As you think of the title, Food Scientist, you probably expect that they all work in food factories; whether in the lab or on the production floor. But what if you love the idea of combining your knowledge about food and science yet you are not drawn to working in a food factory setting? Is […]
So you are thinking about pursuing a degree in food science and becoming a food scientist aren’t you? What classes will you need to take? Food science as you might already know, is a multidisciplinary field that combines chemistry, biology, nutrition, and engineering. It provides students with the scientific understanding needed to tackle real-world challenges […]
Food science is a large discipline that primarily deals with the study of food composition and finding creative ways to improve food products through an understanding of science. With an ever-increasing global population, the goal of feeding everyone on the earth is becoming increasingly difficult. Food scientists are therefore actively engaged in solving this challenge […]
Fluid Mosaic Model Cells are enclosed by a double-layered fluid membrane called the lipid bilayer. It consists of a mosaic of components which include proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids, phospholipids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and cholesterol. The phospholipid heads are polar, allowing them to orient themselves towards the watery cytoplasm and extracellular space. The hydrophobic tails […]
Polarity An important concept that you will encounter in biochemistry is the hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature of different compounds. A compound is hydrophobic if it cannot dissolve in water, and hydrophilic if it can dissolve in water. You may already know from experience that fats and oils are hydrophobic, which makes them float on top […]
Proteins can be separated based on their isoelectric point and molecular weight using electrophoresis. This allows us to observe and compare structural and functional differences in proteins, and enables further analysis of specific proteins we may want to study. Separation by Isoelectric Point Separation by isoelectric point is called isoelectric focusing. In this technique, samples […]
Regulation of energy metabolism can occur at the gene level, where enzymes needed for energy metabolic pathways are either transcribed, or their transcription inhibited. A well-studied example is the Lac Operon which can be seen in E. coli bacteria. The Lac Operon is characterized by an operator which is essentially an on/off switch that controls […]
Three sequences of nucleotides called a codon on the mRNA code for amino acids. There are 64 codons. Sixty-one of them code for amino acids including AUG which is a start codon corresponding to methionine. Three codons are referred to as STOP codons. Stop codons terminate translation of mRNA. The stop codons are UGA, UAA, […]
The DNA contains the code for making all proteins. In order for proteins to be synthesized, the code on the DNA for making the protein of interest must be transcribed. Imagine trying to make a cake (the protein) that you have never made before. Consider that the book with the recipe is in a rare […]
