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• Biomolecule is a chemical compound found in living organisms.
• Chemicals that are composed of mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus.
• Biological macromolecules - the large molecules necessary for life that are built from smaller organic molecules.
• Biomolecules have a single basic building unit called a monomer. It comes from the Greek words monos, meaning "single" and meros meaning "part”.
• A monomer is a single unit forming a long chain of molecules creating a repeated pattern.
• Monomers are joined together to form polymers.
• The prefix “-poly” comes from the Greek word polus, meaning “many”, so polymer means "many parts."
• Richard Henderson - Scottish biophysicist and molecular biologist First to successfully produce a three-dimensional image of a biological molecule at atomic resolution using a technique known as cryo-electron microscopy.
• It is often said that life is “carbon-based.”
• Carbon certainly qualifies as the “foundation” element for molecules in living things.
• It is the bonding properties of carbon atoms that are responsible for its important role.
• Carbon contains four electrons in its outer shell.

  
  

  Therefore, it can form four covalent bonds with other atoms or molecules.

  
  

  The simplest organic carbon molecule is methane (CH4), in which four hydrogen atoms bind to a carbon atom.
• Three molecules found in living organisms: Stearic Acid, Glycine, Glucose.
• FOUR MAJOR CLASSES OF BIOMOLECULES: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Nucleic Acids, Lipids
• Proteins are one of the most abundant organic molecules in living systems and have the most diverse range of functions of all macromolecules
• The elements that make up proteins are carbon , hydrogen , oxygen as well as nitrogen
• Polymers of amino acids, arranged in a linear chains called polypeptide
• Proteins can function as enzymes or hormones.
• An example of an enzyme is salivary amylase, which breaks down amylose, a component of starch.
• •Hormones are chemical signaling molecules, usually proteins or steroids, secreted by an endocrine gland or group of endocrine cells that act to control or regulate specific physiological processes, including growth, development, metabolism, and reproduction.
• insulin is a protein hormone that maintains blood glucose levels.
• Four levels of protein structure: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
• Nucleic Acids carry the genetic blueprint of a cell and carry instructions for the functioning of the cell.
• DNA and RNA are made up of monomers known as nucleotides.
• A and G are categorized as purines, while C, T, and U are collectively called pyrimidines.
• Amino Acid - A monomer of a protein
• Denaturation - The loss of shape in a protein as a result of changes in temperature, pH, or exposure to chemicals
• •Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) - A double-stranded polymer of nucleotides that carries the hereditary information of the cell
• Enzyme - A catalyst in a biochemical reaction that is usually a complex or conjugated protein
• Hormone - A chemical signaling molecule, usually a protein or steroid, secreted by an endocrine gland or group of endocrine cells; acts to control or regulate specific physiological processes
• Macromolecule - a large molecule, often formed by polymerization of smaller monomers
• Nucleic acid - A biological macromolecule that carries the genetic information of a cell and carries instructions for the functioning of the cell
• •Nucleotide - A monomer of nucleic acids; contains a pentose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base
• •Ribonucleic acid (RNA) - A single-stranded polymer of nucleotides that is involved in protein synthesis
• •Protein - A biological macromolecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids
• PURINE - A heterocyclic aromatic organic compound that consists of two rings fused together.