Role of the Biochemistry Department

Unit 15 - Role of the Pathology Service Assignment 1 - The Biochemistry Department Role of the Biochemistry Department Clinical biochemistry (chemical pathology or clinical chemistry) is the area of pathology that analyses body fluids namely blood and urine. The biochemistry department uses analytical chemical tests to measure important biological chemicals in these fluids to help in the diagnosis and treatment of disease in patients. The Biochemistry Department carries out many types of blood tests. Blood contains a variety of cells suspended in a fluid called plasma. Dissolved in the plasma are many substances, such as electrolytes, nutrients, vitamins, clotting factors, hormones, enzymes and antibodies. Testing and measurement of these different substances help in the diagnoses of many diseases. For example, blood and urine glucose analysis can be used in the diagnoses of the disease diabetes. Measurement of blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels in patients with cardiovascular problems can help in the diagnoses of heart disease. Blood carries these substances to different parts of the body. By analysing its contents biochemists can help to assess the health of major organs or organ systems, including the heart, lungs and respiratory system. For example, blood tests can determine how well the liver, kidney and lungs are functioning and whether there is any

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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Investigate what concentration of sucrose solution is isotonic to potato cell sap.

Biology Coursework - Osmosis - To Investigate concentration of sucrose solution is isotonic to potato cell sap. Biology Coursework - Osmosis Planning Aim: To investigate what concentration of sucrose solution is isotonic to potato cell sap. Apparatus:0M sucrose (aq) (distilled water) 2M sucrose (aq) Potato Chip cutter Knife Boiling tubes Measuring cylinder (25cm3) Vernier callipers (to nearest 0.1mm) Balance (to nearest 0.01gram) Safety: I will ensure safety around the lab by: wearing safety goggles, laying paper towels, removing baggage from walking space, push stools under the bench, stand up, walk carefully and slowly - don't rush and handle equipment and apparatus carefully. Preliminary Experiment: I did a small experiment before doing the real one so I could find a suitable range to base my investigation round. I used 3 chips in 3 boiling tubes, each containing 20cm3 of: 0M sucrose, 0.5M sucrose and 1M sucrose. studentcentral.co.uk Moles of Sucrose /M Original Mass /g Mass after 3 hours /g Up/Down in mass wwfb fbw stfbfbud efb fbnt cfb enfbtral fbcofb uk. 0M 8.02 wwcb cbw stcbcbud ecb cbnt ccb encbtral cbcocb uk. 9.94 Up 0.5M wwcc ccw stccccud ecc ccnt ccc encctral cccocc uk: 8.18 7.83 Down M 8.83 7.20 wwaf afw stafafud eaf afnt caf enaftral afcoaf uk. Down As you can see from my preliminary results, I should investigate between 0M sucrose

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Urinary system

Urinary System Anatomy www.training.seer.cancer.gov The urinary system is one of the excretory systems of the body and consists of four main parts: * 2 kidneys - excretory organs * 2 ureters - ducts draining the kidneys * The bladder - reservoir of urine * The urethra - channel from bladder to exterior (Ross, J. et al. 1990) The kidneys The kidneys are bean shaped organs approximately 10-12cm long, 5-7cm wide, and 3cm thick. They lie behind the peritoneum and the posterior wall of the abdomen between last thoracic (T12) and third lumbar vertebrae (L3). The right kidney is slightly lower that the left one because of the presence of the liver superiorly (Tortora, J.G et al. 2003). The medial concave border contains a notch called the renal hilus (see diagram below), the area where structures enter and leave kidney. These structures include the renal artery and vein, lymphatic vessels and nerves (Mace, J.D. et al. 1998). Tortora, J.G. et al. (2003), p.952 A fibrous layer of connective tissue, called the renal fascia, connects the kidney to the abdominal wall and to the surrounding structures (See Appendix A). Beneath the renal fascia is a fatty layer known as the adipose capsule, which surrounds the renal capsule and aids in protection of the kidney. The renal capsule is a thin transparent membrane that serves to hold kidney together and helps to maintain its shape

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Effects of Various Carbohydrate Substrates on Yeast Fermentation.

