In this video, Prof. John Essigmann shares advice for future biochemists teaching this course. He encourages them to focus course material on the microbial world.

Advice for Next Teaching Generation: Focus Curricula on the Microbial World

In this video, Prof. John Essigmann discusses how instructors make use of oncology applications to motivate students to study metabolic pathways.

Motivating Students to Study Metabolic Biochemistry with Oncology Applications

In this video, Prof. Essignmann describes his current research in the field of genetic change.

Research Focus: Genetic Change

In this video, Prof. John Essigmann shares what inspired him to become a toxicologist.

Becoming a Toxicologist

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe shares the current focus of her research: Ribonucleotide Reductases (RNRs).

Research Focus: Ribonucleotide Reductases (RNRs)

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe shares how she became interested in biological chemistry, and in particular, enzymes.

How Can You Not Think Enzymes are Cool?

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe discusses why it is so important that students memorize amino acid side chains.

Why Students Should Memorize Amino Acid Side Chains

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe shares how teaching central pathways can help students grasp the complicated, and often overwhelming, topic of metabolism.

Teaching Central Pathways to Help Students Understand Metabolism

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe describes how the vitamin bottle is referenced repeatedly in 5.07 Biological Chemistry I.

Using a Vitamin Bottle as a Teaching Tool

In this video, Prof. JoAnne Stubbe discusses cells as the morphological unit of life and a major focus of biochemists.

Focusing on the Morphological Unit of Life

Biological Chemistry I

Professor Essigmann explores several special cases in fatty acid metabolism in this video. This includes fatty acids that have a cis-double bond and fatty acids that have an odd number of carbons.

Special Cases in Fatty Acid Metabolism

In this final video, Professor Essigmann considers cell to organ and organ to organism metabolism. He reviews the key organ systems and hormones, and describes the general paradigms of pathway control: Covalent, Allosteric, and Acceptor Control.

Regulation of Metabolism

In this video, Professor Essigmann reviews the Pentose Phosphate Pathway (PPP). He describes in detail the two distinct modes in the pathway: the oxidative mode and the non-oxidative mode.

Pentose Phosphate Pathway

Gluconeogenesis is a spontaneous process that involves the synthesis of glucose from non-sugar precursors. In this problem, Dr. Fedeles examines the mechanisms of gluconeogenesis, which require several steps of glycolysis to run in the reverse direction.

Problem Set 10, Problem 3: Gluconeogenesis

This video focuses on gluconeogenesis (GNG) -- the synthesis of glucose from noncarbohydrate precursors. Professor Essigmann explains why this process is particularly important to organs of the body that require glucose as their primary metabolic fuel.

Carbohydrate Biosynthesis II: Gluconeogenesis

This first of two videos on carbohydrate biosynthesis focuses on glycogen synthesis, also called glycogenesis. Professor Essigmann describes the pathway by which we form glycogen -- the form of glucose that is readily available for energy production.

Carbohydrate Biosynthesis I: Glycogen Synthesis

This video introduces anabolism, the phase of metabolism in which complex molecules are formed from simpler ones. Professor Essigmann describes in detail stages of fatty acid biosynthesis and lipid biosynthesis.

Fatty Acids and Lipid Biosynthesis

The blood sugar of a diabetic fluctuates throughout the day. Professor Essigmann explores the concept of gluconeogenesis, the metabolic pathway that leads to the synthesis of glucose from non-carbohydrate precursors.

Blood Sugar Fluctuations and Gluconeogenesis

In this video, Professor Essigmann explores ketone bodies – what they are, how they are made, and how they are used in the body. He describes in detail the role ketone bodies play in diabetes and starvation scenarios.

Ketogenesis, Diabetes, and Starvation

Professor Essigmann, who has Type II Diabetes, talks about his experience with the disease and the science behind it.

The Science Behind Type II Diabetes

This video introduced the process of lipid catabolism, including the many roles of lipids and the stages of fatty acid catabolism. Lipids are our primary energy reserve.

Lipod Catabolism: Fatty Acid Beta-Oxidation

The final stages of cell respiration are outlined in this video. Professor Essigmann describes how a proton pump works to store energy for ATP synthesis.  A physiological scenario is presented summarizing catabolism to this point in the course.

Respiration: Proton Pumps and ATP Synthesis

In this problem, Dr. Fedeles focuses on the electron transport chain. This fundamental redox process converts the chemical energy of the covalent bonds into an electrochemical gradient.

Problem Set 8, Problem 2: Bioenergetics of the Electron  Transport Chain

In this video, Professor Essigmann returns to the topic of respiration. He details how to convert the electron transport potential of NADH and FADH2 into the phosphate transfer potential of ATP.

Respiration: Electron Transport and Oxidative Phosphorylation

This video focuses on the TCA Cycle, also called the Krebs Cycle or Citric Acid Cycle. Professor Essigmann reviews in detail the enzymes and regulation of the TCA Cycle as well as intersecting pathways (e.g., anapleurotic reactions).

Respiration: TCA Cycle

Professor Essigmann looks in detail at carbohydrate catabolism leading up to the pathway of glycolysis. He provides a high-level view of cell respiration, including the role of the TCA cycle.

Glycolysis and Early Stages of Respiration

This video by Professor John Essigmann provides an introduction to carbohydrate catabolism. It is the first video in the metabolism portion of the course.

Introduction to Carbohydrate Catabolism

This problem is about sugar biochemistry. Specifically, it deals with how mannose, an isomer of glucose, gets to enter metabolism by being converted into fructose-6-phoshate.

Problem Set 5, Problem 5: How Mannose, an Isomer of Glucose, Enters Glycolysis

In this classroom lecture, Professor Stubbe focuses on enzymes as catalysts. She describes the theory and mechanics of catalysis and explains why enzymes are so important.

Lecture 5: Enzymes and Catalysis

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