Nutrition and Health facts regarding lipid consumption:

Most of the lipid found in food is in the form of triacylglycerols, cholesterol and phospholipids. A minimum amount of dietary fat is necessary to facilitate absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and carotenoids. Humans and other mammals have a dietary requirement for certain essential fatty acids, such as linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) because they cannot be synthesized from simple precursors in the diet. Both of these fatty acids are 18carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids differing in the number and position of the double bonds. Most vegetable oils are rich in linoleic acid (safflower, sunflower, and corn oils). Alpha-linolenic acid is found in the green leaves of plants, and in selected seeds, nuts and legumes (particularly rapeseed, walnut and soy). Fish oils are particularly rich in the longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A large number of studies have shown positive health benefits associated with consumption of omega-3 fatty acids on infant development, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and various mental illnesses, such as depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dementia. In contrast, it is now well-established that consumption of trans fats, such as those present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises the fat guidelines for healthy Americans over age 2: Limit total fat intake to less than 2535% of your total calories each day; Limit saturated fat intake to less than 7% of total daily calories; Limit trans fat intake to less than 1% of total daily calories; The remaining fat should come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils; and Limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day, for most people. For example, a sedentary female who is 3150 years old needs about 2,000 calories each day. Therefore, she should consume less than 16 g saturated fat, less than 2 g trans fat and between 50 and 70 grams of total fat each day (with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils).

Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids are complex organic polymers that store and transfer genetic information within a cell. Inside a cell, they are the source of genetic information stored as chromosomes. Nucleic acids are composed of long chains of nucleotides linked by dehydration synthesis.

Two types: a. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA-double helix) b. Ribonucleic acid (RNA-single strand) DNA serves as genetic material, whereas RNA plays a vital role in using genetic information to dictate the amino acid sequence to manufacture proteins. Each Nucleotides are composed of 3 parts: 1- phosphate group (P) 2- pentose sugar (5-carbon) 3- nitrogenous bases: These can be any one of five types given below adenine (A) thymine (T) (DNA only) uracil (U) (RNA only) cytosine (C) guanine (G)

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, one of the two forms of nucleic acid in living cells. Polymers of nucleic acids. The genetic material of life. Each strand of DNA consists of a chain of four kinds of nucleotides Nitrogenous (because bases). of four different order of The

nucleotide bases in a strand of DNAthe DNA sequenceis genetic information. Gene: A DNA segment containing

biological information which encode for an RNA and/or polypeptide molecule. Genome: A genome is the full set of genes in each cell of an organism.

The hereditary nature of every living organism is defined by its genome, which consists of a long sequence of nucleic acid that provides the information needed to construct the organism. Genes are the basic unit of genetic information. They determine the nature and the function of the cell. The human genes (about ~ 30- 40,000) are referred to as the human genome. A genome is the full set of genes in each cell of an organism. It is the sequence of the individual subunits (bases) of the nucleic acid that determines hereditary features. By a complex series of interactions, this nucleotide sequence is used to produce all the proteins of the organism in the appropriate time and place. The proteins either form part of the structure of the organism, or have the capacity to build the structures or to perform the metabolic reactions necessary for life.

The human genome consists of two distinct parts: 1. Nuclear genome: 3.2 X 10 9 bp of DNA 30,000 40,000 genes 2. Mitochondrial genome: circular DNA molecule of 16,569 nucleotides & consisting of 37 genes Adult human body contains approximately 10 13 cells. Each cell has its own copy or copies of the genome.

Human chromosomes
Chromosome: Discrete unit of genome carrying many genes. Each chromosome consists of very long molecule of duplex DNA and approximately equal mass of proteins. Each species have their unique number of chromosomes. All Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosome, which is a total of 46 chromosomes in each cell. Human body cells have two of each type of chromosome, which means that their chromosome number is diploid (2n). 22 of the pairs are called autosomes and are numbered from largest to smallest. The autosomes are not involved in determining sex. The two members of each pair have the same length and shape, and they hold information about the same traits, Except for a pairing of sex chromosomes (XY) in males, The 23 rd pair are the sex chromosomes: XX in females XY in males

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The idea that genetic information is stored as DNA, copied into RNA, and then used to build proteins is considered the central dogma of molecular biology. The instructions in DNA determine the structure and function of all living things. Every time a cell reproduces, it must make a copy of these instructions for the new cell. When cells need to build a functional molecule (usually a protein), they copy the information in the genes into an RNA molecule instead of using the DNA blueprint directly.

Figure: Central dogma of molecular biology, showing flow of information from DNA to Protein. Heres an outline of the process: Cells use transcription to copy the information in DNA into newly synthesized RNA molecules. The information to build proteins is copied into a special type of RNA called messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries the blueprint for the protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm where it can be used to build the protein. In a process called translation, proteins are build from the information carried in mRNA molecules. Transcription Transcription is the process by which the information contained in a section of DNA is transferred to a newly assembled piece of messenger RNA (mRNA). An essential enzyme called RNA polymerase finds the genes within the DNA it needs to copy with the help of proteins called transcription factors. Transcription occurs in the nucleus. Translation Messenger RNA is the only kind of RNA that carries a protein-building message. By the process of translation, the protein-building information in an mRNA is decoded (translated) into a sequence of amino acids. The result is a polypeptide chain that twists and folds into a protein. Simply, Translation is the process where ribosomes (a type of cellular machinery needed for holding the mRNA when translating) synthesize proteins using the mature mRNA transcript produced during transcription. Translation occurs in the cytoplasm.

Figure: (Left) Shows the simplified version of central dogma however (right) shows there are exception to the rules. Generally according to the central dogma there is information flow from DNA to protein and cannot go backwards. However in some cases RNA is synthesized and replicated as well as synthesize DNA from RNA.