Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological chemist."
Biochemist researchers focus on playing and constructing researchexperiments, mainly for developing new products, updating existing products and analyzing said products. It is also the responsibility of a biochemist to present their research findings and create grant proposals to obtain funds for future research.[1]
Biochemists study aspects of the immune system, the expressions of genes, isolating, analyzing, and synthesizing different products, mutations that lead to cancers, and manage laboratory teams and monitor laboratory work. Biochemists also have to have the capabilities of designing and building laboratory equipment and devise new methods of producing correct results for products.[2]
The most common industry role is the development of biochemical products and processes. Identifying substances' chemical and physical properties in biological systems is of great importance, and can be carried out by doing various types of analysis. Biochemists must also prepare technical reports after collecting, analyzing and summarizing the information and trends found.
In biochemistry, researchers often break down complicated biological systems into their component parts. They study the effects of foods, drugs, allergens and other substances on living tissues; they research molecular biology, the study of life at the molecular level and the study of genes and gene expression; and they study chemical reactions in metabolism, growth, reproduction, and heredity, and apply techniques drawn from biotechnology and genetic engineering to help them in their research. About 75% work in either basic or applied research; those in applied research take basic research and employ it for the benefit of medicine, agriculture, veterinary science, environmental science, and manufacturing. Each of these fields allows specialization; for example, clinical biochemists can work in hospital laboratories to understand and treat diseases, and industrial biochemists can be involved in analytical research work, such as checking the purity of food and beverages.
Biochemists in the field of agriculture research the interactions between herbicides with plants. They examine the relationships of compounds, determining their ability to inhibit growth, and evaluate the toxicological effects surrounding life.
Modern biochemistry is considered a sub-discipline of the biological sciences, due to its increased reliance on, and training, in accord with modern molecular biology. Historically, even before the term biochemist was formally recognized, initial studies were performed by those trained in basic chemistry, but also by those trained as physicians.
Training
Some of the job skills and abilities that one needs to attain to be successful in this field of work include science, mathematics, reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking. These skills are critical because of the nature of the experimental techniques of the occupation. One will also need to convey trends found in research in written and oral forms.
A degree in biochemistry or a related science such as chemistry is the minimum requirement for any work in this field. This is sufficient for a position as a technical assistant in industry or in academic settings. A Ph.D. (or equivalent) is generally required to pursue or direct independent research. To advance further in commercial environments, one may need to acquire skills in management.
Biochemists must pass a qualifying exam or a preliminary exam to continue their studies when receiving a Ph.D. in biochemistry.
In the private industries for businesses, it is imperative to possess strong business management skills as well as communication skills. Biochemists must also be familiar with regulatory rules and management techniques.[3]
Biochemistry Blog publishes high quality research articles, papers, posts and jobs related to biochemistry. Biochemistry 2019, biochemistry papers latest.[4]
Due to the reliance on most principles of the basic science of Biochemistry, early contemporary physicians were informally qualified to perform research on their own in mainly this (today also related biomedical sciences) field.
Employment
Biochemists are typically employed in the life sciences, where they work in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry in a research role. They are also employed in academic institutes, where in addition to pursuing their research they may also be involved with teaching undergraduates, training graduate students, and collaborating with post-doctoral fellows.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that jobs in the biochemist, combined with the statistics of biophysicists, field would increase by 31% between 2004 and 2014 because of the demand in medical research and development of new drugs and products, and the preservation of the environment.
Because of a biochemists' background in both biology and chemistry, they may also be employed in the medical, industrial, governmental, and environmental fields. Slightly more than half of the biological scientists are employed by the Federal State and local governments. The field of medicine includes nutrition, genetics, biophysics, and pharmacology; industry includes beverage and food technology, toxicology, and vaccine production; while the governmental and environmental fields includes forensic science, wildlife management, marine biology, and viticulture.
