4. Find an interesting biochemistry website and put its link in this entry, and describe what is found there.

Biomed Central

     I liked this website because it has a lot of offer. It is completely geared towards biochemistry and has open access to articles, reviews and a variety of information. The website has no fees to access the articles. You are able to email the editorial team by easily finding their email addresses on the website. If you want to email an author of an article or view certain articles you must create an account to view. Creating an account is very easy and again, free of charge.
    The articles are user friendly and easy to read. There is also a place where it shows the most popular articles. Also the latest articles are also an option to read, this way you stay up to beat with the biochemical world.

3. What knowledge have you connected with past knowledge?

   There has been a lot in class that we've talked about so far that has sparked some memory of past classes. It's nice knowing you've learned something in the past, especially when you're in class and know exactly what is being taught.
   A lot from the first lecture was all review, especially the part about hydrogen bonds. I already knew a good chunk of what we talked about: that they are weaker  than covalent bonds, there is a positive end and a negative end , etc.
   The pKa values I remember learning in organic chemistry and had a hard time with them. Rehashing them in class like we did helped a better understanding of them.
   When we started chapter three  and started talking about chiral molecules I was a little excited. We were taught all about them in organic chemistry and I spent a long time learning them and understanding the differences.
   There have definitely  been a lot of things I've seen before in other classes, I just feel like we are going into a deeper learning of them and actually understanding why they are important.

2. Find a protein using PDB explorer–describe your protein, including what disease state or other real-world application it has.

The Protein I looked at was fibrillin-1 which mainly causes Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder.

Fibrillin is a glycoprotein, which is very important for the development of elastic fibers (microfibrils) that provide strength and elasticity to connective tissue in the human body. Connective tissue holds the body together and helps control the growth and repair of tissues and other organs. Fibrillin normally is abundant in the connective tissue found in the aorta, in the ligaments that hold the  lenses in the eye's in place, in the bones and in the lungs.

This protein can also cause isolated ectopia lentis, autosomal dominant Weill-Marchesani syndrome, MASS syndrome, and Shprintzen-Goldberg craniosynostosis syndrome.

Fibrillin-1 is a building block for elastic tissue in the body. This gene defect can also cause bones to grow too much, causing people to have long limbs. The two domains are in a rigid, its arrangement is rod-like, there are also calcium binding and hydrophobic interactions.It is a fairly simple structure. 

1. What is biochemistry, and how does it differ from the fields of genetics, biology, chemistry, and molecular biology?

     Biochemistry is the study of chemical composition of chemical compositions of living matter and chemical processes that happen in living organisms. Genetics is the study of heredity, biology is the study of living organisms, chemistry is a part of science that works with the chemical composition and properties of a substance, and molecular biology is a part of science dealing with the studying of structure, functions and reactions of molecules involved in the life process.
     Biochemistry is applied in many fields within science, medicine, medical, industries, and society. Biochemistry works with the function and structure of cellular components. Biochemistry strives to focus of understanding how biological molecules help aid the process in living cells. This information helps with understanding an organism as a whole. Looking at the molecular processes of how an organism works can help us understand diseases and look for a cure or reversal of incorrect processes. while we have learned a lot, we still have so much more we can learn.