A Mediterranean diet is known to combat high blood pressure and researchers have linked unsaturated fats, nitrite and nitrate to a reduced blood pressure in rodents. A typical Mediterranean diet consists of olive oil, plant-based foods, paired with fish or … Continue reading
Preparing for my midterm this week and also working on my final project I’ve been fascinated by how much biochemical interactions both covalent and non covalent are at the heart of life and how disease can arise when bacteria and … Continue reading
In honor of our future work on membrane proteins, I thought I’d share a little bit about cystic fibrosis, an autosomal recessive disease that affects 30,000 Americans. Most people are diagnosed by age 2 and life expectancy is typically in … Continue reading
In Orgo II the other day, we discussed a super interesting biochemical application of beta-lactams moieties. Lactams are cyclic amides (also known as lactone amides) that are most often found as either six-membered rings, called delta-lactams, 5-membered rings, called gamma-lactams, … Continue reading
In class we talked briefly about the differences between margarine and butter, so I was curious about whether there were any health differences between the two. Originally, margarine contained high levels of trans fat, but after the FDA publicized the … Continue reading
One of my favorite things to play with growing up (maybe now still) were bubbles. The small air filled spheres that pop releasing a small spray of water- I loved them. Learning about lipids and looking into the structure of … Continue reading
I’m so excited to be trying the soap-making process again! I got to do this once in my high school organic chemistry class, and it was a long process, from what I remember, so I’m interested in seeing the differences … Continue reading
Earlier this week, we talked a little about using coconut oil for conditioner, and it got me thinking about the varied uses for oils and the biochemistry behind these oils. I’m one of those people who uses oils for everything: … Continue reading
(Disclaimer:The post starts on a tangent, but I promise there’s a point!) I was trolling on Facebook the other day and came across a wonderfully moving series of photos, of musical instruments photographed from the inside…What!! http://www.boredpanda.org/musical-instruments-photographed-from-inside/ Now sure exactly … Continue reading
Lipids have always been one of the most interesting biomolecules. It is not a polymer like the other three large classes of biomolecules and at the same time it is so abundant in our bodies. Particularly interesting is something known … Continue reading