Author Archives: johwq64851

Electron Transport Chain and OXPHOS Vocabulary Electron transport chain Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) Competencies Outline all three mechanisms of ATP production in cells that use oxygen. Explain the differences in the general purpose of the electron transport chain (ETC) and oxidative … Continue reading →

Enzymes Vocabulary Catalyst Enzyme Catalytic site Activation energy Oxidation Reduction Synthesis Chemosynthesis Photosynthesis Competencies Explain what happens to sucrose after it is ingested into the small intestine. Explain the role of disaccharidase in that process, and express the sign of … Continue reading →

Lecture 4.3: Enzymes Overview Life is defined in part by metabolism. Although we typically define that concept by the types of chemical reactions that occur, from another viewpoint, metabolism is all about energy management. In the previous lecture we studied … Continue reading →

Lecture 3.6: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Overview At this moment (November, 2020), the dominant thing in the lives of most people in the world is a disease called COVID-19, caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. We, as professional biologists, are on … Continue reading →

Cancer Vocabulary Metastasis Carcinoma Ipsilateral Contralateral Primary tumor Secondary tumor Competencies Explain the properties that make a tumor malignant (cancer). Explain what it means for a tumor to be invasive. Describe the process of metastasis in cancer. Describe at least … Continue reading →

Lecture 3.5: Cancer Overview Why is the Central Dogma important? Why are we spending so much time learning about transcription and translation? This lecture will help answer that question. Cancer is one of the most significant diseases in human history. … Continue reading →

Lecture 2.6: Evidence for Evolution Overview In the past, the Earth supported a variety of interesting creatures that are quite different than anything alive today: carnivores–dog- or cat-like creatures–that had hooves like a deer; a little racoon-like critter that also … Continue reading →

Lecture 3.4: Translation Overview The second step in the central dogma has information flowing from RNA to protein. That process is called transcription. Conceptually the information coded in the sequences of bases on RNA informs the cell of the proper … Continue reading →

Lecture 3.3: Basic Gene Function Overview What does DNA and its genes, whatever those are, actually code for? This question is also still evolving. At one point in time, around the 1980s, we were fairly certain that we knew the … Continue reading →