What is Biochemistry?

Summary

This transcript offers an insightful overview of the biochemistry major, contrasting it with biology and chemistry. Biology focuses on living organisms and systems, requiring more memorization than math. Chemistry emphasizes chemical structures and involves extensive mathematical applications. Biochemistry combines these, with a focus on the chemical processes within living organisms. It includes core chemistry courses like general, organic, and physical chemistry, and specialized biology courses like metabolism. The major prepares students for careers in drug development and can also serve as a foundation for medical professions.

Takeaways

• 🔬 Biology majors focus on living organisms and biological systems, with less emphasis on math and more on memorization.
• 🧪 Chemistry majors delve into the chemical structures of substances, using extensive math and calculus in their studies.
• 🌐 Biochemistry is an intersection of biology and chemistry, requiring problem-solving and math skills to understand the chemistry of living organisms.
• 🧬 Biochemistry majors study macromolecules like DNA, RNA, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in detail, unlike biology majors who look at a broader picture.
• 🔋 General chemistry courses for biochemistry majors include topics like the periodic table, the evolution of atomic understanding, and battery cells.
• 🧪 Labs in general chemistry help prepare students for future courses and potential careers in running their own labs or in industry.
• 🧪 Organic chemistry (OEM) for biochemistry majors involves learning skeletal structures and the creation of new compounds through various mechanisms.
• 📚 Physical chemistry is math-intensive, with biochemistry and chemistry majors learning the proofs behind general chemistry concepts, possibly involving calculus and quantum mechanics.
• 💊 Biochemistry courses like metabolism focus on the chemical structures and processes of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids, and their roles in biological processes.
• 🧑‍⚕️ A biochemistry degree can lead to careers in the pharmaceutical industry or further education for roles in medical fields like becoming a doctor or pharmacist.
• 📚 Fourth-year electives allow biochemistry majors to choose between biology-focused or chemistry-focused subjects for a deeper understanding of their preferred subfield.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of a biology major?

A biology major focuses on studying living organisms and biological systems at both the organism level, such as animals and plants, and the cellular level. It involves more memorization of concepts rather than problem-solving or math applications.

How does a chemistry major differ from a biology major in terms of math and problem-solving?

A chemistry major involves more math and problem-solving compared to a biology major. Chemists use math extensively, including calculus and other mathematical formulas, to solve problems related to chemical structures and reactions.

What is the main difference between a biochemistry major and a chemistry major?

While both majors involve problem-solving and math, biochemistry majors focus on the chemistry of living organisms, studying macromolecules like DNA, RNA, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids at a molecular level, whereas chemistry majors study chemical structures and reactions in a broader context.

What core classes does a biochemistry major typically take?

A biochemistry major typically takes General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry, which are similar to the core classes taken by chemistry majors. These classes involve a significant amount of math and problem-solving.

What are some lab techniques that a biochemistry major might learn in General Chemistry?

In General Chemistry, a biochemistry major might learn lab techniques such as predicting the amount of product in a combustion reaction, titrating an acid to a specific endpoint, and creating a cell to apply knowledge of ions and redox reactions.

What is the focus of Organic Chemistry in the context of a biochemistry major?

In Organic Chemistry, a biochemistry major learns about skeletal structures of molecules, how to modify molecules to create new compounds, and the chemical composition of common nutrients like proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins.

How does Physical Chemistry differ from General and Organic Chemistry for a biochemistry major?

Physical Chemistry is more math-oriented than General and Organic Chemistry. It involves learning the proofs behind concepts taught in General Chemistry, potentially requiring calculus, and exploring topics like quantum mechanics and its applications in chemistry.

What are some biology courses that a biochemistry major might take to focus on molecular and cellular biology?

A biochemistry major might take courses such as Metabolism, which focuses on the chemistry of biological processes like glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation, providing energy to organisms.

How does a biochemistry major's education apply to the field of drugs and medicine?

Biochemistry majors can apply their knowledge in the development and testing of new drugs, understanding how drug compounds interact with the body, which is a common application of biochemistry in the pharmaceutical industry.

