BIO - MEDICINE

Biochemistry is the science of the chemical processes which takes place within living organisms. Living organisms need essential elements to survive, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, and phosphorus. These elements make up the four big macromolecules that living organisms need to survive- carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.[21]

Carbohydrates, made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, are energy storing molecules. The simplest one of carbohydrates is glucose, C6H12O6, is used in cellular respiration to produce ATP, adenosine triphosphate, which supplies cells with energy.[21]

Proteins are chains of amino acids that function to contract skeletal muscle, function catalysts, transport molecules, and storage molecules. Proteins can facilitate biochemical processes, by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. Hemoglobins are also proteins, that carry oxygen to the cells in an organisms body.[21]

Lipids, also known as fats, also serve to store energy, but in the long term. Due to their unique structure, lipids provide more than twice the amount of energy that carbohydrates do. Lipids can be used as insulation, as it is present below the layer of skin in living organisms. Moreover, lipids can be used in hormone production to maintain a healthy hormonal balance and provide structure to your cell walls.[21]

Nucleic acids are used to store DNA in every living organism. The two types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA. DNA is the main genetic information storing substance found oftentimes in the nucleus, which controls the processes that the cell undergoes. DNA consists of two complimentary antiparallel strands consisting varying patterns of nucleotides. RNA is a single strand of DNA, which is transcribed from DNA and used for DNA translation, which is the process for making proteins out of RNA sequences