Introduction lecture

Question 1

what’s true about elements that are closer on the periodic table?

Answer 1

more similar

Question 2

are we going to look at all elements on the periodic table for biochemistry?

Answer 2

there’s only certain elements that are involved

Question 3

what is life composed of?

Answer 3

biological function
genes
proteins

Question 4

what is molecular biology?

Answer 4

the interaction between genes and proteins

Question 5

what is genetics?

Answer 5

the interaction between genes and biological function

Question 6

what is biochemistry?

Answer 6

the interaction between proteins and biological function

Question 7

is ATP incorporated into DNA?

Answer 7

yes

Question 8

how much energy is released per mole of ATP?

Answer 8

30kJ

Question 9

ATP equation

Answer 9

ATP + H2O –><– ADP + phosphate

Question 10

Does ATP contain a lot of energy? How do you know?

Answer 10

not really, it can only sustain contraction in muscle for one second

Question 11

If ATP can only sustain contraction in muscle for one second, how can it generate enough energy?

Answer 11

it’s part of an energy transfer system where ADP is transferred into ATP really quickly

Question 12

how much ATP does someone synthesise in one day?

Answer 12

their own weight in ATP

Question 13

how do we stay alive?

Answer 13

by ADP constantly being converted into ATP

Question 14

give an example of something that acts as a reserve to rapidly regenerate ATP

Answer 14

phosphocreatine

Question 15

what is phosphocreatine an example of?

Answer 15

a phosphate = important in biochemistry

Question 16

what happens to phosphocreatine as you contract your muscles?

Answer 16

it runs down

Question 17

what happens when phosphocreatine has been used up after being used as a reserve to rapidly regenerate ATP?

Answer 17

we need to generate ATP in a new way

Question 18

diameter of the average atom

Answer 18

1x10^-10m

Question 19

significance of 1x10^-10

Answer 19

1 Angstrom (diameter of the average atom)

Question 20

1 Anstrom

Answer 20

1x10^-10m (diameter of the average atom)

Question 21

how large is a H2O molecule? explain

Answer 21

3x10^-10 (3 atoms across = must be about 3 Angstroms wide)

Question 22

size of a red blood cell

Answer 22

1x10^-5m across

Question 23

how can we see a red blood cell?

Answer 23

with an ordinary microscope

Question 24

how many red blood cells are in the body and what’s the significance of this?

Answer 24

10 trillion (1x10^13) more than any other human cell

Question 25

what type of human cell are there the most of in the body?

Answer 25

red blood cells

Question 26

what type of cells are there the most of in the body?

Answer 26

non-human cells

Question 27

non-human cells that make up most of the body?

Answer 27

bacterial and archaeal cells

Question 28

the microbiome

Answer 28

bacterial and archaeal cells

Question 29

what do bacterial and archaeal cells make up?

Answer 29

the microbiome

Question 30

stages in reaching Homo sapiens

Answer 30

earth formed
prokaryotic (simplest) cells
eukaryotic cells (e.g - algae)
sexual reproduction (mixing genes between gametes revolutionised evolution)
amphibians
great apes
genus homo
Homo sapiens

Question 31

what revolutionised evolution?

Answer 31

sexual reproduction - mixing genes between gametes

Question 32

how many bases in the human genome?

Answer 32

3x10^9

Question 33

what was the human genome project?

Answer 33

sequenced all the bases in the human genome

Question 34

how long did the human genome project take?

Answer 34

15 years

Question 35

how long does it take and how much does it cost to sequence a genome now?

Answer 35

15 hours
much cheaper

Question 36

give and explain two reasons why it was important to sequence the human genome in the HGP

Answer 36

with the genome, we could then translate the DNA into amino acids and then look at the sequence of amino acids in a protein and then could learn about the biological functions of proteins

can also use sequences of DNA or amino acids to study disease (e.g - one amino acid mutated in haemoglobin = sickle cell anaemia)

Question 37

what leads to sickle cell anaemia

Answer 37

one amino acid being mutated in haemoglobin