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REFLECTIVE ACTIVITY - Coggle Diagram
REFLECTIVE ACTIVITY
BIOCHEMISTRY
Takeaway
Studying the structure of cell and what it consists of is extremely crucial because a cell provides a basic structure and helps body to function in living organisms.
It is like a chemical factory which plays with chemicals to build, design, export, make, import, etc.
To understand any living body, knowing its basic unit is important. This evokes interest in the mind of a reader.
Getting to know all the processes taking place within your own body at cellular level that cannot be seen with the naked eye is full of fun.
The chapter focuses on the four different classes of the biomolecules [lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and proteins] in eukaryotic cells.
Biochemistry is a very important branch of science which focuses on the study of all the chemical processes taking place within a cell.
By understanding the structure of a cell, we can study about various diseases and the pharmacological effects of different medicines and drugs.
Difficulties
It was a bit challenging to keep in mind the monomers for the macromolecules and their chemical structures and formulas.
Learning about cell structure at nuclear level and understanding the functioning of each organelle is quite a task.
Also, memorizing all the kind of molecules and their molecular interactions on the basis of their nature [polar or non-polar].
Lastly, keeping in mind the names of all the functional groups.
Applications
The use of biochemistry to enhance the growth of plants and to improve biochemical fertilizers has become of great use in the agriculture industry [Aliouche H,2022].
The improvement in the medical field for developing important vaccines, medicines, and food additives is necessary these days and is mainly achieved by involving biochemistry in these products and processes.
The information about soil nutrients, product quality, nitrogen fixation, etc., is gained from the study of biochemistry.
Biochemistry plays a very important role in everyday life by affecting various industries. The food that we eat, the clothes that we wear, the healthcare system that we have, the cosmetics and many more rely upon the knowledge of biochemistry for both quality and quantity.
Improving crop quality is directly linked to food production and we as humans depend highly upon food sources to gain energy for a living. Many techniques are used already to achieve the above-mentioned and many more are being researched for future implementations.
Understanding the nutritional content in the food helps us to improve the intake by measuring the portions of vitamins, minerals, protein, sugars, carbohydrates, etc.
The diseases are based on the molecules and it becomes important to study the processes involved in these circumstances. The cures are found and vaccines are developed with the use of biochemistry.
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METABOLIC PROCESSES
Takeaway
In the cells, thousands chemical reactions take place to regulate the body functions. A cell's metabolism is a collective word which covers all the chemical reactions within a cell. These reactions are linked in chains most of the times.
Cells need energy to run the processes and function properly. ATP production is a very complex and an interesting topic, which involves various. The importance of enzymes in carrying out almost all the reactions during the process was amazing to know.
None of the reactions can take place on their own. In fact, every step is catalyzed by different enzymes. The control of the biochemical reactions is in the hands of enzymes.
Another important topic that was described in the unit is the photosynthesis. The entire ecosystem depends upon plants as they provide oxygen on earth.
The plants also need energy to make sugars and release oxygen. The process requires light, water and carbon dioxide. Getting to know the detailed description of the process at micro-level grabbed all my attention.
Difficulties
The ATP production in the cells is a very complex topic, which involves various chemical reactions. To remember the name of the complex forming in each step and the location of the processes is quite difficult.
Understanding the practical use of the law of thermodynamics and the energy conversions forms one form to another requires one to pay attention.
Cellular respiration was the most difficult topic according to me in the entire book, which consist four stages named as glycolvsis, pyruvate oxidation, citric cycle and oxidative phosphorylation [Wikipedia, 2023].
Till now, photosynthesis was known to me as a very simple topic involving understanding a chemical equation. But, in this chapter, the structure of the leaf is described and each part of the lead having its own major contribution to the process was introduced to me for the first time. It was again a bit challenging
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Applications
The recent application of metabolic pathway includes enhancing the degradation process of biomass to improve the processing of the product waste in the environment and producing the bio-fuel [Challacombe, 2021].
It is also used in the synthesis of antibiotics, analyzing the enzyme deficiencies and identifying drug targets. Complex pathways are needed for the production of many antibiotics [Nikoloski, 2012].
Digestion of nutrients in the body is only possible due to the metabolism. Breaking down of the complex molecules into simpler form for better digestion.
Also, for breaking proteins and fats into amino acids and fatty acids respectively also involves metabolism [Hirsch, 2019]. The carbon fixation is again extremely important step in the Calvin Cycle.
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MOLECULAR GENETICS
Takeaway
Molecular genetics co-relate the changes in the functions and structures of the genes, protein, healthy and diseases. It is a branch of genetics focusing on the inherited characteristics among organisms [Mills, 2022].
The topic gets really fascinating as is discusses the heredity. The information that is passed on from one generation to another is stored in the genes.
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Also, a video shown in the class about how DNA is copied to RNA and RNA is used to produce proteins in the nucleus helped to understand the concept even better.
Difficulties
Although, the abstract concepts in the chapter makes if difficult to understand the concept just by reading, watching videos makes it a little easier.
Molecular mechanisms like transcription, replication and translation were difficult to grasp.
A part of history was involved in the chapter, where discoveries made by scientists over the years was described. It was hard to remember the names of the scientists, their discoveries, failures and the years. This struggle was overcome by the timeline activity.
Lastly, remembering the steps involved in the DNA replication was tough.
Applications
Molecular genetics is of great use. Number of species are categorized after their identification, made possible with the study of genetics.
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It is also used to produce vaccines, antibiotics and many more drugs. The detection and cure of cancer at early stages is a great example of molecular diagnostics. Various treatments have been developed after the DNA analysis [Biology Online, 2022].
Other applications are expected in the manufacturing of medicines, agriculture, chemicals, food, environmental technologies, etc.[Molecular biology, 2021].
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