MC 2: BIOCHEMISTRY

1st Semester, AY: 2021-2022

RESOURCE UNIT
FACULTY-IN-CHARGE :
COURSE CODE AND TITLE : MC-2 Biochemistry
PROGRAM / YEAR / SCHEDULE : BSN - 1st YEAR

WEEK 1: SEPTEMBER 13-18

I. LEARNING OUTCOMES
a. Detail the significant dates on Biochemistry through verbal explanation.
b. Specify the significant breakthrough of Biochemistry that is helpful to society.

II. TOPIC/S
Topic: Biochemistry (Definition/ History)
APCAS Core Value: Compassion
Integration: Discussion on the Topic

III. ACTIVITIES

PART 1: REAL-TIME CLASS SESSION via GOOGLE MEET

P - Pre-Test (10 min.) (should not be posted in g-classroom)

None (to be given on the 2nd week)

L - Lesson Presentation ( 80 mins)

Introduction to Biochemistry

A - Activity- Seatwork (20mins) -must be posted in google classroom

What are the significant dates on the History of Biochemistry? Give 5 and specify each.

Laboratory Task 1
Laboratory Task Sheet 1

W - Weekly Assignment (10mins)

Scope of Pre-test: Biochemistry as Biological Science
Rubrics: Relevance 5 pts.
Explanation 5 pts.
Content 5 pts.
Timeliness 5 pts.

PART 2: SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING via GOOGLE CLASSROOM (60mins)

L - Lecture Reading

Biochemistry
➢ Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to
living organisms. Biochemistry focuses on processes happening at a molecular level. It focuses
on what's happening inside our cells, studying components like proteins, lipids and organelles.

Importance of Biochemistry
➢ Biochemistry makes significant contributions to the fields of cell biology, physiology,
immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, and toxicology, as well as the fields of inflammation,
cell injury, and cancer. These close relationships emphasize that life, as we know it, depends on
biochemical reactions and processes.
SIGNIFICANCE IN NURSING
● Knowing the normal processes that occur within the body will help us to identify the alterations
that can occur during disease conditions so that an effective medical treatment can be
facilitated.
● Biochemistry teaches about homeostasis and electrolyte balance and a nurse should understand
the importance of it in the body.
● The various biochemical tests like blood test, kidney function test, liver function test, lipid
profile, will help the nurse to diagnose diseases and the test results will help in assessing the
needs of the patient to provide effective care.
● Every drug has a biochemical action and this knowledge will help in selecting the appropriate
doses and the duration of treatment a patient requires.

HISTORY OF BIOCHEMISTRY

Robert Boyle
Boyle's Law – the first of the gas laws – relating the pressure of a gas to its volume; he
established that electrical forces are transmitted through a vacuum, but sound is not; and he also stated
that the movement of particles is responsible for heat

Antoine Lavosier
● determined that oxygen was a key substance in combustion, and he gave the element its name.
He developed the modern system of naming chemical substances and has been called the
“father of modern chemistry” for his emphasis on careful experimentation.

Friedrich Wohler
● synthesis of urea, an organic compound, from ammonium cyanate, an inorganic salt, thus
disproving the theory of 'vitalism', that organic substances can only be produced from living
things.

Pre-1900: The term “biochemistry” (and its German/French equivalent “biochimie”) becomes
synonymous with “physiological chemistry” or the “chemistry of life”. Medical schools start to teach that
these studies are important for understanding human disease.

1904 - The term “Biochemistry” was officially coined by the German chemist Carl Neuber.

1918 -Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Fritz Haber, “for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements”.

1919 - Phoebus Levene, a Russian physician and chemist, first discovered the order of the three major
components of a single nucleotide (phosphate, pentose sugar, and nitrogenous base). He was also the
first to discover the carbohydrate component of RNA (ribose), and carbohydrate component of DNA
(deoxyribose). Years later, Levene finally identified how DNA and RNA molecules are put together [4]

1930s - Krebs discovers urea cycle and then the citric acid cycle. This leads to the award of the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1953 for his discovery of the citric acid cycle, along with Fritz Albert Lipmann, “for
his discovery of coenzyme A and its importance for intermediary metabolism”.

1944 - While working on bacterial samples, Oswald Avery first suggested in 1944 that the genetic
material of the cell was possibly the deoxyribonucleic acid.

1950 - A scientist named Erwin Chargaff began to challenge Levene’s previous conclusions. He noted
that the nucleotide composition of DNA differs among species and does not repeat in the same order,
reaching two major conclusions [6]. Chargaff concluded that almost all DNA, no matter what organism
or tissue type it comes from, still maintains certain properties, even as its composition varies. He
postulated the “Chargaff’s Rule” which says that the amount of cytosine is equal to the amount of
guanine, and the amount of thymine is equal to the amount of adenine. In short, the total amount of
pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine) approximates the number of purines (adenine and guanine).
Utilizing all discoveries prior to James Watson and Francis Crick was able to derive the three-
dimensional and double-helical model of the DNA in 1953 . After that, the process of replicating the
DNA was suggested.

1958 - The theory was only confirmed after Frederick Sanger discovered the first and complete protein
structure in 1958. The protein that was first identified is insulin.

1961 - After the discovery of the genetic material, the next achieved milestone was the cracking of the
genetic code. It was discovered in 1961 that the genetic code is made up of specific triplets of DNA bases
that encodes for particular amino acids.

1977 - Sixteen years after the discovery of the triplets of the DNA, Fred Sanger had successfully
sequenced the genome of a bacteriophage which contained more than 5000 nucleotides. Not long after,
he was able to sequence the DNA of the human mitochondrial genome which consisted of more than 16
000 nucleotides. In the present time, Biochemistry has promises to the world of science in development
of new path-breaking research and coming times would surely prove these promises to be fulfilled.The
development of new technology such as X-ray diffraction, chromatography, radioisotopic labelling,
electron microscopy and molecular dynamics had paved the way for many other discoveries in the field
of Biochemistry. Such technologies will also further open other new endeavors in the future.

1978 - Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Peter D. Mitchell, “for his contribution to the understanding of
biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory”.

1997 - Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker, “for their elucidation of the
enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)”; Jens C. Skou, “for the
first discovery of an ion-transporting enzyme, Na+, K+ -ATPase”.

Some other seminal biochemists and biochemistry experiments in these research areas include:
1902: Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Hermann Emil Fischer, “in recognition of the extraordinary services he
has rendered by his work on sugar and purine synthesis”.

1923: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Frederick Grant Banting and John James Rickard
Macleod, “for the discovery of insulin”.

1931: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Otto Heinrich Warburg, “for his discovery of the nature
and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme”.

1958: Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Frederick Sanger, “for his work on the structure of proteins, especially
that of insulin”.

1961: Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Melvin Calvin, “for his research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in
plants”.

1988: Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Johann Deisenhofer, Robert Huber and Hartmut Michel, “for the
determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre”.
 1992: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Edmond H. Fischer and Edwin G. Krebs, “for their
discoveries concerning reversible protein phosphorylation as a biological regulatory mechanism”.

Reference;
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/biochemistry/0/steps/15297
https://www.slideshare.net/priyankagohil10/introduction-to-biochemistry-134287605
https://www.bioexplorer.net/history_of_biology/biochemistry/

W - Weekly Assignment
Choose five significant breakthroughs in the history of Biochemistry and explain how each one
became helpful to society?

Laboratory Reflections:
How are you going to imply the Laboratory Activity 1 to your field of specialization? What is the
importance of it?

L - Long Quiz (Weeks-3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th,15th, 17th)