What career opportunities are available for a biochemistry major who does not want to work in a lab?

A biochemistry major who does not wish to work in a lab can pursue careers such as a quality control technician in industry or further their education to become a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or dentist, as the major satisfies prerequisites and provides a deep understanding of the biological world at a chemical level.

How can a biochemistry major customize their education through electives?

In their fourth year, a biochemistry major can choose technical electives that are either chemistry or biology classes. For a biology lean, electives might include genetics, physiology, neuroscience, virology, and microbiology. For a chemistry lean, electives could involve bioorganic chemistry, marine chemistry, environmental chemistry, pharmaceutical development, and inorganic chemistry.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Overview of Biochemistry Major

The first paragraph provides an overview of the biochemistry major, contrasting it with biology and chemistry majors. Biology focuses on living organisms and systems, with less emphasis on math and more on memorization. Chemistry, on the other hand, involves more mathematical problem-solving and the application of calculus. Biochemistry combines elements of both, with a focus on the chemical processes within living organisms. It requires a strong understanding of macromolecules like DNA, RNA, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. The paragraph also outlines the core classes a biochemistry major would take, such as General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry, which are similar to those taken by chemistry majors. Labs are an integral part of the coursework, preparing students for future research or industry work.

05:00

💊 Biochemistry Applications and Career Prospects

The second paragraph delves into the practical applications of biochemistry, particularly in the development and testing of drugs. It highlights the role of biochemists in understanding how drug compounds interact with the body. The paragraph also discusses career opportunities for biochemistry majors, including quality control technician roles in industry and the potential for further education leading to research or development positions. It mentions the relevance of a biochemistry degree for those interested in healthcare professions like medicine, pharmacy, nursing, or dentistry. The paragraph concludes by describing the elective courses available in the final year, which allow students to specialize further in areas such as genetics, physiology, neuroscience, virology, microbiology, or various chemistry subfields.

Keywords

💡Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. It is a field that bridges chemistry and biology, focusing on the molecular mechanisms, structures, and chemical reactions of biological systems. In the context of the video, biochemistry is presented as a major that requires a strong foundation in both chemistry and biology, with an emphasis on understanding the chemistry of living organisms. The video explains that biochemistry majors will delve into the chemistry of biological processes and macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.

💡Biology Major

A biology major typically focuses on the study of living organisms and their interactions with each other and their environments. It involves a broader scale, from the level of whole organisms like animals and plants to cellular and molecular levels. The video script highlights that biology majors engage in less problem-solving and math applications and more memorization of concepts, which contrasts with the more math-intensive nature of chemistry and biochemistry majors.

💡Chemistry Major

A chemistry major involves the study of the structure, composition, properties, and reactions of matter. It is a more math-intensive field compared to biology, often involving the application of calculus and other mathematical formulas to solve chemical problems. The video script emphasizes that chemistry majors engage in a significant amount of problem-solving and math applications, which is a key difference from biology majors and is also a core component of the biochemistry major.

💡General Chemistry

General chemistry is a foundational course for chemistry and biochemistry majors, covering basic chemical principles such as the periodic table, atomic theory, and chemical reactions. The video script mentions that general chemistry includes learning about the evolution of atomic understanding, the ideal gas law, and battery cells, with lab work that involves predicting product amounts and performing titrations.

💡Organic Chemistry (OEM)

Organic chemistry is the study of carbon-containing compounds, which are the basis of all known life and many pharmaceuticals. In the video, organic chemistry is described as a course where students learn about skeletal structures of molecules and how to manipulate these structures to create new compounds. Labs in organic chemistry involve creating products through various chemical mechanisms and predicting outcomes, which is crucial for understanding the chemistry of living organisms.

💡Physical Chemistry

Physical chemistry applies the principles of physics to chemical systems, often involving advanced mathematics and quantum mechanics. The video script notes that physical chemistry is math-oriented and may require calculus, including topics like quantum mechanics and its applications in chemistry, such as infrared spectroscopy, which is used to identify and analyze chemicals.

