ABOUT BIOCHEMISTRY

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structures and functions of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules. Over the last 40 years biochemistry has become so successful at explaining living processes that now almost all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine are engaged in biochemical research. Today the main focus of pure biochemistry is in understanding how biological molecules give rise to the processes that occur within living cells which in turn relates greatly to the study and understanding of whole organisms.

Among the vast number of different biomolecules, many are complex and large molecules (called polymers), which are composed of similar repeating subunits (called monomers). Each class of polymeric biomolecule has a different set of subunit types.For example, a protein is a polymer whose subunits are selected from a set of 20 or more amino acids. Biochemistry studies the chemical properties of important biological molecules, like proteins, and in particular the chemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

The biochemistry of cell metabolism and the endocrine system has been extensively described. Other areas of biochemistry include the genetic code (DNA, RNA), protein synthesis, cell membrane transport, and signal transduction.


Places of Employment

Colleges and universities employ the majority of biochemists as teachers or researchers in schools of arts and sciences, medicine, engineering, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. The Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency are just a few of the government agencies that employ biochemists specializing in basic research analyzing food, drugs, air, water, waste, or animal tissue. Industries that produce pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, foods, feeds, and consumer products also employ biochemists in research as well as in areas outside the lab such as marketing, management, science information, technical writing, and editing. Drug companies employ biochemists to research the causes of disease and to develop drugs to combat these diseases. Biotechnology companies employ biochemists in research quality control, clinical research, manufacturing, and information systems with applications to the environment, energy, human health care, agriculture, and animal health. Some biochemists work in hospitals.