Introduction lecture Flashcards
what’s true about elements that are closer on the periodic table?
more similar
are we going to look at all elements on the periodic table for biochemistry?
there’s only certain elements that are involved
what is life composed of?
biological function
genes
proteins
what is molecular biology?
the interaction between genes and proteins
what is genetics?
the interaction between genes and biological function
what is biochemistry?
the interaction between proteins and biological function
is ATP incorporated into DNA?
yes
how much energy is released per mole of ATP?
30kJ
ATP equation
ATP + H2O –><– ADP + phosphate
Does ATP contain a lot of energy? How do you know?
not really, it can only sustain contraction in muscle for one second
If ATP can only sustain contraction in muscle for one second, how can it generate enough energy?
it’s part of an energy transfer system where ADP is transferred into ATP really quickly
how much ATP does someone synthesise in one day?
their own weight in ATP
how do we stay alive?
by ADP constantly being converted into ATP
give an example of something that acts as a reserve to rapidly regenerate ATP
phosphocreatine
what is phosphocreatine an example of?
a phosphate = important in biochemistry
what happens to phosphocreatine as you contract your muscles?
it runs down
what happens when phosphocreatine has been used up after being used as a reserve to rapidly regenerate ATP?
we need to generate ATP in a new way
diameter of the average atom
1x10^-10m
significance of 1x10^-10
1 Angstrom (diameter of the average atom)
1 Anstrom
1x10^-10m (diameter of the average atom)
how large is a H2O molecule? explain
3x10^-10 (3 atoms across = must be about 3 Angstroms wide)
size of a red blood cell
1x10^-5m across
how can we see a red blood cell?
with an ordinary microscope
how many red blood cells are in the body and what’s the significance of this?
10 trillion (1x10^13) more than any other human cell
what type of human cell are there the most of in the body?
red blood cells
what type of cells are there the most of in the body?
non-human cells
non-human cells that make up most of the body?
bacterial and archaeal cells
the microbiome
bacterial and archaeal cells
what do bacterial and archaeal cells make up?
the microbiome
stages in reaching Homo sapiens
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
what revolutionised evolution?
sexual reproduction - mixing genes between gametes
how many bases in the human genome?
3x10^9
what was the human genome project?
sequenced all the bases in the human genome
how long did the human genome project take?
15 years
how long does it take and how much does it cost to sequence a genome now?
15 hours
much cheaper
give and explain two reasons why it was important to sequence the human genome in the HGP
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)
what leads to sickle cell anaemia
one amino acid being mutated in haemoglobin
