What knowledge have I connected with past knowledge?

Biochemistry is full of connections to past knowledge. Obviously before attempting to study this topic you have to have knowledge of biology and chemistry. This class takes generalizations from both bio and chem and expands upon them. It not only increases understanding but it ties things together. Particularly somethings that have stood out to me was proteins being used as catalysts, which i remember from both bio and chem, and michaelis menton kinetics, which I learned about in animal physiology. I think this class is important because in a way, it gives you the big picture of how the things that you've learned actually work and why.

Find a protein using PDB explorer- Describe your protein, including what disease state or other real world application it has

For this entry I chose the p53 tumor suppressor. This is an incredibly interesting molecule and it is very vital to our survival. The p53 tumor suppressor is actually composed of four identical protein chains. This makes p53 flexible and, in turn, difficult to study. Therefore p53 is studied in parts. The flexible chains are often removed and the center is investigated. The function of p53 tumor suppressor, as it says in the name, is to reduce and halt uncontrolled cell growth. Normal cells have regulatory elements the control the growth and replication of the cell. If a cell is damaged, and these regulatory elements are altered or destroyed, then the cell can grow and divide at a rapid, uncontrolled pace. This will eventually cause a tumor. The job of p53 is to bind to regulatory sites in our genome and initiate production of the halt cell division until the damaged cell is repaired. However, some cells are too damaged to repair. In these cases p53 will induce apoptosis in those cells, causing them to die.

When it comes to diseases, p53 plays a big role in protecting us from cancer. Cancer is essentially uncontrolled growth and replication of cells, p53 can fight against that. Mutations in p53, that prevent it from doing its job correctly, account for about half of the cases of cancer found in humans.

What is biochemistry? How does it differ from the fields of genetics, biology, chemistry, and molecular biology?

Biochemistry is a very diverse field. It is very important for people to have an understanding of biochemistry if they want to be well versed in life sciences. Biochemistry takes what you know from other fields of science including: Genetics, Biology, Chemistry, and Molecular Biology and it ties them all together. Biochemistry is one of the only fields that can show the relationship all these fields have to each other. The main purpose of biochem is to show people the big picture. Biology and molecular biology aim to show how life works. The processes living creatures use to survive and evolve. Chemistry shows processes and reactions that are found in many living creatures. Chemistry deals with many things on a molecular level. Genetics aims to show how traits and features are carried through generations and why. Biochemistry is the perfect subject to not only widen understanding of all of the mentions areas, but to connect them all to each other.