Biochemistry For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Setting the Stage: Basic Biochemistry Concepts
	Chapter 1: Biochemistry: What You Need to Know and Why
		Why Biochemistry?
		What Is Biochemistry and Where Does It Take Place?
		Types of Living Cells
		Animal Cells and How They Work
		A Brief Look at Plant Cells
	Chapter 2: Seems So Basic: Water Chemistry and pH
		The Fundamentals of H2O
		Hydrogen Ion Concentration: Acids and Bases
		Buffers and pH Control
	Chapter 3: Fun with Carbon: Organic Chemistry
		The Role of Carbon in the Study of Life
		It’s All in the Numbers: Carbon Bonds
		When Forces Attract: Bond Strengths
		Getting a Reaction out of a Molecule: Functional Groups
		Same Content, Different Structure: Isomerism
Part 2: The Meat of Biochemistry: Proteins
	Chapter 4: Amino Acids: The Building Blocks of Protein
		General Properties of Amino Acids
		The Magic 20 Amino Acids
		Lest We Forget: Rarer Amino Acids
		Rudiments of Amino Acid Interactions
		Combining Amino Acids: How It Works
	Chapter 5: Protein Structure and Function
		Proteins: Not Just for Dinner
		Primary Structure: The Structure Level All Proteins Have
		Secondary Structure: A Structure Level Most Proteins Have
		Tertiary Structure: A Structure Level Many Proteins Have
		Quaternary Structure: A Structure Level Some Proteins Have
		Dissecting a Protein for Study
	Chapter 6: Enzyme Kinetics: Getting There Faster
		Enzyme Classification: The Best Catalyst for the Job
		Enzymes as Catalysts: When Fast Is Not Fast Enough
		All about Kinetics
		Measuring Enzyme Behavior: The Michaelis-Menten Equation
		Enzyme Inhibition: Slowing It Down
		Enzyme Regulation
Part 3: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Nucleic Acids, and More, Oh My!
	Chapter 7: What We Crave: Carbohydrates
		Properties of Carbohydrates
		A Sweet Topic: Monosaccharides
		Sugars Joining Hands: Oligosaccharides
		The Aldose Family of Sugars
	Chapter 8: Lipids and Membranes
		Lovely Lipids: An Overview
		A Fatty Subject: Triglycerides
		No Simpletons Here: Complex Lipids
		Membranes: The Bipolar and the Bilayer
		Prostaglandins, Thromboxanes, and Leukotrienes: Mopping Up
	Chapter 9: Nucleic Acids and the Code of Life
		Nucleotides: The Guts of DNA and RNA
		Tracing the Process: From Nucleoside to Nucleotide to Nucleic Acid
		A Primer on Nucleic Acids
	Chapter 10: Vitamins: Both Simple and Complex
		More than One-a-Day: Basics of Vitamins
		To B or Not to B: B Complex Vitamins
		Vitamin A
		Vitamin C
		Vitamin D
		Vitamin E
		Vitamin K
	Chapter 11: Hormones: The Body’s Messengers
		Structures of Some Key Hormones
		Now and Later: Prohormones
		Fight or Flight: Hormone Function
Part 4: Bioenergetics and Pathways
	Chapter 12: Life and Energy
		ATP: The Energy Pony Express
		It’s Relative: Molecules Related to ATP
		Where It All Comes From
	Chapter 13: ATP: The Body’s Monetary System
		Metabolism I: Glycolysis
		Metabolism II: Citric Acid (Krebs) Cycle
		Electron Transport and Oxidative Phosphorylation
		Investing in the Future: Biosynthesis
	Chapter 14: Smelly Biochemistry: Nitrogen in Biological Systems
		Ring in the Nitrogen: Purine
		Pyrimidine Synthesis
		Back to the Beginning: Catabolism
		Process of Elimination: The Urea Cycle
		Amino Acids Once Again
		Metabolic Disorders
Part 5: Genetics: Why We Are What We Are
	Chapter 15: Photocopying DNA
		Let’s Do It Again: Replication
		Mendel Rolling Over: Recombinant DNA
		Patterns: Determining DNA Sequences
		Genetic Diseases and Other DNA Testing Applications
	Chapter 16: Transcribe This! RNA Transcription
		Types of RNA
		RNA Polymerase Requirements
		Making RNA: The Basics
		Not a Secret Any Longer: The Genetic Code
		Models of Gene Regulation
	Chapter 17: Translation: Protein Synthesis
		Hopefully Not Lost in Translation
		The Translation Team
		Hooking Up: Protein Synthesis
		Variation in Eukaryotic Cells
Part 6: The Part of Tens
	Chapter 18: Ten Great Applications of Biochemistry
		Ames Test
		Pregnancy Testing
		HIV Testing
		Breast Cancer Testing
		Prenatal Genetic Testing
		PKU Screening
		Genetically Modified Foods
		Genetic Engineering
		Cloning
		Gene-Replacement Therapy
	Chapter 19: Ten Biochemistry Careers
		Research Assistant
		Nanotechnologist
		Quality Control Analyst
		Clinical Research Associate
		Technical Writer
		Biochemical Development Engineer
		Forensic Scientist
		Patent Attorney
		Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
		Biostatistician
Index
About the Authors
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement