2nd year Biochemistry?

rgrannell

Hey, I'm in 1st Science, and I'm wondering what Biochemistry is like in Second year? I liked Biochem in Biology, as it was pretty much a good complement to Physiology, but what's it like next year? Is is memorization of trivia/lots of "chemistry" chemistry, or is it more function based, and less about memorising pathways?

I was thinking of doing that as well as (or, given course places, instead of) physiology, and microbiology, and then going into Genetics in 3rd year. Are those choices a bit crap, or do they seem of? Thanks

bildo

3rd year genetics is great. Dunno about 2nd year subjects here but biochem is generally a pretty difficult subject, will require a good deal of reading to get your head around what you get in lectures but it is definitely worth it cause it will certainly help you with related 3rd year subjects.

I'd imagine you will be studying mostly genetic processes, organisation and cell signalling. You will need to know all about amino acids and proteins. All tough subjects that will require you to memorise a lot of things, processes mostly, but if you do the work and make sure you understand it all you'll be fine.

rgrannell

I bought a biochem textbook there today, it seems pretty manageable. 1/10 of the way through it already :P

Do you need a good basic in Biochem for Genetics? Or is it just something you learn in brief during the course?

yer man!

I'm in second biochem, first semester is really nice in my opinion but second semester is a little bit boring as it involves a load of pathways which is a little boring but manageable. overall the subject is fine, the chemistry is pretty basic.

Squeeonline

I'm in final biochem now studying for the big last exam in a couple of weeks.

It gets harder. First year is mainly a re-hash of leaving cert stuff, second year gets into a bit more detail (what the LC should be really). It's not hard to follow, but you do need to spend some time with it

IIRC it is split into 2 sections, one per semester. Biomolecules (i.e. carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids), the second is more along the lines of bioprocesses (though thats not what they call it), covering DNA replication/transcription/translation, respiration (from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation), and something about formation of the nitrogenous bases too, though i could be mixing that up with the 3rd year course.

Final year is challenging, with a lot of focus on the processes you learned about in 2/3rd year are regulated, i.e. DNA damage checkpoints, cell cycle regulation, Mutatgenesis and repair, apoptosis, post-translational modifications, and epigenetics.

The 3rd year genetics course is really useful. You have your exam in early March IIRC but things you do in that have a massive overlap with the biochemistry courses in 3rd and 4th year. You'll be sitting in a biochem lecture thinking "I've seen this before, I know this, where did we cover this before?". Genetics also covers things in the same detail as final year, but in more detail than 3rd. i.e. if you can bring in genetics stuff to the 3rd biochem exam, you'll get a gold star.

Biochem isn't the easiest path to take, but it is very rewarding.

rgrannell

Thanks for all the reply's, they were really helpful. I'm pretty sure I want to take biochem, at least in second year.

Is the chemistry part of Biochem particularly difficult? As it is, I have no problem memorising various Biomolecules, and their properties (my biochem book goes into four pages of detail on alpha - 1 antitrypsin), but I'm not great at chemistry itself (predicting polarity, guessing how things will interact...). Would that be a problem, or is the chemistry element pretty basic (1st Organic level?)

Squeeonline

rgrannell wrote: »

Thanks for all the reply's, they were really helpful. I'm pretty sure I want to take biochem, at least in second year.

Is the chemistry part of Biochem particularly difficult? As it is, I have no problem memorising various Biomolecules, and their properties (my biochem book goes into four pages of detail on alpha - 1 antitrypsin), but I'm not great at chemistry itself (predicting polarity, guessing how things will interact...). Would that be a problem, or is the chemistry element pretty basic (1st Organic level?)

it's fairly basic. Once you're aware of the properties and structures of amino acids and nucleic acids, you're flying. Just to understand that the interaction in this active site is due to hydrogen bonds, and this mutation/enzyme switches this amino acid for another...

Very simple stuff.

bildo

My best advice is if you are planning on stucking with Biochem, in your first year try and be able to name all of the amino acids and list their basic properties. This will be waay more that you are expected until 3rd year but I promise you it will make the entire subject so much easier to pick up as you go along.
It's the biochemical alphabet.

rgrannell

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've got as far as "Bioenergetics and oxidative phosphorylation" myself in my textbook, and it's all very manageable, so I'm def taking the subject. As for the amino acids, I know most of them, but I suppose I'm memorise them, if it'll come in handy.

Squeeonline

rgrannell wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've got as far as "Bioenergetics and oxidative phosphorylation" myself in my textbook, and it's all very manageable, so I'm def taking the subject. As for the amino acids, I know most of them, but I suppose I'm memorise them, if it'll come in handy.

You kinda wont need to memorise them. You'll do them so often that they'll be stuck in your head anyway, but it's probably an advantage to learn them early.

JonSnuuu

It's really amazing how early you're getting on top of things! well done!

Squeeonline

johnt91 wrote: »

It's really amazing how early you're getting on top of things! well done!

some people come to college because they are interested in things, and actually care about what they are doing and want things to go the right way for them.

JonSnuuu

Squeeonline wrote: »

some people come to college because they are interested in things, and actually care about what they are doing and want things to go the right way for them.

Well someone's in a mood