北大生物化学课件Chapter1and2.ppt

The aim of study:To be able to read what is not written and to hear what is not said! Zengyi Chang /lab/proteinsci/ Biochemistry (I II)Foundations and overview Definition of Biochemistry Biochemistry: seeks to understand the structure, organization, and function of living matter in chemical terms. Biochemistry aims to understand how the lifeless molecules interact to make the complexity and efficiency of the life phenomena and to explain the diverse forms of life in chemical terms. It brought the occurrence of the molecular revolution of biology in the 20th century and has thus become the common language of biological sciences. What is common for all life forms (unity) and what is unique for one particular form (diversification). Kinds of questions asked by biochemists What are the chemical structures of the components of living matter? How do the interactions of these components give rise to organized supramolecular structures, cells, multicellular tissues, and organisms? How does living matter extract energy from its surroundings in order to remain alive? How does an organism store and transmit the information it needs to grow and to reproduce itself accurately? What chemical changes accompany the reproduction, aging, and death of cells and organisms? How are chemical reactions controlled inside living cells? Three principle areas of Biochemistry Structural Chemistry: structure-function relationship for proteins, carbohydrates, DNA/RNA, lipids, etc.; Metabolism: totality of chemical reactions that occur in living organism, concerning catabolism anabolism of building blocks, as well as management of cellular Energy; Storage, transmission, and expression of genetic information: DNA replication and protein synthesis. Many drugs were designed as a result of our biochemical understanding of living organisms A consequence of accumulated knowledge in central areas of biochemistryprotein structure and function, nucleic acid synthesis, enzyme mechanism, r