Biochemistry

The active site is the pocket or groove on an enzyme where the substrate binds and the chemical reaction is catalyzed.

Allosteric regulation is control of an enzyme's activity by a molecule that binds somewhere other than the active site and changes the enzyme's shape.

An amino acid is a small organic molecule with an amino group, a carboxyl group and a side chain; amino acids link together to form proteins.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the molecule cells use as their main short-term energy carrier, releasing energy when a phosphate group is removed.

Beta oxidation is the pathway, mainly in mitochondria, that breaks fatty acids down two carbons at a time into acetyl CoA, yielding NADH and FADH2.

A carbohydrate is a sugar or a chain of sugars, such as starch or cellulose, built from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and used for energy and structure.

The Krebs cycle breaks the acetyl group of acetyl-CoA down to carbon dioxide and keeps its energy as NADH, FADH₂ and GTP, in eight steps.

The parts of an animal cell and what each does: the nucleus, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, lysosomes and more.

The structure of DNA: nucleotides, the sugar-phosphate backbone, base pairs and hydrogen bonds, antiparallel strands and the grooves.

How a chloroplast turns light, water and carbon dioxide into sugar and oxygen: the light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle.

Two strands of DNA wound round each other, held together by base pairs: twelve of them here, about one full turn of the double helix.

The protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells: four chains, each holding a haem group whose iron binds one oxygen molecule.

The hormone that lowers blood glucose: a small protein of 51 amino acids in two chains, A and B, joined by disulfide bonds.

The most abundant protein in mammals: three chains wound into a rope-like triple helix, with glycine at every third position.

A pore in the cell membrane that lets potassium ions through in single file, about ten thousand times more readily than sodium.

The adaptor of protein synthesis: an L-shaped RNA of 76 nucleotides that reads a codon at one end and carries an amino acid at the other.

The cell's energy currency: adenine and a ribose sugar carrying a chain of three phosphates; splitting off the last one with water releases energy.

The main sugar fuel of cells: six carbons, five of them closed into a ring with an oxygen, and a hydroxyl group on almost every carbon.

Studies the chemistry of life: the proteins, fats, sugars and nucleic acids in cells and the reactions that keep them working.

Develops and tests skin care, hair care and make-up products, making sure each one is safe, stable and does what the label claims.

Assesses what people eat and turns the science of nutrition into practical diet plans that treat illness and support recovery.

Uses the science of food and nutrients to advise people, companies and public bodies on eating for good health.

Applies chemistry, microbiology and engineering to make food safe, nutritious and appealing, and to keep it that way from factory to plate.

Analyses evidence from crimes, such as blood, DNA, fibres and drugs, and reports what it shows to investigators and the courts.

How many grams to weigh for a solution, or what concentration or volume you made, from the formula weight.

The pH of a buffer, or how much of its acid and base form you need for a target pH, with common buffers built in.

A mass concentration (mg/mL, µg/mL, ng/mL) in molarity (M, mM, µM, nM), or back, from the molecular weight.