Undergraduate primer introducing the fundamental chemistry of the molecules that are essential to all cells.
1. The chemicals of biological systems; 2. Introduction to amino acids and proteins; 3. The structure of proteins; 4. From structure to metabolic function: the globins; 5. Proteins as catalysts; 6. Sugars and phosphates: an introduction; 7. Metabolism and the biochemistry of glucose; 8. Lipids: cells as compartments; 9. Genetic information: nucleotides and nucleic acids; 10. Epilogue: where to from here?