Humboldt State University ® Department of Chemistry

Richard A. Paselk

Chem 431	Biochemistry	Fall 2008
Lecture Notes: 25 August	© R. Paselk 2008
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Introduction

Syllabus

Tentative Schedule

Who am I?

• Education in Biophysics (NMR of Proteins etc in Grad Sch)
• Current favorite biochem topics are metabolism and its control, protein folding, genesis and fate of cell components, and precambrian life.
• Also teach Biochemical Toxicology; Chemical Instrumentation and all intro Chem courses
• Interests in history of science and technology, particularly scientific instrumentation and apparatus (Museum in Library, office and on Web), and natural history museum exhibits.

How to study:

Notes are key-nearly everything you will need to know I will cover in lecture. So how can you get the most out of your notes?

Don't rely on/be seduced by on-line notes.

Weekly Review on web: Look at Review page on internet for weekly topics and homework suggestions (this will probably be somewhat intermitent).

Course intent - to understand Life at the molecular level:

• Lecture will focus on Black box biochemistry-describe system, but not much about how we got to know what we know.
  • Lecture exams will emphasize biological systems and how they work. They will not cover lab material.
• Lab will focus on how we know what we know, both in experiments and in lab lectures. Of course we will create linkages between the two.
  • How we know will be covered in lab exams, write-ups etc.

You will be expected to do some synthesis and problem solving in doing this course.

Biochemistry focuses on a limited range of areas within the manifestation of life, but as we shall see this range is still vast:

1. The chemical properties and 3-D structures of biomolecules.
2. The interactions of biomolecules with each other and with inorganic molecules and ions.
3. The synthesis and degradation of substances by organisms.
4. Energy use and storage by organisms.
5. The organization and regulation of biochemical systems.
6. The molecular mechanisms of the storage, transmission and expression of biological information.

In this course I will focus on these issues in eukaryotes, specifically humans, because I want you to understand a functional system with all of the regulation etc. it requires. We will look at eukaryotes because they involve intracellular compartmentation and humans because I want a system with multiple intercommunicating organs and cell types, and because the human system is probably the best understood eukaryote system.

We will largely ignore biological information (#6 above) since most of you will cover that in your Biology courses, particularly genetics.

Pathway Diagrams

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Lecture Notes

Last modified 27 August 2008