#lipid

I will be covering four different organic molecules.

Hello, students. Today is my fourth lesson to you all in rudimentary biology. This topic is rather simplistic, but I had figured that it would provide some minor background for the previous lessons. This lesson will go over four organic molecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. I shouldn’t need to go over that if you have read the lesson brief, but I am sure some of you do not. I know some of my own students do not, Trailblazer.

Let us begin.

A majority of living organisms throughout the universe are carbon-based. Of course, not all are, but common examples of organic (meaning it contains carbon) beings are humans, halovians, foxians, pepeshi, most non-sentient animals, most plants, etc. I will be going over four organic molecules that are prevalent in organic organisms.

Before we continue, I must interject and disclaim that these molecules are polymers, meaning that they are composed of multiple smaller subunits. These subunits are called monomers, and you may have heard them be referred to as “building blocks” of the polymers. Some of you may remember me using this term in reference to nucleotides, which are the monomers to the polymer, nucleic acids.

The first of the organic molecules I will teach you about are carbohydrates. The monomer for a carbohydrate molecule is a monosaccharide, which, considering each section of the word, means a singular sugar. Carbohydrates consist of the element of carbon and the element compound of H2O, or water. Carbohydrates are typically used in one’s body as a source of short-term energy. An example of a monosaccharide is glucose, which is a type of sugar. When animals need to store an abundance of this monosaccharide, it connects them together to form a carbohydrate called glycogen. 

The second of the organic molecules are lipids. The monomers for a lipid molecule are glycerol and fatty acids. For a singular lipid molecule, the glycerol acts as a kind of “backbone” for three separate chains of fatty acids that hang off of the glycerol. Lipids consist of the elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. This organic molecule is typically used in one’s body as a storage for long-term energy, insulation, and protective coatings (usually in plants). The fatty acids in a lipid can be separated into two groups: saturated and unsaturated. The main difference between the two types of fatty acids are the bonds between the carbon and hydrogen molecules. Saturated fatty acids have singular bonds, while unsaturated fats have more than one bond. An example of a lipid are phospholipids, which make up the cell membrane in many organisms.

The third of the organic molecules are proteins. The monomer for a protein molecule is an amino acid. Proteins are used for a variety of things in the body as you may remember me saying in the last lesson. Some of these uses are for muscles, certain structures in a body like in keratin for one’s hair or nails, to speed up chemical reactions if the protein is an enzyme, or antibodies in the immune system. Proteins consist of the elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and occasionally, sulfur. I have gone over the structure of proteins before, but I will reiterate. A protein can also be called a polypeptide, or a peptide chain. What bonds each amino acid together in the chain is a peptide bond. The polypeptide is folded over itself numerous times and is thus a functional protein. An example of a protein is hemoglobin, which is the part of a red blood cell that allows it to carry oxygen to fulfill its primary purpose.

The fourth and final of the organic molecules I will go over today are nucleic acids. Like I mentioned previously in this lesson, the monomer for a nucleic acid is a nucleotide. Nucleic acids store the genetic information that aid in the process of synthesizing proteins. The whole molecule itself consists of the elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Nucleotides consist of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogen base. Examples of nucleic acids are DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, and RNA, or ribonucleic acid. DNA contains the information on the sequence and order of amino acids in a protein, and RNA copies the information from DNA to assist in various ways in protein synthesis. The nucleotides in DNA and RNA are roughly the same, but the sugars are different. The sugar in DNA is deoxyribose, and the sugar in RNA is ribose. You may have noticed that the sugars mentioned in this lesson all end in the suffix -ose. If a word ends with said suffix, it is more than likely a sugar.

Our fourth lesson together has come to an end. Unfortunately, I have an announcement to make. As a delegate of the IPC, I have been assigned a work trip to a planet called Penacony. The length of this trip is indefinite currently, but I can assure you that next week, there will definitely be no lesson. If I have the time during my trip, I will check on this account for any asks or suggestions sent to me, if any. That being said, have a good day, my students.

Let logic disseminate.

La profecía se ha cumplido

Fluorescent Fat

An improved method for highlighting proteins in studies of the fat body – an energy storage and hormone-producing tissue in the fruit fly and popular research model

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Rachael K. Ott and colleagues

Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Biology Open, August 2024