Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals , chemical reactions and chemical interactions that take place in living organisms .

Biochemistry is focused on the structure and function of cellularcomponents , such as proteins , carbohydrates , lipids , nucleic acids , and other biomolecules . Recentlybiochemistry has focused more specifically on the chemistry of enzyme -mediatedreactions, and on the properties of proteins.

The biochemistry of cell metabolism has been extensivelydescribed. Other areas of biochemistry include the genetic code ( DNA , RNA ), protein synthesis , cell membrane transport, signal transduction and energydecomposition cycles .

Development of biochemistry

The dawn of biochemistry may have been the discovery of the first enzyme , diastase , in 1833 by Anselme Payen . In 1828 , Friedrich Wöhler published a paper about the synthesis of urea ,proving that organic compounds can be created artificially, in contrast to the common belief of the time that organic compoundscan only be made by living organisms. Since then, biochemistry has advanced, especially since the mid- 20th century , with the development of new techniques such as chromatography , X-ray diffraction , NMR , radioisotopic labelling , electron microscopy and moleculardynamics simulations. These techniques allowed for the discovery and detailed analysis of many molecules and metabolic pathways of the cell , such as glycolysis and the Krebs cycle .

Today, the findings of biochemistry are used in many areas, from genetics to molecular biology and from agriculture to medicine . The first application of biochemistrywas probably the making of bread using yeast ,about 5000 years ago.

Categories

Biochemistry is principally concerned with the chemistry of substances thatcan be classified into a few major categories:

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins and Amino acids
• Nucleic acids

See also

• Chemical ecology
• Biochemical keytopics
• List of biochemistry topics
• List of biomolecules
• List of biochemists