Related topics: cells · cancer · protein

Mirror-imaging in molecules can modify neuron signaling

With the aid of some sea slugs, University of Nebraska–Lincoln chemists have discovered that one of the smallest conceivable tweaks to a biomolecule can elicit one of the grandest conceivable consequences: directing the ...

Update on Golden Retriever Lifetime Study published

As the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study approaches its 10th anniversary, a newly published paper in the journal PLOS ONE reviews the study's findings to date and previews research in progress. 

Removing belly fat before it sticks to you

Triglycerides, those fats that seem to be the bane of any diet, remain a mystery for many researchers. Plenty of them are in Big Macs, deep pan pizza and the like, but some are a necessity to fuel the body for daily activities.

Video: A successful mission starts with nutrition

Centuries ago, large, wooden ships explored the seven seas. But often a ship that began its voyage with a crew of hundreds could return with tens. The silent killer? Scurvy, a disease that occurs when there's a lack of Vitamin ...

New research boosts antibiotic hope

Research carried out at the University of Exeter has advanced understanding of how some damaging bacteria behave and may pave the way for new and more targeted antibiotics.

New study sheds light on molecular machinery of nervous system

A University of Arkansas research team shed new light on the molecular properties that drive the nervous system. Their work was recently published in Biochemistry, one of the top journals in the field. Kelsey Sparks, an alumna ...

Researchers show fruit flies have latent bioluminescence

New research from Stephen C. Miller, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology, shows that fruit flies are secretly harboring the biochemistry needed to glow in the dark—otherwise known as bioluminescence.

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Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules.

Although there are a vast number of different biomolecules many are complex and large molecules (called polymers) that are composed of similar repeating subunits (called monomers). Each class of polymeric biomolecule has a different set of subunit types. For example, a protein is a polymer whose subunits are selected from a set of 20 or more amino acids. Biochemistry studies the chemical properties of important biological molecules, like proteins, in particular the chemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

The biochemistry of cell metabolism and the endocrine system has been extensively described. Other areas of biochemistry include the genetic code (DNA, RNA), protein synthesis, cell membrane transport, and signal transduction.

Since all known life forms that are still alive today are descended from the same common ancestor, they have generally similar biochemistries. It is unknown whether alternative biochemistries are possible or practical.

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