💡Macromolecules

Macromolecules are large molecules, such as DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, that are essential for the structure and function of living organisms. The video script explains that biochemists need to develop a significant understanding of these macromolecules, which are crucial for understanding the chemistry of life at a molecular level.

💡Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms, including the breakdown of food to produce energy. The video script mentions that biochemistry majors study metabolism, focusing on the chemical structures and relationships of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids, and the cellular processes like glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation that provide energy to organisms.

💡Drug Design

Drug design involves the process of creating new pharmaceutical agents to treat diseases. The video script highlights that a common application of biochemistry is in the development and testing of new drugs, where biochemists determine how various drug compounds interact with the body. This field of study is crucial for advancing medicine and healthcare.

💡Genetics

Genetics is the study of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. While not the main focus of the video script, genetics is mentioned as one of the biology-focused electives that biochemistry majors can choose, which can lead to understanding how altering gene expression can affect an organism, an important aspect of modern biological research.

💡Electives

Electives are courses that students can choose to take, often to specialize or explore areas of interest within their major. The video script explains that in the fourth year, biochemistry majors can choose tech electives that are either chemistry or biology classes, allowing them to delve deeper into subfields like genetics, physiology, neuroscience, virology, microbiology, or various branches of chemistry.

Highlights

Biology majors study living things and biological systems at the organism and cellular levels with less emphasis on problem-solving and more on memorization.

Chemistry majors delve into the chemical structures of all things on the planet, using extensive math and calculus.

Biochemistry is similar to chemistry, focusing on the chemistry of living organisms with more problem-solving and math applications.

Biochemists examine the chemical composition of living structures in detail, unlike biologists who look at the broader picture.

As a biochemistry major, you'll take general, organic, and physical chemistry, similar to a chemistry major's curriculum.

General chemistry covers basics like the periodic table, the evolution of atomic understanding, and energy prediction in battery cells.

Organic chemistry (OEM) involves learning skeletal structures and creating new compounds through various mechanisms.

Physical chemistry is math-oriented, proving concepts from general chemistry and potentially involving quantum mechanics.

Biochemistry majors take biology classes focusing on molecular and cellular biology, understanding processes at a chemical level.

Metabolism courses teach the chemistry of biological processes like glycolysis, the Kreb cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.

Biochemistry has practical applications in drug development, where biochemists study how drug compounds interact with the body.

Biochemistry can lead to careers in quality control or further education for research and experimentation.

The major is suitable for those interested in healthcare professions like becoming a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or dentist.

In the final year, students can choose technical electives to deepen their understanding of either chemistry or biology subfields.

Biology-focused electives include genetics, physiology, neuroscience, virology, and microbiology.

Chemistry-focused electives encompass bioorganic chemistry, marine chemistry, environmental chemistry, and pharmaceutical development.

