Introduction

This blog is created mainly for educational use. The purpose of this blog is for all people to be able to learn more about Biochemistry which is related to their daily life. It is also composed of mainly laboratory based science that brings together both Chemistry and Biology.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to;

- Outline fundamental biochemical principles such as structure and function of biomolecules (C4).

- Differentiate biochemical principles, enzymes and metabolic pathways (C4).

- Conduct experimental techniques used in biochemistry (P4).

NAME: Sherlis anak Linus

MATRIC NUMBER: 67700

GROUP 3

FACULTY OF RESOURCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

LECTURER: Dr Dayang Salwani bt Awang Adeni

TASK 1: Self-reflection - Introduction to Biochemistry

Students should include a statement of Course Learning Outcomes (CLO), relate subject biochemistry with examples given in the introduction lecture.

Biochemistry is defined as the study of chemistry that relates to the biological activity of organisms. Biochemistry is also known as study of life at molecular level and describing the chemistry of the living cell. There are two major breakthroughs in history of biochemistry, which are the discovery of roles of enzymes as catalysts and the role of nucleic acids as information-carrying molecules. In biochemistry, we are going to be able to describe the structure, organization and function of living organisms in terms of molecules.

 

Application of Biochemistry:

1. Medicines

-use to aid digestion (amylase, protease, lipase)

-used as deworming agents (Papain)

-act as anti-clotting agents such as thrombolytic and fibrinolytic (Urokinase and Streptokinase)

2. Agriculture

- enzymes used in agricultures are able to speed up chemical reactions that unblocks the nutrients present in the soil.

-soil will be fertilized, causing productions of corps become better.

3. Industrial processes

- used in textile industries (amylase as softening agent for starched clothes)

-paper manufacturing (Endoxylanases for bleaching of wood pulp)

 

Three Areas of Studies:

· Conformational – structure and 3-D arrangements of biomolecules.

· Metabolism – biochemical pathways.

· Informational – language for communication inside and between cells.

TASK 2: YOUTUBE VIDEO – Interaction Between Molecules and Salt (NaCl) When Dissolved in Water.

Form a group of 5, produce a YouTube video; less than 3 minutes explaining interactions between water molecules and salt (NaCl) when it dissolved in the water.

In this video, we are going to learn on how water molecules interact with the salt molecules (NaCl).

Members involved:

-Cornelius Carlsaint anak Marcus (65727)

-Sherlis anak Linus (67700)

-Aaron Geoffrey (65281)

-Nazrul bin Mohammad Hamdi (66925)

-Mohammad Najib bin Faysial (66687)

Click on the link below:

https://youtu.be/iz6WxH3Cus4 

TASK 3: Infographic About Non-Covalent Interactions

Produce an infographic about non-covalent interactions.

TASK 4: Mind-map of Amino Acids and Proteins

Students should create a mind map about common structures of amino acids and different structures of proteins.

TASK 5: Enzyme Applications in Industries (Infographic)

Students should make an infographic about enzyme applications in industry.

TASK 6: Mind Map for Vitamins

Students should create a mind map about vitamins based on lecture notes in eLEAP.

TASK 7: Self-Reflection on Carbohydrates

Students should give self-reflection on different types of carbohydrates and their functions in their daily life.

CARBOHYDRATES

- consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

-produced through carbon dioxide fixation during photosynthesis.

-basic units of carbohydrates are called monosaccharides.

-polymers of monosaccharides are called polysaccharides.

Carbohydrates functions as:

l Energy storage (glycogen, starch)

l Cellulose component (cellulose, chitin)

l Cellular recognition (glycoprotein, glycolipids)

l Carbohydrates derivatives (DNA, RNA, co-factors)

 

TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates can be divided into 2 main types:

-simple carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides)

-complex carbohydrates (starch, glycogen, fiber)

Monosaccharides

-simplest carbohydrates

-cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller carbohydrates

-classified according to number of carbon

-examples: glucose, fructose, galactose

 

Monosaccharides are aldoses and ketones with two or more hydroxyl groups.

Monosaccharides aslo exhibits enantiomers, diastereomers and epimers characteristics.

In uncyclized form, monosaccharides acts as reducing agents.

Disaccharides

-made up of two sugars

-examples: maltose, sucrose, lactose

 

Complex carbohydrates

-also called polysaccharides as they contain many sugars.

 

l Glucose and fructose have monosaccharides that can be found in fruits, vegetables, honey and food products like glucose-fructose syrup.

l Sugar or sucrose can be found naturally in sugar beet, sugar cane and fruits.

l Lactose can be found in milk and dairy products.

l Maltose can be found in malt and starch derived from syrups.

 

FUNCTION OF CARBOHYDRATES IN DAILY LIFE

1. Main source of energy

-during digestion,  carbohydrates will be broken down into monosaccharides by digestive enzymes and is directly absorbed into the body.

-glucose is used as the primary source of energy in muscles, brains and other cells as glucose will be used to produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) which needed to perform various metabolic tasks.

2. Can provide stored energy

-when glucose is not used directly, body will convert glucose into glycogen, which will be stored in liver and the muscles as a readily available source of energy.