Effects of Various Carbohydrate Substrates on Yeast Fermentation Abstract This experiment was performed to determine which carbohydrate substrates positively influence yeast fermentation since yeast seems to have greater ability to utilize certain carbohydrates. Rate of evolution of carbon dioxide was measured by the amount of carbon dioxide produced over time. We compared the reaction rates in samples with varying carbohydrate substrates at a constant temperature of 35 degrees C. The most efficient carbohydrates, with respect to time and energy, were the ones best suited for the yeast's "enzyme-based transport system (Vilet, 1993)", which allows entry into the yeast cell and entry into the glycolytic pathway. Those carbohydrates best suited for the enzyme-transport system had the highest carbon dioxide levels and the greatest reaction rates. Introduction For millennia, humans have used the alcoholic fermentation capability of yeast to produce breads, crackers and a variety of fermented beverages including beer and wine. Yeast are versatile unicellular fungi. They grow rapidly and have simple nutritional requirements. "When yeast degrade nutrients in the absence of oxygen they use the process of glycolysis to produce energy in the form of ATP (Klocker, 1901)". In this process, known as yeast fermentation, there are 2 ATP molecules produced for each glucose

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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Water Potential of Potato Tuber Cells: The Density Method

Valentina Zunarelli IB Biology Practical Water Potential of Potato Tuber Cells: The Density Method Introduction Aim To find out the water potential of potato tuber cells by testing whether a drop of coloured solution sinks or floats in test tubes containing solutions of different densities. This is called the density method. Hypothesis My hypothesis is that the drop of coloured solution will rise if the tissue gained water from the solution, making it denser. However, if the water potential is the same as the solution's, the drop will neither fall nor rise. Method Firstly label seven test tubes: 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.50, 1.00 mol dm-3. Then, using a separate graduated syringe in each case, place 5cm3 of the appropriate solution in each test tube. Pipette 3cm3 of sucrose solution with each sucrose concentration into other test tubes and label them. Place one drop of methylene blue in each of these test tubes. This will colour the solution but not affect its water potential. These are to be shared among the class. Next, using a cork borer and a razor blade, prepare a solid cylinder into thirty discs of approximately equal (2mm) thickness. Note the time and place four of the potato discs into each of the seven 3 cm3 test tubes of sucrose solutions. Manipulate the discs so that they are all covered with sucrose solution in each tube. After at least 40

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Daphnia experiment - Does caffeine affect heart rate?

DOES CAFFEINE AFFECT HEART RATE? PLAN The aim of the following experiment is to determine whether the amount of caffeine concentration affects heart rate in Daphnia. Hypothesis When caffeine is added to water containing Daphnia, its heart will be observed to be beating faster. SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND Daphnia Daphnia, popularly known as water fleas, are small crustaceans that live in fresh water such as ponds, lakes, and streams. They serve as an important source of food for fish and other aquatic organisms. Daphnia are excellent organisms to use in bioassays because they are sensitive to changes in water chemistry and are simple and inexpensive to rise in an aquarium. Daphnia hearts a fairly easily seen but counting the number of beats can be difficult. Counting is easier if each heart beat is recorded by tapping a pencil on a piece of paper and counting up the pencil marks after the specified time. In addition, cooling the daphnia before the experiment may help slow their heart rate: heart rate is highly temperature dependant. An I Cam above the eye-piece of the microscope to project an image of the slide onto a large screen may also help with counting. They mature in just a few days, so it does not take long to grow a culture of test organisms. They possess fairly transparent bodies which make observation on heart rate in daphnia fairly observable.

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Can heart disease be prevented?

