Students looking to take this course have wide-ranging interests and aspire to pursue careers in biological or life sciences and engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, animal science, dietetics, food science, botany and nutrition. This course will provide students with the basic foundation of biochemistry concepts that will be required for the pursuit of their academic and career objectives. The first third of the course will use a structure-based approach to introduce students to central biomolecules including nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. As each biomolecule is described, its relevance and context will be demonstrated using real-world examples drawn from human health and agriculture. This part of the course will cover the molecular basis of protein structure and the catalytic activity of enzymes. During the second third of the course, the essential features of the central dogma will be described with an emphasis on the enzymes and macromolecules that are involved in replication, transcription and translation. The final third of the course will cover metabolic pathways and focus on the interconnection between glycolysis and the citric acid cycle and the production of chemical energy by the formation of proton gradients.

Upon completion of BCHM 30700, students with a passing or above grade will be able to: