Biomolecules: An In-Depth Summary
Biomolecules are vital components that constitute living organisms and facilitate biochemical processes essential for life. This section elaborates on four primary biomolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and hormones.
- Carbohydrates: These organic compounds consist mainly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, often classified into mono-, di-, and polysaccharides.
- Monosaccharides include simple sugars like glucose and fructose.
- Disaccharides, like sucrose and lactose, are formed by the glycosidic linkage of two monosaccharides.
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Polysaccharides serve as energy stores and structural components, such as starch in plants and glycogen in animals.
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Proteins: Composed of amino acids linked by peptide bonds, proteins play critical roles in structure, function, and regulation of the body.
- Amino acids can be essential or non-essential, and the specific arrangement and structure of amino acids result in unique protein properties.
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Proteins can be fibrous or globular based on their structure, exhibiting primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels of organization.
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Nucleic Acids: DNA and RNA are polymers of nucleotides that store and transmit genetic information.
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The structure of DNA is a double helix, while RNA is typically single-stranded and includes the bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine (or uracil in RNA).
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Hormones: These biochemical messengers regulate various physiological processes in the body. Hormones like insulin, glucagon, and steroid hormones originate from endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and homeostasis.
Overall, understanding biomolecules is crucial to grasping how living systems maintain homeostasis, grow, and reproduce.