7.05 | Spring 2020 | Undergraduate

General Biochemistry

Course Description

This course focuses on contributions of biochemistry toward an understanding of the structure and functioning of organisms, tissues, and cells. Topics include:

  • Chemistry and functions of constituents of cells and tissues and the chemical and physical-chemical basis for the structures of nucleic acids, proteins, …

This course focuses on contributions of biochemistry toward an understanding of the structure and functioning of organisms, tissues, and cells. Topics include:

  • Chemistry and functions of constituents of cells and tissues and the chemical and physical-chemical basis for the structures of nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates.
  • Basic enzymology and biochemical reaction mechanisms involved in macromolecular synthesis and degradation, signaling, transport, and movement.
  • General metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and nitrogen-containing materials such as amino acids, proteins, and related compounds.

NOTE: The first half of this course, taught by Prof. Yaffe, is available on the MITx platform as 7.05x Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms. This OCW website provides content primarily from the second half with Prof. Vander Heiden, which focuses on metabolism.

Learning Resource Types
Lecture Videos
Problem Sets with Solutions
Exams
A ball and stick model of β-D-fructofuranose structure (found in corn syrup) shown next to sweet corn, along with a ball and stick model of β-D-fructopyranose structure (found in honey) shown next to a honeybee and flower.
Would sugar by any other name taste as sweet? We learn in lecture 12 that the fructose in honey is a pyranose, whereas the fructose in corn syrup is a furanose, and one actually is sweeter. (Collage by MIT OpenCourseWare. Images by Benjah-bmm27, Severnjc, & USDA. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.)