If you have been reading about biochemistry and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Last reviewed on 2025-05-04. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Oparin was born in Uglich in 1894 into a merchant family. He and his parents soon moved to Kokayevo, a nearby village. Oparin had an older brother, Dmitry, who became an economist. Oparin graduated from the Moscow State University in 1917 and became a professor of biochemistry there in 1927. Many of his early papers were about plant enzymes and their role in metabolism. His first experimental studies were devoted to the chemistry of respiration. In them, he showed that chlorogenic acid is an essential component of redox reactions in the cell. In 1924 he put forward a hypothesis suggesting that life on Earth developed through a gradual chemical evolution of carbon-based molecules in the Earth's primordial soup. In 1935, along with academician Aleksei Bach, he founded the Biochemistry Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1939, Oparin became a Corresponding Member of the Academy, and, in 1946, a full member. In 1937, he organized the Department of Technical Biochemistry at the Moscow Technological Institute of Food Industry. In 1940s and 1950s, Oparin supported the theories of Trofim Lysenko and Olga Lepeshinskaya, who made claims about "the origin of cells from noncellular matter". "Taking the party line" helped advance his career. However, according to cytologist Vladimir Alexandrov:
Ana María Muñoz Jauregui (born 1969, Lima) is a Peruvian pharmacist, biochemist and nutritionist. She has served as Rector and, since 2023, as the Vice Rector of research at San Ignacio de Loyola University (USIL). Muñoz has authored numerous publications and received national and international awards, such as silver, gold medals and semi-grand prize wins at the International KIWIE Award. Muñoz, was born in Lima, Peru. In 1996, she attended the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM), where she earned her pharmaceutical degree. While studying, she developed an interest in the field of nutrition. She earned a master's degree in biochemistry and nutrition, and earned a PhD in Pharmacy and Biochemistry from the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM) in 2006.
The Public Affairs Office works with the PAAC to advocate for increased research budgets for the major governmental funding agencies, primarily the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. ASBMB has developed a set of recommendations for pre-medical course requirements consistent with the new Medical College Admission Test. Advocacy efforts also focus on protecting the conditions that promote a successful research environment. In addition, the office works to maintain a healthy relationship between ASBMB members, government officials, and the public in order to foster awareness of the importance of science to everyday life. As part of their advocacy efforts, ASBMB organizes Capitol Hill Day, an annual event that allows graduate students and trainees to meet their congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. List of biochemistry awards Official website American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology records, 1906-2005 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Annie Pardo studied biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She also completed her master's and doctoral degrees in biochemistry at the same university. She conducted research stays at the American universities of Washington University in St. Louis; at the University of Illinois Chicago, and at the pathology department of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In 1980, she founded the biochemistry research laboratory at the Faculty of Sciences of UNAM. She was a "C-level" professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and was named a "level III researcher" of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. In May 2023, she received the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in the category of physical-mathematical and natural sciences for "her research in biochemistry, lung diseases, and aging studies".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology publishes three research journals and a monthly magazine covering society news and activity updates. ASBMB journals are peer-reviewed and cover research in the fields of microbiology, molecular genetics, RNA-related research, proteomics, genomics, transcription, peptides, cell signaling, lipidomics, and systems biology. All articles are published online as "Papers in Press" upon acceptance. As of January 2021, all three ASBMB journals are fully open access.
In biochemistry, two biopolymers are antiparallel if they run parallel to each other but with opposite directionality (alignments). An example is the two complementary strands of a DNA double helix, which run in opposite directions alongside each other. Nucleic acid molecules have a phosphoryl (5') end and a hydroxyl (3') end. This notation follows from organic chemistry nomenclature, and can be used to define the movement of enzymes such as DNA polymerases relative to the DNA strand in a non-arbitrary manner.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry publishes research in any area of biochemistry or molecular biology in one online-only issue per week. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics is a monthly online only publication. Articles appearing in MCP "...describe the structural and functional properties of proteins and their expression, particularly with respect to the developmental time courses of the organism of which they are a part." The journal also publishes other content such as "HUPO views" (reports from the Human Proteome Organization), proceedings from HUPO meetings, and the proceedings of the International Symposium On Mass Spectrometry In The Life Sciences. The Journal of Lipid Research covers "...the science of lipids in health and disease. The Journal emphasizes lipid function and the biochemical and genetic regulation of lipid metabolism. In addition, JLR publishes manuscripts on patient-oriented and epidemiological research relating to altered lipid metabolism, including modification of dietary lipids." ASBMB Today is the society's monthly news magazine. It contains extensive coverage of awards, meetings, research highlights, job placement advertising and human interest articles. All ASBMB members receive a complimentary subscription to ASBMB Today. The online version of the magazine features daily publishing.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The Public Affairs Office works with the PAAC to advocate for increased research budgets for the major governmental funding agencies, primarily the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. ASBMB has developed a set of recommendations for pre-medical course requirements consistent with the new Medical College Admission Test. Advocacy efforts also focus on protecting the conditions that promote a successful research environment. In addition, the office works to maintain a healthy relationship between ASBMB members, government officials, and the public in order to foster awareness of the importance of science to everyday life. As part of their advocacy efforts, ASBMB organizes Capitol Hill Day, an annual event that allows graduate students and trainees to meet their congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. List of biochemistry awards Official website American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology records, 1906-2005 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
In organic chemistry, an active ester is an ester functional group that is highly susceptible toward nucleophilic attack. Activation can be imparted by modifications of the acyl or the alkoxy components of a normal ester, say ethyl acetate. Typical modifications call for electronegative substituents. Active esters are employed in both synthetic and biological chemistry. Active esters are mainly used as acylating agents. They undergo the same reactions as their unactivated analogues but do so more rapidly. They are prone to hydrolysis, for example. Of great interest is the enhanced reactivity of active esters toward amines to give amides. Active esters are prominent in biochemistry. Glutamine synthetase is an enzyme that forms an active ester from the terminal carboxylate of glutamic acid. This activation, imparted by phosphorylation, facilitates the conversion of the carboxylate to an amide called glutamine.
In biochemistry, two biopolymers are antiparallel if they run parallel to each other but with opposite directionality (alignments). An example is the two complementary strands of a DNA double helix, which run in opposite directions alongside each other. Nucleic acid molecules have a phosphoryl (5') end and a hydroxyl (3') end. This notation follows from organic chemistry nomenclature, and can be used to define the movement of enzymes such as DNA polymerases relative to the DNA strand in a non-arbitrary manner.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org