The average income of a biochemist was $82,150 in 2017. The range of the salaries begin around 44,640 to 153,810, reported in 2017. The Federal Government in 2005 reported the average salaries in different fields associated with biochemistry and being a biochemist. General biological scientists in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions earned an average salary of $69,908; microbiologists, $80,798; ecologists, $72,021; physiologists, $93,208; geneticists, $85,170; zoologists, $101,601; and botanists, $62,207.[5]
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and metabolism. Over the last decades of the 20th century, biochemistry has become successful at explaining living processes through these three disciplines. Almost all areas of the life sciences are being uncovered and developed through biochemical methodology and research. Biochemistry focuses on understanding the chemical basis which allows biological molecules to give rise to the processes that occur within living cells and between cells, in turn relating greatly to the understanding of tissues and organs, as well as organism structure and function. Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, which is the study of the molecular mechanisms of biological phenomena.
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms. Chemists carefully measure substance proportions, chemical reaction rates, and other chemical properties. In Commonwealth English, pharmacists are often called chemists.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chemistry:
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physical structure of biological macromolecules is known as molecular biology.
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with biochemistry, molecular biology, physical chemistry, physiology, nanotechnology, bioengineering, computational biology, biomechanics, developmental biology and systems biology.
Michael Smith was a British-born Canadian biochemist and businessman. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis. Following a PhD in 1956 from the University of Manchester, he undertook postdoctoral research with Har Gobind Khorana at the British Columbia Research Council in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Subsequently, Smith worked at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Laboratory in Vancouver before being appointed a professor of biochemistry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1966. Smith's career included roles as the founding director of the UBC Biotechnology Laboratory and the founding scientific leader of the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE). In 1996 he was named Peter Wall Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology. Subsequently, he became the founding director of the Genome Sequencing Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre.
Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development of food technology.
The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, also known as the Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute, was a research institute of the Max Planck Society, located in Göttingen, Germany. On January 1, 2022, the institute merged with the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen to form the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences.
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in a particular branch of biology and have a specific research focus.
A biomedical scientist is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medical laboratory sciences or laboratory medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new ways to cure or treat disease by developing advanced diagnostic tools or new therapeutic strategies. The research of biomedical scientists is referred to as biomedical research.
Roger David Kornberg is an American biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006 for his studies of the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA, "the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription."
The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science; the discipline of science is defined as both the systematic effort of acquiring knowledge through observation, experimentation and reasoning, and the body of knowledge thus acquired, the word "science" derives from the Latin word scientia meaning knowledge. A practitioner of science is called a "scientist". Modern science respects objective logical reasoning, and follows a set of core procedures or rules to determine the nature and underlying natural laws of all things, with a scope encompassing the entire universe. These procedures, or rules, are known as the scientific method.
The history of biochemistry can be said to have started with the ancient Greeks who were interested in the composition and processes of life, although biochemistry as a specific scientific discipline has its beginning around the early 19th century. Some argued that the beginning of biochemistry may have been the discovery of the first enzyme, diastase, in 1833 by Anselme Payen, while others considered Eduard Buchner's first demonstration of a complex biochemical process alcoholic fermentation in cell-free extracts to be the birth of biochemistry. Some might also point to the influential work of Justus von Liebig from 1842, Animal chemistry, or, Organic chemistry in its applications to physiology and pathology, which presented a chemical theory of metabolism, or even earlier to the 18th century studies on fermentation and respiration by Antoine Lavoisier.
The College of Natural Science (NatSci) at Michigan State University is home to 27 departments and programs in the biological, physical and mathematical sciences.
Joseph Stewart Fruton, born Joseph Fruchtgarten, was a Polish-American biochemist and historian of science. His most significant scientific work involved synthetic peptides and their interactions with proteases; with his wife Sofia Simmonds he also published an influential textbook, General Biochemistry. From 1970 until his death, Fruton worked extensively on the history of science, particularly the history of biochemistry and molecular biology.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to natural science:
Chemistry and physics are branches of science that both study matter. The difference between the two lies in their scope and approach. Chemists and physicists are trained differently, and they have different professional roles, even when working in a team. The division between chemistry and physics becomes diffuse at the interface of the two branches, notably in fields such as physical chemistry, chemical physics, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics/chemistry, materials science, spectroscopy, solid state physics, solid-state chemistry, crystallography, and nanotechnology.
Barry H. Honig is an American biochemist, molecular biophysicist, and computational biophysicist, who develops theoretical methods and computer software for "analyzing the structure and function of biological macromolecules."
References
↑ "Biochemist". Science Buddies. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
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