Transcripts

in the biochemistry major as you can

guess you'll take a mixture of chemistry

and biology classes if you're stuck or

confused between biology chemistry and

biochemistry here's a very quick

overview a biology major studies living

things and biological systems on a

larger scale at the organism level like

animals and plants and also at a

cellular level biologists at an

undergraduate level do much less problem

solving or math applications and instead

do much more memorization of various

Concepts St if your decision is between

these three but you struggle with math

biology is probably the best way to

go a chemistry major studies the

chemical structures of all things on the

planet chemists use much more math and

even sometimes apply calculus and other

math formulas to the problems at hand

there's more math and calculus used than

you would probably assume from a high

school chem class even if you took AP

chem now biochemistry is similar to

chemistry in that you will have more

problem solving and will have to use

math to solve problems but biochemists

look more at the chemistry of living

organisms biochemists have a much more

zoomed in look at different living

structures and what they consist of than

a biology major biochemists will have to

develop a significant understanding of

macro molecules such as DNA RNA

carbohydrates proteins lipids Etc

whereas a biologist looks at more of an

overall picture of those living

structures and how everything interacts

together but as a biochemistry major you

will be more related to a chemistry

major and will nearly take all the same

core classes as they will so an

undergrad in biocham is almost like an

undergrad in chemistry so as a biochem

major you'll take General chemistry

organic chemistry and physical chemistry

whereas you'll hear them called genem

OEM and PM each school May Vary but

likely each one of those will consist of

two or three quarters or semesters and

will take an entire year and these are

identical to what chem Majors take and

they will take up a majority of your

core

classes General chemistry includes

learning all the basics from if you took

AP cm in high school you'll learn the

periodic table the evolution of how the

atom was understood the ideal gas law

and so on you'll also learn how battery

cells work and you use equations to

predict their energy in general

chemistry you will perform Labs such as

predict the amount of product you'll

have at the end of a combustion reaction

or be asked to titrate an acid to a

specific end point another potential

General chemistry lab is you might be

asked to create a cell which will apply

your knowledge of ions and oxidation and

reduction reaction these lab techniques

are meant to help prepare you for future

courses in the major and ultimately

prepare you for if you were to run your

own lab or continue on into

industry in OEM you'll have to learn

learn and memorize lots of different

skeletal structures you'll learn what

these mean and you'll get into how to

change a molecule based on its structure

to create a new compound you'll learn

what many different commonly known

nutrition compounds are made of like

proteins amino acids carbs and vitamins

in the lab you can expect to perform

many experiments that build on your

lecture material for example you might

be asked to create a product given an

initial starting material and through

various organic chemist mechanisms

arrive at a final product you'll be

asked to predict the amount of product

you'll end up with and will also learn

that the more steps in a procedure the

more error you will have built into the

experiment then physical chemistry will

be much more math oriented you will

learn the proof behind Concepts taught

in general chemistry and you might have

to do calculus to do so depending on the

University so you will do much more math

as a chem or biochem major than you may

have expected you'll even get into

quantum mechanics and how it applies to

chemistry which is a physics topic but

with applications in chemistry one

example would be infrared spectroscopy

this can be used to identify and analyze

different chemicals by shining infrared

light on it which we can't see infrared

is what some remote controls use to turn

on your TV but using a device called an

infrared spectrometer you can analyze

the spectrum of the infrared light and

then you can use that to tell what the

chemical is

now where biochem differs from chemistry

is you'll take more biology classes that

focus on molecular and cellular biology

but you'll focus on how these processes

work at a chemical level as a biochem

major you will take courses such as

metabolism where you'll learn what

carbohydrates lipids and amino acids are

and you'll be familiar with our chemical

structures and how they relate to each

other in metabolism this is where you'll

focus on the chemistry of biological

processes

such as glycolysis the kreb cycle and

oxidative phosphorilation which are all

just cellular processes that provide the

organism with

energy a very common application of

biochemistry is drugs and medicine

biochemists work on developing and

testing new drugs to determine how these

various drug compounds interact with the

body if you major in biocham but you're

not interested in continuing your

education you can find jobs in Industry

such as a quality control technician

in this position you would be somewhat

Limited in what you're allowed to do and

would most likely be performing tasks

assigned you bi a superior that most

likely has a PHD many people who major

in Biochemistry continue in their

education to earn a master's or PhD and

that way they can create and perform

their own experiments or work on

Research other than drug design

biochemist study things such as how

altering gene expression can affect a

particular

organism now if Math and Science really

excites you but you would prefer not to

work in a lab biochemistry would be a

great major for someone interested in

becoming a doctor pharmacist nurse or

dentist because this major would satisfy

all your prerequisites and give you a

deep understanding on how the biological

World works at a chemical

level now in your fourth year you can

choose tech electives that either are

chemistry or biology classes and this is

another way where you'll be

distinguished as leaning more towards

biology or chemistry for the biotech

electives you can learn more about

genetics physiology Neuroscience

virology microbiology and more then the

chemistry tech electives include

bioorganic chemistry Marine chemistry

environment chemistry pharmaceutical

development inorganic chemistry and more

these are not the bulk of your courses

but are that little extra at the end to

get you a deeper understanding of one of

these subfields