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Biochemistry Course Analysis

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Biochemistry plays a vital role in the everyday life of everything natural and mechanical. Throughout the course, we gained an understanding of why having four stable covalent bonds that bond readily to elements makes carbon qualified to be the foundation of sustainable life. With this fundamental principle in mind, we continued learning by understanding the essentials of water. Water is amphipathic, so when participating in reactions water can either hydrolyze or condense the reaction. For example, the reaction converting ADP to ATP involves the condensation of water and vice versa resulting in the hydrolysis of water converting ATP to ADP. We then went on to learn about amino acids and their relationship to proteins. We discussed various …show more content…

During that time we learned various steps and methods to purifying protein. We segwayed into enzymes and their ability to catalyze reactions by lowering the activation energy. We also learned the different classifications that specific enzymes depending on the reactions they catalyze. For example, enzymes that are involved in catalyzing hydrolysis reactions are known as hydrolases. Lastly, we looked at polysaccharides for short-term energy storage and their interactions through glycosidic bondage. Nucleotides were also mentioned and their involvement in DNA and RNA. Concluding the course, we observed lipids and their involvement with long-term energy storage. With all that we have learned, I now reflect and appraise the role that biochemistry plays in my everyday life as well as from a global point of view. Biochemistry is continuously working, even without visual proof. Chemical reactions are happening all around and within us. One example where biochemistry plays a major role is in the storage of energy. There are two biomolecules that are responsible for energy storage: polysaccharides and lipids. Polysaccharides deal with the short-term storage and are readily available for conversion to …show more content…

One example that teeters between good and bad is the role of biochemistry in the internal combustible engine. The combustible engine takes liquid gasoline and converts it to gas which is burned and converted into mechanical energy that powers the car. Growing up in Los Angeles, CA there are people and cars everywhere. However, with so many cars using gasoline there are two critical downfalls. The first comes from the accumulation of smog, pollutants that interact with the atmosphere. When the gas is burned, the waste is filtered through the catalytic converter but smog is still emitted. Too much smog inhalation can lead to birth defects and even cancer. The other downfall, which is just as important, is global warming. When smog levels are high enough those harmful gases emitted by engines get trapped and are unable to leave the atmosphere. This attracts more sunlight and in turn leads to added melting of the ice caps. Yet, the hope for Earth is not lost. There are measures being taken looking into alternative sources, other than gasoline, that we can use to power cars. Some have looked into using ethanol from corn and cellulose as a substitute, while others have looked into electrical power via batteries. Mechanically, while biochemistry has improved the daily lives of everyone on Earth via the internal combustible engine, the same biochemistry has

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