Bio-Chemistry

Biochemistry explores chemical processes related to living organisms. It is a laboratory-based science combining biology and chemistry. Biochemists study the structure, composition, and chemical reactions of substances in living systems and, in turn, their functions and ways to control them. Biochemistry emerged as a separate discipline when scientists combined biology with organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry. They began to study areas such as:

• How living things get energy from food
• The chemical basis of heredity
• What fundamental changes occur in disease

Biochemistry includes the sciences of molecular biology, immunochemistry, and neurochemistry, as well as bioinorganic, bioorganic, and biophysical chemistry. Biochemists investigate the mechanisms of drug actions; engage in viral research; conduct research pertaining to organ function; or use chemical concepts, procedures, and techniques to study the diagnosis and therapy of disease and the assessment of health.