how should a small molecule chemist study biology?

[mek42]

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So I've been a small molecule analytical chemist in pharma for 7 years prior to being laid off a year ago. Been teaching a pre-health professions chemistry since then. I'm taking an immunology class now and all those blasted C proteins in the complement system kicked my butt.

[whine] Why are biology abbreviations so uninformative? I know that IUPAC name for proteins would be ludicrously insane, but can't there be some sort of meaning or system to all of these little steps to help one remember what they do instead of just the numerical order which isn't even a true ordinal system since the cleaved bits mix and match?[/whine]

Any advice on how an intuitive (INTJ) small molecule chemist should approach biology? I was able to come up with some nmemonics and stories that helped me remember eosinophils and the C1 complex. The things that had names I could kind of deal with, but then all these C-numbers and a's and b's that don't seem to have any systematic meaning kind of threw me. Is this really going to be a case of rote drudgery?

Thanks!

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm an organic chemist, and I feel your pain when it comes to learning the alphabet soup that is molecular/cell bio. I never loved learning bio--too much memorization. For me, getting through the cell/molecular stuff was a question of mnemonics, drawing pathways out, and willpower. Basically, you review it until you memorize it just long enough to pass the test before you memory dump. That's pretty much what it comes down to, because yeah, it's drudgery.

The good news is that once you're done with Step 1, you don't have to know all the complement proteins. At this point in my training (I'm an intern), I can't imagine any scenario where I'd have to know the individual steps of the complement cascade at all, but if by chance I did, I could look it up. That's what smart phones are for, to be your accessory brain. 🙂

 

[dmf2682]

How should a small molecule chemist study??

Get a really high chair!

 

[ChemMed]

How should a small molecule chemist study??

Get a really high chair!

Medicinal chemist by training and now medical student. Its pretty much what Q said, you have to will power your way through it. Drawing like you do to push electrons around helps. I just imagine that I'm dealing with a reaction instead of strait up "stuff I have to put in my brain". The other thing I try to do is create a story out of it. The body is a set of highly attuned chemical reactions in motion. Remembering this gets me more motivated.

 

[n3xa]

How should a small molecule chemist study??

Get a really high chair!

😡 😡 😡

I had my own toddler step stool at my 'hood in grad school. 😡

For physio and cell bio, I would draw out pictures. DRAW OUT PICTURES:

Those anatomy coloring books didn't do it for me. I had to draw it myself, even if my male urinary system looked like an alien's head according to my classmate. 🙁

 

[jsp132]

😡 😡 😡

I had my own toddler step stool at my 'hood in grad school. 😡

For physio and cell bio, I would draw out pictures. DRAW OUT PICTURES:

Those anatomy coloring books didn't do it for me. I had to draw it myself, even if my male urinary system looked like an alien's head according to my classmate. 🙁

wow 👍 if i could draw and color that well I would do that all the time that's amazing!

 

[Isoprop]

I'm an organic chemist, and I feel your pain when it comes to learning the alphabet soup that is molecular/cell bio.

Even us biologists hate the alphabet soup hell that is immunology.

To OP, it's pretty much memorization and reptition. Trying to create a "story" with the proteins helped some (eg Protein A got mad so he cleaved Protein B into B1 and B2...). Also, as a fellow INTJ, I found it helpful to sort out the purpose/function of some of the cascades.

Also I found this book somewhat helpful for its pictures/diagrams. It's not worth buying, but if you can find a copy in your library or through some interlibrary loan, I'd look at the pictures and summaries. Be careful though, because it might be out of the scope of your class (too narrowly focused on the clinical aspects of immuno).

Just as a warning, complement really isn't that bad. It gets soooo much worse in immunology.

 

[Valerie2481]

😡 😡 😡

I had my own toddler step stool at my 'hood in grad school. 😡

For physio and cell bio, I would draw out pictures. DRAW OUT PICTURES:

Those anatomy coloring books didn't do it for me. I had to draw it myself, even if my male urinary system looked like an alien's head according to my classmate. 🙁

Is that an "FFFFUUUUU" I see at the top of your drawing there?

 

[n3xa]

Is that an "FFFFUUUUU" I see at the top of your drawing there?

😳

 

[Morsetlis]

I agree. Halfway through Medical Biochemistry and I've discovered that drawing = best way to go.

Good thing I got a 2/5 on that AP Art Studio class in high school, eh?

As for the names, sometimes they make sense. Sometimes:

Cholescystokinin (pancreozymin): it moves (kinin) the bile (chole) cistern (kinin), duh! The other name makes the pancreas secrete enzymes.

Dystrophin: the failure/absence of which promotes muscular dystrophy

cGMP activates the PKG, cAMP actives the PKA, and DAG+Ca2+ activates the PKC. Etc.

The problem is that the word meaning does not always imply the same relationship to its function in the body. Sometimes it's a negative relationship, sometimes a positive one: this is pure memorization, although sometimes you can make up silly stories/vignettes:

Kinesin moves toward the positive pole of the microtubule, because the K = AK = chargeing forward.

Dynein moves toward the negative pole of the microtubule, because it's like a dying, retreating soldier.

Oh god this is getting embarrassing.

 

[dmf2682]

I remembered it through ordered acronyms. KARD meaning Kinein = Anterograde, Retrograd = Dynein. If you strategically order the acronyms it gets easier. I am tipsy at the moment, so take it fwiw. happy sunday everyone.

 

[dmf2682]

holy $hit batman! 100 posts!!!

 

[mek42]

Even us biologists hate the alphabet soup hell that is immunology.

To OP, it's pretty much memorization and reptition. Trying to create a "story" with the proteins helped some (eg Protein A got mad so he cleaved Protein B into B1 and B2...). Also, as a fellow INTJ, I found it helpful to sort out the purpose/function of some of the cascades.

Also I found this book somewhat helpful for its pictures/diagrams. It's not worth buying, but if you can find a copy in your library or through some interlibrary loan, I'd look at the pictures and summaries. Be careful though, because it might be out of the scope of your class (too narrowly focused on the clinical aspects of immuno).

Just as a warning, complement really isn't that bad. It gets soooo much worse in immunology.

Thank you so much for the encouragement, lol! It is good to know it isn't just me. Though, sadly, I was driving home behind someone tonight with FAB as their first license plate digits and started wondering where the second Fab was, because there's never just one.