what's the difference between microbiology and biochemistry?

Question

I had some friends told me to better major in microbiology because it covers biochemistry(overlap). While Biochemistry is just biochemistry. Yet friends told me that a major in either is great. So What is the difference between the two majors?

Answer 1

Microbiology has to do with cell structure and organelles, and viruses. It's basically the biology of small stuff.

Biochemistry is a much harder major, one of the hardest at most schools. It has to do with high level organic chemistry and is basically the chemistry of biological and biologically active substances.

Answer 2

I must admit that it's a bit unusual for there to exist a whole separate degree program for microbiology. What you should do is take your chosen university's catalog and compare the course requirements for microbiology and biochemistry to see just how much overlap there is, and whether you favor one over the other because of more courses that interest you.

In general, microbiology tends to deal with viruses, bacteria, fungus and to a lesser extent protozoa. You'd be doing a lot of laboratory work with these, and learning about the biological and chemical principles that govern microbial life.

Biochemistry is bound to be a more difficult major, but for some people is also more rewarding. The focus here is less on specific organisms and more on the chemistry of life in general. The core course requirements are generally something like this: genera biology I & II, general chemistry I & II, organid chemistry I & II, biochemistry I & II, math up through calculus II and calculus-based physics I & II. The rest will likely be upper level biology electives. You practically live in the lab and write a lot of lab reports. There is bound to be variation between schools, but this is probably more or less the standard layout.

I can't speak extensively for microbiology, but my guess would be that there is overlap up until possibly organic chemistry, and less math required. I don't see the biochemistry sequence being required.

You should definitely consult a university catalog, but more importantly consult yourself in terms of what you'd like to work in. The curriculum may not appear vastly different in the end, but you can bet that for the purposes of (at least initial) employment, which kind of degree you have is going to matter somewhat.

Answer 3

My answer is more about the difference between the two fields and that in turn is about the two majors.

Your friend is correct in one regard. However, look at it from another perspective. Microbiology is the study of microbial organism-as many here have pointed out. While your courses in microbiology may cover some of the biological processes of biochemistry, getting a biochemistry major will give you a better scientific foundation because you'll learn about all the fundamental processes which occur in many, if not all organisms, thus giving a broader understanding biological process in all organisms and not only limited to that occurring in microbes.

Another way to look think about it is this...biochemistry, genetic, molecular biology...these are all fields that study processes in a wide variety of organisms, whereas microbiology, you are only studying processes in one grouping of organisms.

Answer 4

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms. This includes eukaryotes such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes such as bacteria and certain algaes. Viruses, though not strictly classed as living organisms, are also studied[1]. People that study the field of microbiology are known as microbiologists.

Although much is now known in the field of microbiology, advances are being made regularly. The most common estimates suggest that we have studied only about 1% of all of the microbes in any given environment. Thus, despite the fact that over three hundred years have passed since the discovery of microbes, the field of microbiology is clearly in its infancy relative to other biological disciplines such as zoology, botany and entomology[edit] Types of microbiology
The field of microbiology can be generally divided into several subdisciplines:

Microbial physiology: The study of how the microbial cell functions biochemically. Includes the study of microbial growth, microbial metabolism and microbial cell structure.
Microbial genetics: The study of how genes are organised and regulated in microbes in relation to their cellular functions. Closely related to the field of molecular biology.
Medical microbiology: The study of the role of microbes in human illness. Includes the study of microbial pathogenesis and epidemiology and is related to the study of disease pathology and immunology.
Veterinary microbiology: The study of the role in microbes in veterinary medicine.
Environmental microbiology: The study of the function and diversity of microbes in their natural environments. Includes the study of microbial ecology, microbially-mediated nutrient cycling, geomicrobiology, microbial diversity and bioremediation. Characterisation of key bacterial habitats such as the rhizosphere and phyllosphere.
Evolutionary microbiology: The study of the evolution of microbes. Includes the study of bacterial systematics and taxonomy.
Industrial microbiology: The exploitation of microbes for use in industrial processes. Examples include industrial fermentation and wastewater treatment. Closely linked to the biotechnology industry. This field also includes brewing, an important application of microbiology.
Aeromicrobiology: The study of airborne microorganisms.
Food Microbiology: The study of microorganisms causing food spoilage.
Pharmaceutical microbiology: the study of microorganisms causing pharmaceutical contamination and spoillage.
Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms. This article only discusses terrestrial biochemistry (carbon- and water-based), as all the life forms we know are on Earth. Since life forms alive today are known to have descended from the same common ancestor, they naturally have similar biochemistries, even for matters that seem to be essentially arbitrary, such as handedness of various biomolecules. It is unknown whether alternate biochemistries are possible or practical.

Biochemistry is the study of the structure and function of cellular components, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules. Chemical biology aims to answer many questions arising from biochemistry by using tools developed within synthetic chemistry.

Although there are a vast number of different biomolecules, they tend to be composed of the same repeating subunits (called monomers), in different orders. Each class of biomolecules has a different set of subunits. Recently, biochemistry has focused more specifically on the chemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions, and on the properties of proteins.

The biochemistry of cell metabolism and the endocrine system has been extensively described. Other areas of biochemistry include the genetic code (DNA, RNA), protein synthesis, cell membrane transport, and signal transduction.

Answer 5

Micro biology is the study of micro organisms. Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals produced by organisms and how they are produced.

Answer 6

MICRObiology has to do with science at a MICROSCOPIC leve while BIOchemestry is a combination of CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY.