Biochemistry can be defined as the application of chemistry to the study of biological processes at both the molecular and cellular levels. As both a life and chemical science, biochemistry explores the chemistry of living organisms, paying particular attention to the molecular basis for the changes that occur in living cells. Using methods from disciplines including physics, chemistry, molecular biology, immunology and genetics, biochemistry looks at the structure and behavior of the complex molecules found in biological material and the ways these molecules interact to form cells, tissues and entire organisms. For example biochemists seek to understand brain functioning, cellular communication within and between cells and organs, and lastly the chemical basis of inheritance and disease. Biochemists explore how molecules such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids function in the aforementioned processes with emphasis placed on regulating chemical reactions within cells. Accordingly, biochemistry differs from fields like chemistry, biology, genetics and molecular biology in that it truly encompasses various aspects of each of these disciplines. That is chemistry, for example, focuses solely on the properties, composition, and activities of various elementary forms of matter; while biology is the study of life and living organisms. Further subdivisions in the field of biology include genetics which is the study of heredity and variation in living organisms, and molecular biology which looks at life at the molecular level with a focus on interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, as well as learning how these interactions are regulated. As is evident biochemistry differs from discipline such as chemistry or genetics in that it can’t stand alone. Biochemistry relies on these other science disciplines to aid in its own research and studies.
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