The Dalai Lama essays

The Dalai Lama essays The Dalai Lama is one of the most important leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has lived both a very remarkable and influential life. He was born a normal man, but is now the leader of the Buddhist people. He has many qualities that have shaped his life, and helped him through his troubles. In this essay, I will tell you the story of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama was born in the small poverty stricken town of Taktser. He was born on July 6th 1935 under the name Lhamo Thondup, which means Wish Fulfilling Goddess. He and his family were one of twenty families living in Taktser. At the age of two, Lhamo was chosen as the incarnation of the previous Dalai Lama. This is very remarkable because he is one of few to be reincarnated as the Dalai Lama. Buddhist people believe that the Dalai Lama will be reincarnated after he dies. He then left to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, and became the spiritual leader of the Buddhist people. The Dalai Lama had three older brothers and one older sister. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had already been recognized as the reincarnation of one of the high lamas. His sister, Tsering Dolma, who was 18 at the time of the Dalai Lamas birth, had helped to take of him and take care of the household. One of the Dalai Lamas mentors was his dad. He helped to guide him through his young childhood. He remembered him as being a kind man, but every now and then had quick temper. He recalls his mother as undoubtedly one of the kindest people I have ever known. After being sent to Lhasa, and becoming older, the Dalai Lama received his primary education. He pursued a doctorate in being a monk. As all monks do he studied subjects that included logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine and Buddhist philosophy. The last and the most important, and most difficult, was subdivided into five further categories: Prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom; Madhyamik...

Enzyme Biochemistry - What They Are and How They Work

Enzyme Biochemistry - What They Are and How They Work An enzyme is defined as a macromolecule that catalyzes a biochemical reaction. In this type of chemical reaction, the starting molecules are called substrates. The enzyme interacts with a substrate, converting it into a new product. Most enzymes are named by combining the name of the substrate with the -ase suffix (e.g., protease, urease). Nearly all metabolic reactions inside the body rely on enzymes in order to make the reactions proceed quickly enough to be useful. Chemicals called activators can enhance enzyme activity, while inhibitors decrease enzyme activity. The study of enzymes is termed enzymology. There are six broad categories used to classify enzymes: Oxidoreductases - involved in electron transferHydrolases - cleave the substrate by hydrolysis (uptaking a water molecule)Isomerases - transfer a group in a molecule to form an isomerLigases (or synthetases) - couple the breakdown of a pyrophosphate bond in a nucleotide to the formation of new chemical bondsOxidoreductases - act in electron transferTransferases - transfer a chemical group from one molecule to another How Enzymes Work Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy needed to make a chemical reaction occur. Like other catalysts, enzymes change the equilibrium of a reaction, but they arent consumed in the process. While most catalysts can act on a number of different types of reactions, a key feature of an enzyme is that it is specific. In other words, an enzyme that catalyzes one reaction wont have any effect on a different reaction. Most enzymes are globular proteins that are much larger than the substrate with which they interact. They range in size from 62 amino acids to more than 2,500 amino acid residues, but only a portion of their structure is involved in catalysis. The enzyme has what is called an active site, which contains one or more binding sites that orient the substrate in the correct configuration, and also a catalytic site, which is the part of the molecule that lowers activation energy. The remainder of an enzymes structure acts primarily to present the active site to the substrate in the best way. There may also be allosteric site, where an activator or inhibitor can bind to cause a conformation change that affects the enzyme activity. Some enzymes require an additional chemical, called a cofactor, for catalysis to occur. The cofactor could be a metal ion or an organic molecule, such as a vitamin. Cofactors may bind loosely or tightly to enzymes. Tightly-bound cofactors are called prosthetic groups. Two explanations of how enzymes interact with substrates are the lock and key model, proposed by Emil Fischer in 1894, and the induced fit model, which is a modification of the lock and key model that was proposed by Daniel Koshland in 1958. In the lock and key model, the enzyme and the substrate have three-dimensional shapes that fit each other. The induced fit model proposes enzyme molecules can change their shape, depending on the interaction with the substrate. In this model, the enzyme and sometimes the substrate change shape as they interact until the active site is fully bound. Examples of Enzymes Over 5,000 biochemical reactions are known to be catalyzed by enzymes. The molecules are also used in industry and household products. Enzymes are used to brew beer and to make wine and cheese. Enzyme deficiencies are associated with some diseases, such as phenylketonuria and albinism. Here are a few examples of common enzymes: Amylase in saliva catalyzes the initial digestion of carbohydrates in food.Papain is a common enzyme found in meat tenderizer, where it acts to break the bonds holding protein molecules together.Enzymes are found in laundry detergent and stain removers to help break up protein stains and dissolve oils on fabrics.DNA polymerase catalyzes a reaction when DNA is being copied and then checks to make sure the correct bases are being used. Are All Enzymes Proteins? Nearly all known enzymes are proteins. At one time, it was believed all enzymes were proteins, but certain nucleic acids, called catalytic RNAs or ribozymes, have been discovered that have catalytic properties. Most of the time students study enzymes, they are really studying protein-based enzymes, since very little is known about how RNA can act as a catalyst.