-when glucose is needed, our body will converts the glycogen stored into glucose to maintain a constant blood sugar level especially after doing any physical activities or between meals.

TASK 8: Self-Reflection on Lipid

Students should give self-reflection on different types of lipids and their functions in their daily life.

LIPIDS

Lipids are known as molecules that contain hydrocarbons and make up of living blocks of structure and functions of a living cells. Examples of lipids are like fats, oils, waxes vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, and K as well as hormones and majority of the cell membrane that is not made up from proteins.

l Lipids are not soluble in water (non polar) but soluble in non polar solvents such as chloroform.

l In fats cells, lipids are in the form of triglyceride, where an ester is formed from glycerol and three fatty acids.

l Lipids also an excellent form of energy storage when hydrogen is metabolized to produce large amount of energy.

MAIN TYPES OF LIPIDS

l Triglycerides

-can make up more than 95% of lipids in diet.

-also commonly called as fats and oils.

-can be found in  foods including avocado, olives and corn.

l Phospholipids

-water soluble and can be found in both plants and animals.

-crucial for building protective barrier or membrane of the body cells.

-form a structure which fats is enclosed and transported throughout the bloodstream.

l Sterols

-least common types of lipids.

-examples of sterols is cholesterol, an important component of cell membrane and is required for synthesis of sex hormones, vitamin B and bile salts.

 

FUNCTION OF LIPIDS

1. Acts as a energy storage

-fats are packed together tightly without water and thus can store much more energy in a limited space compared to the bulky glycogen that contain a great water content.

2. Acts as an insulator and protection for the body.

-fats acts as a layer of protection as it prevents friction in certain areas like hands which is often come in contact with hard surfaces.

-gives extra padding required when our body involved in vigorous activity like snowboarding or horseback riding.

3. Acts as a high energy source

-food with high-fats are the convenient source of energy due to presence of high caloric density.

-children usually requires a proper amount of fats as it can help in their growth and their development of their bodies.

-those who have physically demanding jobs like athletes also requires the fats as other energy source when the body has used up all of the calories obtained from carbohydrates.

TASK 9: YOUTUBE VIDEO – Glycolysis, Kreb Cycle and Electron Transport Systems

Create a YouTube video explain on Glycolysis, Kreb Cycle & Electron Transport System. Students should discuss Glycolysis, Kreb Cycle & Electron Transport System.

In this video, we are going to learn about the process of Glycolysis, Kreb Cycle and Electron Transport System.

Members involved:

-Cornelius Carlsaint anak Marcus (65727)

-Sherlis anak Linus (67700)

-Aaron Geoffrey (65281)

-Nazrul bin Mohammad Hamdi (66925)

-Mohammad Najib bin Faysial (66687)

 

Click on the link down below:

https://youtu.be/91vc7RtPAK0 

TASK 10: Self- Reflection on Biochemistry

Students write a letter to their lecturers (constructive comments on the teaching methods of their lecturers), reflect the activities that they have done with what they have learned and relate Biochemistry in their own programme and life.

    Firstly, I would like to thank our lecturer who guided us on this tasks for the course STB 1083 Biochemistry, Dr Dayang Salwani, Group 2. My name is Sherlis anak Linus with matric number of 67700 from Faculty of Resource Science and Technology (FRST). During class, Biochemistry is a very fun subject to be learn and the lecturer's teaching methods able to make the students to recall back every lessons that we have done on each passing weeks. The explanation provided in classes is much more understandable compared to the time when we read the notes for a basic understanding on what is going to be taught in classes.

From this learning course, Biochemistry, I was able to learn about the fundamentals regarding the biochemical principles including the structures and function of biomolecules. This includes the functions of amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids as well as properties of enzymes and its reactions and metabolism process that occurs in a human body.

In each task given, there are different types of activities needed to be done such as infographic, Youtube videos, mind maps as well as self-reflection regarding each topics learned in this courses. Different activities given has made each of the tasks to become more fun to be learned and from each activities done, it is much more understandable in our own way as we tried to extract the only important parts from the overall topics in Biochemistry. From detailed information included in each notes, we were able to categorized the points better from our own point of view. While doing every task, we also sometimes look for some extra information on the internet in order to have a better understanding on every topics discussed in each of the tasks.

In life, Biochemistry is much more important to be learned as this exposed us to information like how does the biomolecules around us affect our daily life. For instance, the daily food intake that consists of balanced amount of carbohydrates, fats, proteins as well as vitamins and minerals. Each of these food categories have their own good and bad impacts depending on the intake needed by each person. From this courses, we are also able to learn about the metabolism process that takes place in our body like Glycolysis, Electron Transport System, TCA cycle and Oxydative phosphorylation. We also learn on how does the enzymes works in our body especially when it comes to the process of providing energy to the body through breakdown of complex molecules into smaller units that can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream. Enzymes plays an important role when it comes to the regulation process in our body depending on how does the enzymes inhibited by a certain process or molecules as well as their different kind of characteristics owned by each enzymes.

I will look forward to learn much more things regarding Biochemistry as well as fun activities that going to be provided in each learning in order to make the learning environment much productive for each of the students.