In my opinion, the three major themes covered in this biochemistry course are metabolism, protein structure and function, and DNA replication.  Each one is connected to multiple lectures throughout the semester.  Metabolism was covered in the last few lectures and chapters with glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain, and the structure of the mitochondria.  Protein structure and function was covered during the early portion of the semester when we discussed primary (nucleotide), secondary (amino acid composition), tertiary (hydrogen bond interaction and folding), and quarternary (subunit interaction) structure, enzymes, and DNA.  DNA replication was a major topic during the middle of the semester when we discussed translation, transcription, reverse transcription, and all the inclusive enzymes which catalyze such functions.  I have learned about DNA replication before however not to the depth covered in our class.  I did not know that one strand was continuously replicated while the other was in portions or Okazaki fragments.  All the topics were quite interesting and I enjoyed learning about them.

The best way to explain to a friend the connection between glucose entering the body and energy created by the body is through building models.  Legos would be a great means of building such models because of their different shapes, colors, and ease of manipulation.  I would start by creating a molecule of glucose, denoting the various colors for particular atoms, and then add or remove parts while explaining how its changes via the control of specific enzymes during glycolysis.  Upon creating two molecules of pyruvate, I would explain that there are two separate pathways to which pyruvate can enter, aerobic or anaerobic metabolism.  I would demonstrate anaerobic metabolism first as it is less complex between the two forming only one other molecule, lactate, from pyruvate.  Next I would reconstruct the molecules of pyruvate and demonstrate aerobic metabolism in the citric acid cycle.  As before with glycolysis, I would manipulate the specific molecule with each step in the cycle while explaining how my hands are acting as the associated enzymes.  Once my friend understands how each process functions, I would then finish by explaining how energy is created from the synthesis of ATP in the electron transport chain of the inner mitochondrial membrane.

I have had a few classes in the past in which many lectures reflect material specific to Chapter 15, yet in a little more detail.  Such classes were Chemistry I and II in addition to Biology II as well as General Microbiology.  Respectively, the encountered topics include thermodynamics and metabolism.  More specifically free energy changes, the citric/carboxylic acid or Kreb's cycle, and the electron transport chain.  The major similarity between the three topics is how ATP and NADH are incorporated into metabolism and the changes in energy available to the body during their use and cyclic productions.  This topic was addressed in more detail between all other four classes which additionally considered the different cellular structures and components which catalyzed each reaction, the full process of glycolysis, and the changes to each molecule at the atomic level during each metabolic phase.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/biochemistry/

This is a website which reports on the latest news in the field of biochemistry. It includes links to images, videos, as well as articles on recent studies.  The articles included are related to a variety of topics such as health and medicine, plants and animals, earth and climate, matter and energy as well as many more.  One interesting inclusion in addition to those already addressed is the fact that you can email the editors with questions in regards to topics published.

During the past few lectures we have discussed a lot about proteins.  I have encountered such a topic in the past classes Biology 1 & 2 as well as Anatomy and Physiology 1 & 2.  Some of the relative topics include the different structures of proteins, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary, and the different types of amino acids.  I have also previous learned about the composition of amino acids and how they are translated from RNA which is transcribed from the nucleic acids in DNA.  Such nucleic acids in DNA are adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine.  RNA is composed of the same nucleic acids except for thymine, which rather is transcribed into uracil.  From another class, chemistry 1 & 2, I have learned about the different bonds, ionic, covalent, and hydrogen, that hold the formed macromolecules together. However, this semester I have learned about a new type of interaction know as sulfide bonding which I did not previously know about.

Prions are naturally synthesized glycoproteins.  They contain two carbohydrate chains and a lipid base which connects to the protein portion of the cell membranes of nervous tissue.  A unique characteristic to all forms is one which may have deadly consequences.  When the structure of a single protein becomes misfolded, it has the ability to cause other prion proteins to change from their normal structure to that which is misfolded eventually affecting the entity of an organism.  One prion of considerable study is the protein PrP which, due to a genetic predisposition, infrequently sporadically becomes misfolded thus causing others to alter their normal structural state changing the protein to that called PrP^sc.  In addition to spontaneous misfolding, PrP^sc prions can be acquired through injestion of meat containing the altered proteins as well as through blood contact via an exposed wound.  PrP^sc is denoted as the specific cause of such diseases as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad-cow disease and human spongiform encephalopathy or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.  A PrP prion consists of many α-heli and upon misfolding to PrP^sc the alteration results in a molecule containing many β-pleated sheets.  The PrP^sc prions are phagocytized by immunal macrophages after recognition of its pathogenicity and travel through the body intended to be deposited in the lymphnodes where they would be denatured.  However, upon contact with nervous tissue along the way they adhere and can then travel up the corresponding nerve into the brain.  This causes the formation of long fibrils and insoluble plaques affecting the functioning of the brain.  Studies on these prions are conducted using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Biochemistry is the field of science which addresses and examines the molecules required for the existence of life as well as their related interactions and functions pertaining to life processes such as metabolism and protein synthesis.  It is an integration of multiple sciences such as biology and chemistry, as indicated by its name, in addition to genetices, molecular biology, and microbiology.  It differs from these sciences as it is a broad study yet is specific to the physiology of life in all forms including multicellular organisms or eukaryotes and single-celled organisms or prokaryotes.  Such an example is genetics is the study of inheritance and expression of transmitted genetic material which is incorporated into biochemistry by the chemical structure as well as function and interaction of DNA and RNA.