What is Biochemistry really?

I have never been very comfortable with chemistry. I haven always gone out of my way to avoid it by taking more biology courses in high school and college. When I was informed that I had to take organic chemistry or biochemistry in order to become state certified to teach and that it was a recommended course for physicians assistance school, I panicked! I managed to do okay with general chemistry, but this was making me nervous.

Thankfully, one if the first assignments was to find out how biochemistry differs from genetics, biology, molecular biology, and chemistry. What I found put my fears to ease. All of these various science fields have a symbiotic relationship with a bit of overlapping.

Biology is the study of life and living organisms, that focuses on a general overview of the origin of life, evolution, structures and their functions, growth patterns, life cycles, and species classification. Chemistry is the review and explanation of chemical reactions, chemical bonds, intractiins and products created between various atoms. Genetics is the study of genetic differences and how they occur, including heredity and mutations. Lastly, Molecular Biology is the study of cell replication, transcription, translation and cellular function.

Biochemistry encompasses much of these disciplines in an attempt to understand the chemistry of biological processes, along with the role, function and structures of biomolecules. Upon listening to the lectures of the first few weeks of class, I found that this topic is not at all scary but rather connects some dots with topics that I have already been presented. Biochemistry is not a topic to be feared, but rather a topic that presents future scientists with a more indepth understanding of topics already learned.

So from one scared science major, a word of advise...just go for it! The knowledge base that you will obtain will far outweigh any preconcieved anxieties!