Interesting Biochemistry Website Link and Brief Description

Below is a link to a great biochemistry website that allows you to "play" with proteins. The game is to fold, bend, and wiggle the amino acid ribbons into the correct three dimensional shape. The player has to take into account opposite charges attracting each other, angles of rotation, and hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts of the amino acid molecules. The closer you can get to the actual shape of the protein the more points you receive.
The game can be downloaded to your computer and you can play with the other 100,000 people that have downloaded the game. The original idea was to get more than just scientist into putting proteins in their correct shapes. People can work with different complex proteins from their homes and their structure ideas can be seen by the creators of the game.
The website where you can download this game is: http://fold.it/portal/
I strongly suggest you check out this game. It has a great theory behind it and is worth taking some time out and playing around with.

What Knowledge Have You Connected with Past Knowledge?

There is much information that my biochemistry class has discussed since the beginning of the semester that pertain to, and gather results and background information, from classes that I have previously taken. Some of these classes include, but are not limited to, General Biology 1 & 2, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Genetics. These classes served as an excellent background for this course. Recent covered material in biochemistry had to do with enzymes as inhibitors and activators. I was first introduced to enzymes back in general chemistry during my first year away at school. More general chemistry background was connected to our discussion of water, its properties, and how important it is in biochemistry. Material I am currently discussing in genetics is connected with biochemistry through DNA and proteins. The processes and functions of proteins that genetics covers are discussed in biochemistry as well as amino acid structure and much more.
So far I am interested in what I have learned and I am thankful that I have the background information from previous science classes to encourage and support the new material that is being introduced.

PDB Explorer Protein: Discription, Disease, and Real World Application.

The protein that I found interesting is called the Human Papillomavirus E2 Protein Type 16. Its pdb ID is IDTO. Many people have heard of HPV and the infection that it can cause. It is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections we know about today (cdc.gov). HPV Type 16 belongs to the papillomavirus E2 protein family and is located on the E2 gene.
This E2 gene is chain A and its function deals with nucleotide and DNA binding. Its processes are DNA replication and transcription. The E1-E2 protein complex binds to the the origin of DNA replication which allows it to regulate the replication by either activating or repressing transcription depending on its position.
Works cited:
www.cdc.gov/hpv/WhatIsHPV.html
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd-srv/oca/oca-bin/ocaids

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

Biochemistry is a description of life processes. All life processes use the same types of biomolecules that are studied throughout the field of biochemistry. Biochemistry studies these biological organisms through methods of chemistry. A firm background is key to understanding the connections that biochemistry has with the fields of genetics, general and molecular biology, and chemistry.
Biochemistry differs from the fields mentioned above because it describes life processes by its multidisciplinary nature. It utilizes the results and information described by genetics, general and molecular biology, and chemistry to answer questions about the molecular level of life processes. The information learned in the field of biochemistry has a great importance in the medical field and the future of health and disease.
Works cited:
Campbell, M. and Farrell, S. Biochemistry. 6th Edition. California: Brooks/ Cole, 2008.