Life and Chemistry / Large Molecules or Macromolecules

Life and Chemistry / Large Molecules or Macromolecules

 

            In this section I’ve learned many different things like for an example, what make up tissues as well as what makes up the four major components of macromolecules. We also learned how DNA and RNA compare and contrast and how they are formed.  The formation of polymers and polymers to monomers were also on the topic of discussion as well as the bonds or linkages that are formed between peptides in a protein structure. 

 The four major components of macromolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.  The first component, carbohydrates are the CHO functions.  They are divided in to three major groups which are monosaccharide, disaccharide, and polysaccharide.  These groups are form by simple carbohydrate linking together to form a more complex structure of carbohydrates.  Monomers are simply composed of one carbohydrate.  There are many types of monomers for example DNA and RNA or other wise known as ribose and deoxyribose are the two five-carbon sugars that we learned about.  Fructose and galactose is just a couple of the six-carbon sugar examples we learned about. Then we learned about the disaccharides which are form by glysidic linkages between two monomers.  For instance two glucose monomers bind together by releasing H2O or also known as condensation, then as stated it forms maltose.  Then finally we became familiar with polysaccharides which just mean that more than one carbohydrate connects.  There are two basic types of linkages or bond which are condensation which is the release of water and hydrolysis which is when a bond breaks because of the addition of H2O.  As for protein we learned in this class the four levels of protein structure.   Primary structure is a single chain of peptide linkage where as the secondary structure is a double bond chain like DNA.  This double bonded form can exist in two forms which are (alpha) Helix and (beta) pleated sheet.  Then there is the tertiary structure which is more structure compact and connected hydrogen and disulfide bonds.  The quaternary structure is form when four subunits combine one big enzyme which is called the Holo enzyme.  The primary structure is bonded by peptide linkage while the secondary structure is bonded by hydrogen bonds.  Then the nucleic acids like DNA and RNA are polymers specialized for the storage, transmission, and use of genetic information.  The simple way you helped me remember how nucleotides are made is from the picture diagram on the lecture notes that explain the concept.  First one needs a base then they add a ribose or deoxyribose which makes a nucleoside then to make a nucleotide one adds a phosphate.  One major concept I was extremely shocked to find out is how ninety eight percent of DNA is just junk to protect us from mutation from hostile environment.  How our bodies work to protect us is unbelievable.  Finally the last major component of large macromolecules that I learned about was lipids. Lipids are basically hydrocarbons that are water insoluble because of the non-polar molecules and different covalent bonds.  One of the most common lipid most people heard about is the phospholipids, or triglyceride which is a glycerol bonding two three fatty acid molecules through condensation. In this section of study I have learned the four major components of a large molecule, which was very interesting and I hope as we progress we find out more about the nature and magic of life.

addiction to drugs, sex, and alcohol

Richard DeLa Garza, II, Ph. D.

In this lecture about addiction to drugs, sex, and alcohol I learn a
number of different things about how addiction works and how scientist
study the pattern to find what causes it and prevents it. Most of the
myths that Dr. Garza proved to be false was exactly what I always
assumed to be true.

One of the major myths that I thought to be true was that drugs, sex,
and alcohol affect everyone in the same way. As in high school there is
a very divers group of kids who are known to be addicted to different
things. Like for example the group of kids who do drugs, I know many
people who go threw that phase and come out like nothing happened, while
other get stuck with no way out weaken by the addiction. For example
cigarette smokers, my older sister is practically a chain smoker, she
has tried everything one can think of to quit but it never worked. Where
as my boyfriend, Jesse, was a social smoker ever since he joined the
military three years ago; I refused to go out with him because he drank
and smoked and he quit on the spot. As one may see how I quickly came to
the conclusion that my sister wasn't trying hard enough, and probably
just waiting for the medicine do all the work. On a more personal
observation, people who drink I always thought were liars. I transferred
from a very strict private school in Dallas, to a very small, barely a
3A, country school in the middle of nowhere, straight in to high school.
I became friends with the more outgoing crowd the partiers and I went to
a party of there's. Even though it tasted disgusting, I drank just as
much as the girls I went with and I wasn't making out with every guy I
saw, stripping on table tops, or throwing up on everything, and I
defiantly remembered everything the next day. So when the girls came to
me saying they couldn't control them self because they were drunk, I
didn't believed them, and I found new friends with better morals. I'm
still not completely sure 'how much' drinking really effects someone
actions. I now believe as Dr. Garza proved with the different test done
to monitor the brain activity that things like drugs and alcohol effect
people different. He also proved this concept again with the different
kinds of rats Dr. Garza test on; which reveal it took different amounts
of myth to keep the rats in that satisfied high. This explains why I
never got drunk and girls that drank just as much as I was way passed
what I would call drunk. It also explains why my sister has such a
problem with trying to quit smoking and Jesse quit without haven a
second thought about it.

