Biochemistry – What’s It About?
Applying mathematics, the scientific method, physics and chemistry to discover everything we can about the chemical processes among different biological species, and how systems within systems work together to create and sustain life gives rise to biochemistry. Biochem studies the chemical aspect of biological systems – the atoms (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc, etc.), ions (salts), and especially the molecules and compounds (water, amino acids (proteins), lipids (fats), carbohydrates (sugar and starch), nucleic acids (DNA)) of life. It studies molecules’ complex, three-dimensional structures, how they interact and react with other components of a cell, their energy transfers and balances (metabolism), their mechanisms for how the molecules are formed (synthesis) and broken down (catalysis), how these biological chemicals are organization inside and outside of cells and how they move about, and more.
Biological molecules follow all the rules of physics and chemistry for how atoms and ions are attracted to and repelled by one another. When and how they form bonds, what shape the molecules take, what parts of the molecules are active for interacting with other molecules in cells, everything about biochemistry must follow precise physical rules, too. The molecules of life interact with light and temperature, acidity and alkalinity (base), wet versus dry, and compete for resources, giving the molecules a very complex story that people cannot imagine without discovering it through the rigors of research following scientific methods.