of glucose , which is the most
important energy source for all living
things, and fermentation of alcohol .
Biochemistry as a discipline
Gerty and Carl Cori. Winners
of the 1947 Nobel Prize

Organisms are remarkably
similar at the molecular level.
“Anything found to be true of E.
coli must also be true of the
elephant.”
- Jacques Monod
Living things are similar at the molecular level
All living things are composed of cells which are composed primarily
of water and four major types of biomolecules .

1.
4.
3.
2.
Four major classes of biomolecules

Elemental composition of human beings

Atom Symbol Valency
Hydrogen
Carbon
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Sulfur
Phosphorus
Covalent Bonds

Carbon Chemistry