Medical biochemistry is the formal study of biochemical exchanges that occur within the human body in the context of medicine, usually in terms of drug interactions or cellular responses to disease or stimulation. Millions of complex chemical reactions are going on in the human body at any given time. The balance of the endocrine system, which controls hormone levels, is one example; how the brain processes information from nerves and how signals are relayed from place to place is another. By studying and understanding these highly complex reactions, medical biochemists have found ways to better fight infection and disease on the molecular level.

DNA Modeling

One of the most significant breakthroughs in the field was the creation of an accurate model of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. DNA is often referred to as the core “building block” of life, and it contains what’s basically a map to a person’s genetic patterning and makeup. Watson and Crick’s model opened up possibilities that had been inaccessible up until that point. Seeing the inner workings of DNA made it possible to understand human anatomy on a molecular scale, which eventually lead to many changes and advancements in how physicians approach and care for various ailments.