Can heart disease be prevented? Preventing heart disease. Something our doctors tell us about all the time, something we all want to do, but what exactly is a "heart disease". How can we prevent it if we don't even know what it is? Every one has heard the terms "heart attack" and "stroke" but hardly anyone knows what they mean. Let's start right at the beginning. A heart disease, medically known as cardiovascular disease, is a disease of the heart and the blood vessels. Most people think only the middle aged and elderly get such diseases but no, cardiovascular diseases can be found in children as young as the age of seven years old. This is strongly liked with the children's lack of exercise and a poor diet. There are many types of cardiovascular diseases of which the major ones are atherosclerosis, coronary, rheumatic, congenital, myocarditis, angina and arrhythmia. Heart disease can arise from congenital defects, infection, narrowing of the coronary arteries, high blood pressure, or disturbances. (1) Atherosclerosis is the thickening of the inner layer of the arterial walls due to the deposit of cholesterol, fibrous tissue, dead muscle cells and blood platelets. This deposit is also known as atheromatous plague or an atheroma. Rheumatic heart disease used to be one of the most serious heart diseases in both children and adolescence as it involves damage to the entire

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What is the isotonic point of a plant cell?

What is the isotonic point of a plant cell? The aim of this investigation is to determine the isotonic point of a plant cell. First thing to do therefore is to establish what an isotonic point is. This is the point at which there is a balance between the concentration of water on either side of a semi-permeable membrane (see diagrams on reverse for more details). This goal could be approached in any of a number of ways, but I have chosen to perform it as explained below. I would just like to point out first that I will do two experiments on two different potatoes so that I can establish whether the isotonic point varied from one plant's cells to another's. I would ideally like to repeated each of these again so that I have a more accurate result, but due to limited time, this will not be an option. Instead, I shall just have to use some common sense, if the results are really close together than I shall assume that the difference is the result of an inaccuracy of the equipment or human error. If the results are fairly far apart however (as I expect them to be (see predictions)) then I shall assume that the isotonic point varies from one potato type to another. Equipment. A full list of the equipment I'll be using is given below. N.B. This experiment, as with many, would be best performed with equipment that would give as accurate a measurement as possible. Unfortunately,

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Potato coursework

How does the concentration of a solution affect the osmosis rate of a potato Aim: The aim of my experiment is to see if the concentration of sugar solution I use will affect the rate of osmosis in potato cells. I will do this by recording data collected on the potatoes placed in different concentrations of sucrose. Research: Osmosis is a special kind of diffusion that only concerns the movement of water. If two solutions are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, which only allows certain sized molecules through there will be a net movement of the water molecules, from the less concentrated solution (the one with more water molecules), to the solution which is more concentrated (has more solute molecules). This is because as in ordinary diffusion the molecules move to even-out any difference in concentration. However, because of the semi-permeable membrane, which does not allow the larger solute molecules to cross; only the water molecules can move. The water molecules will continue to cross the semi-permeable membrane until equilibrium is reached, where the two solutions are of equal concentration. The greater the difference in the number of water molecules on either side of the membrane, the greater the water potential. Water potential is represented by the Greek letter ?. pure water has a water potential of 0kPa. As substances dissolve in the water, the water

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Fermentation of different sugars by yeast.

Fermentation of Different Sugars by Yeast Aim In this experiment I am going to investigate the fermentation of different sugars by yeast. To do this I am going to change the sugars and see how different sugars ferment with yeast. Hypothesis My Hypothesis is that the sugars will ferment the quickest in this or from fastest to slowest; Glucose, Fructose, Maltose, Sucrose and Lactose. This is due to the fact that Glucose and Fructose are monosaccharides, therefore they will be easier to breakdown. I think that Glucose will be faster than Fructose as its arrangement will make it slightly easier to breakdown. Lactose will be last, as Galactose which is one of the monosaccharides that makes Lactose, is going to be hard to breakdown. Equipment 20cm3 yeast suspension 0 cm3 0.1M glucose solution 0 cm3 0.1M fructose solution 0 cm3 0.1M sucrose solution 0 cm3 0.1M lactose solution 0 cm3 0.1M maltose solution 5 x 5cm3 plastic syringes 5 x 25cm length of capillary tubing Rubber tubing Ruler Stick Tape Glass Marking Pen Stop watch Set up Preliminary Work Respiration in yeast and the effect of temperature In this experiment we looked at how temperature effects yeast. This was done by looking at how much Carbon Dioxide was produced from identical samples of yeast. Then we placed these samples into different water baths, where the water is at different temperature

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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