Another major thing that I learn more about is how scientist studies
diseases as in addiction to different things. I guess I never put much
thought in how they do their research and get their data. I heard of mad
scientists who do test on humans before, which are how they say all the
different blood types evolved. Although I don't believe that Dr. Garza
is a mad scientist, I guess if people are willing to participate to find
a cure for their disease, its okay. I mean people do the same thing all
the time when they risk their life getting an organ transplant, even
though there is a chance their body could reject it, to find a way to
get through their disease. It was also interesting as well as shocking
to hear that methamphetamine addicts chose money over myth, even as low
as seven to sixteen dollars, even though there concealed in a hospital
for weeks with no other way to get what they were supposedly addicted
to. Another fascinating fact Dr. Garza stated was how the genetic makeup
of a person effects how prone to addiction a person could be. This
statement makes me wonder if I can control in a sense the genetic makeup
of my children. For an example if I marry someone who tried and found
some kind of displeasure in drugs and alcohol and never tried it again
just as I have, will that make our children dislike it and never want to
do it as well? Dr. Garza gave a fascinating lecture that left many minds
continuously thinking about the different concepts and how they connect
in a bigger picture. I truly appreciate this chance to listen in on what
scientists today are studying; I don't believe that students get enough
great opportunities such as these. There for I want to thank you for
letting us sit in.

Cell Structure and Function

Cell Structure and Function

In this section of Cell Structure and Function I learned about all the
different kinds of cells, everything that makes up a cell and their
functions. I also learned a little history first, about where the cell
was first described and named.

First I want to talk about the two major types of cells we learned
about, which are the Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells. The Prokaryotic
cells are found in bacteria, while the Eukaryotic cells are found all
other forms of life, like animals, plants, and fungi. The Prokaryotic
cells are very different in structure from the Eukaryotic cells. For
instance, in Prokaryotic cells the DNA is not enclosed by a
double-walled nuclear membrane, which means they don't have a true
nucleus. In the Prokaryotic cells the DNA is concentrated in a nuclear
dense zone called the nucleoid and there is no defined it membrane to
separate the nuclear material. Most Prokaryotic cells have tough
external cell wall, as in plants and fungi which are made up of
Eukaryotic cells. The compositions of the cell wall differ from each
other kind of cell. In a plant cell wall there is three parts, primary,
secondary, and middle lamella. Animal cells do not have a cell wall. The
Prokaryotic cells are a lot simpler compared to the Eukaryotic cells.
Eukaryotic cells contain organelles that are separated by membranes.
These organelles form different departments which include the
mitochondria, chloroplasts, peroxisomes, nucleus endoplasmic reticulum
and golgi. The major differences in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells is
that in Eukaryotic cells there is a true nucleus, and the soup that lies
between the nucleus and plasma membrane is the cytoplasm called cytosol,
which suspends the membrane- bound organelles.

There are three types of cells made from Eukaryotic cells which are
plant, animal, and fungi cells. Within the three different types of
Eukaryotic cells there are many different components that make up an
animal cell, that differ from plant and fungi. This basically means that
even though there are three different types of cells classified under a
Eukaryotic cell, each cell differs from each other because there not all
made up of the same organelles. For example although plants do, animals
don't have a central vacuole, tonoplast, chloroplasts, plasmodesmata, or
even a cell wall; likewise, plant cells don't contain lysosomes,
centrioles, or flagella.

In contrast to learning the differences between Prokaryotic and
Eukaryotic cells or even the difference between animal and plants cells
we learned how they contain many of the same comparable organelles. For
example every cell has an plasma membrane or cell envelope, which is
also known as the 'plasmalemma', which is a definite boundary that's
picky what it lets in, like molecules. Then we learned about the
nucleus, another organelle that animals and plants like both has, which
is the control room of the cell. The nucleus is where the 23 paired
chromosomes are enclosed, which transcribes a section into RNA, which in
turn uses ribosome's as the site of protein synthesis where RNA is
translated. Then there is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is the
largest membrane in the cell; this organelle splits into two distinct
regions, rough ER-its not functioning properly if you get sick, and
smooth ER. We also learned about the Golgi apparatus, which is just like
a post office, everything is sent to it first to then be sent out to
different places. Then there is the garbage man who is played by
lysosomes in animals and the central vacuole in plants, which gets rid
of the bad and even destroys it-self as a cell if malfunctions. Then
there the mitochondria, the power house, which is the chloroplast in
plants. So even though animals and plants or Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
cells may differ in many ways, they are very much alike in a number of
common organelles, and even the organelles they differ in they have a
common function.