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Biochemical - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Biochemical : adj : of or relating to biochemistry; involving chemical processes
in living organisms
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Biochemical : Biochemical: Relating to biochemistry, the application of the tools and concepts of chemistry to living systems.
Biochemists study such things as the structures and physical properties of biological molecules, including proteins, immune response .
Fields closely related to biochemistry include biophysics, cell biology, and molecular biology. Biophysics applies to biology the techniques of physics. Cell biology is concerned with the
organization and functioning of the individual cell. Molecular biology, a term first used in 1950, It overlaps biochemistry and is principally concerned with the molecular level of organization.
The science of biochemistry has also been called physiological chemistry and biological chemistry.
History:
Modern chemistry: Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), the father of modern chemistry, carried out fundamental studies on chemical oxidation and showed the similarity between chemical oxidation
and the respiratory process.
Organic chemistry: In the 19th century, Justus von Liebig studied chemistry in Paris and carried the inspiration gained by contact with the former students and colleagues of Lavoisier back to
Germany where he put organic chemistry on a firm footing.
Enzymes: bacteriology . Later, in 1877 Pasteur's ferments were designated as enzymes.
Proteins: The chemical nature of enzymes remained obscure until 1926,when the first pure crystalline enzyme (urease) was isolated. This enzyme and all others proved to be proteins, which had already
been recognized as high-molecular-weight chains of amino acids which we now know are the building blocks of protein.
Vitamins: The mystery of how minute amounts of dietary substances prevent diseases such as beriberi, vitamin B2 ) was found to be an integral part of an enzyme.
ATP: In 1929 the substance muscle . The production of ATP was found associated with respiratory (oxidative) processes in the cell and in 1940 ATP was recognized by F.A. Lipmann as the common form
of energy exchange in cells.
radioactive isotopes of chemical elements to trace the pathway of substances in the body was initiated in 1935 by R. Schoenheimer and D. Rittenberg, providing an important tool for investigating
the chemical changes that occur in cells.
double helix structure of DNA was proposed by Watson and Crick, providing an understanding of how DNA functions as the genetic material.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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