Courses

Biochemistry by Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University (CC BY-NC-SA).

Biochemistry is an introductory course, designed for both biology and chemical engineering majors. A consistent theme in this course is the development of a quantitative understanding of the interactions of biological molecules from a structural, thermodynamic, and molecular dynamic point of view. A molecular simulation environment provides the opportunity for you to explore the effect of molecular interactions on the biochemical properties of systems. This course assumes that students have taken introductory chemistry, including basic thermodynamics, as well as introductory organic chemistry. An introductory biology course is not a prerequisite for the course, but students would benefit from some prior exposure to biology, even at the high school level. Required mathematical skills include simple algebra and differential calculus.

Supplementary Materials

Chemical Biology & Biochemistry Laboratory Using Genetic Code Expansion Manual by Ryan Mehl, Kari van Zee, and Kelsey Kean (CC BY-NC).

Downloadable images (CC BY-SA).

• Active transport – protein pumps
• Anabolism and catabolism
• Cellular respiration simple
• Chromosome terminology
• DNA helicase, DNA replication
• DNA ligase, DNA replication
• DNA polymerase, DNA replication
• Egg and Sperm
• Independent assortment
• Messenger RNA – simple
• Multiple ribosomes translation, protein synthesis
• Protein synthesis elongation
• Rough ER close up: Showing a ribosome creating a polypeptide which is folded into a secondary structure in the lumen of the rER
• Synapsis and Crossing Over with Labels
• Synapsis and Crossing Over No Labels
• Transport across the plasma membrane
• Transcription and translation
• Types of RNA
• Unit cell for SA to V ratio with tables

Textbooks

Cell Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry for Pre-Clinical Students by Renée J. LeClair (CC BY-NC-SA).

An undergraduate medical-level resource for foundational knowledge across the disciplines of genetics, cell biology and biochemistry. This text is designed for a course in first year undergraduate medical course that is delivered typically before students start to explore systems physiology and pathophysiology.

Fundamentals of Biochemistry [PDF]  by Manjeet Kumari, (CC BY-NC-SA).

This textbook is an adaptation of Biochemistry Free for All (2021) Oregon State University. It was adapted to suit the requirements of an introductory, one-semester biochemistry course offered at Columbia College.

Threshold Concepts in Biochemistry by  Julian Pakay; Hendrika Duivenvoorden; Thomas Shafee; and Kaitlin Clarke  (CC BY-NC-SA).

This book is designed as a succinct and focused resource, specifically aimed to help students grasp key threshold concepts in Biochemistry. Due to their troublesome nature, understanding threshold concepts is a cognitively demanding task. By using a series of thematically linked case studies that accompany theory, the cognitive load will be reduced. This will free up students to focus on learning concepts rather than distracting them with unnecessary specifics. Please note this book is being published iteratively and the final four chapters will be available in the first half of 2024. Pressbooks book of the month for October 2024 due to creation of third space collaborative model.

Media Attributions

• BC Map by Adamwashere (CC BY-NC-SA).