This lesson explores the model of an atom as a foundational unit of matter, revealing how the organisation of charge in different elements defines their behaviour. This appreciation then offers insights into matter and energy in biological systems. Attention is turned to the elemental building bricks of biology – Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon. Studying their characteristics, we are invited to a contemplation of our atomic origins in the stars.

Most beautifully represented in its elemental form as a diamond, carbon’s balanced charge enables the building of both stable and complex living structures. This lesson explores the basics of organic or carbon chemistry and pays respect to carbon’s original source in the stars.

A meta pattern in biological systems are boundaries that create an inside and outside, a self and an-other. The phospholipid membrane is the boundary that defines the cell and its organelles. Here we get to know in some detail, the fats and proteins that are crucial to its structural make-up.  This then offers important insights into what is needed to maintain the health of the body’s membranes, the downstream consequences and the causes of their disruption.

Enzymes are where biochemistry comes alive. Intricate, three-dimensional, folded proteins, enzymes direct and guide the process of life’s perpetual unfolding: from the breakdown of food, replication of DNA, to energy generation and waste removal. This lesson explores models of how enzymes work and touches on different families of enzymes, their co-factors and systems of feedback.

Course I covers some of the foundational concepts and models offering glimpses into life’s intricate order. First, the atomic realm – the charge, structure and behaviour of atoms; organic chemistry and carbon life. Then, the cell’s evolution into ever more complex forms, and the cell’s membrane – an often neglected critical boundary of biological life. We then examine the wondrous means by which life generates energy; life-giving water and its surprising properties; and finally, the transformative actions of enzymes.

Vitality is energy. This lesson explores the bedazzling systems of cellular energy generation – the controlled combustion of matter. This brings into view ‘oxidation’ and ‘reduction’ as core biochemical reactions, key in our metabolism – the balance of building up (anabolism) and breaking down (catabolism). Finally, respect is paid to the sun as the source of all energy harnessed and manifest in life.

This lesson is a gateway into the biological, exploring the microcosm of our cells, their form, function and organelles. We journey back in time to the origins of complex cellular life, and encounter a fascinating marriage of the cell’s mitochondria and nucleus, which were originally two distinct organisms. This opens insights into the patterns of biological disarray when this union is disrupted.

The simplicity of water's structure belies its profound capacity to hold and enable life’s infinite expressions. It is life’s matrix. Here we explore the biochemistry that underlies its properties, its mysterious ‘fourth phase’, the importance of pH and the body’s physiological management of its waterways.

This lesson seeks to expand and deepen an appreciation of the mystery and complexity of living systems. First, it is acknowledged that approaching the human body through limited, mechanical models can have serious and damaging consequences manifest in the epidemic of iatrogenesis (death by medical intervention). Seeking to layer complexity into our understanding a short course in systems theory is explored. We then look at different ways of beholding the mysterious, dynamic and ever-evolving patterns manifest in life, concluding with a contemplation of form and sound.

Epigenetics contextualises “The Central Dogma”, demonstrating how profoundly the environment sculpts our gene expression from life’s inception to our winter years. We learn about how cells specialise into diverse organs and tissues, how gene expression adapts to life experience, and investigate the various biochemical means through which this modification happens. We then pan back to contemplate what this signifies in our generational lineage and healing.

This lesson opens the cellular recipe book for the proteome – Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid, DNA. Starting with “The Central Dogma” we explore the means by which the nucleotide codes on DNA are transcribed onto Ribonucleic acid, RNA, which are then used as a template to build proteins. Once grasped we can appreciate how problems in DNA coding might affect our health. Moving from chromosomes to genes to Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs, we learn some of the more common health challenges that might be assigned a ‘genetic’ origin. The hype and hopes of the Human Genome Project are then placed in context of how little we truly know about the mystery of DNA.

This lesson focuses on the intricate complexity of the adaptive immune system, overseen by the lymphocytes. We learn about their early development, training and activation, and how and what they remember. Proteins in the form of antigens and antibodies are explored in the context of the immune response. Finally, the lesson pans back to look at the common immune dysregulation in chronic disease, meta-inflammation – a body in perpetual battle with itself. Here we pause to reflect on what this might teach us about chronic disease, war and peace, grief and gratitude.

This lesson introduces the great guardian of the boundaries of the body – the immune system. Its many layers are explored – structural, cellular, chemical. The natural rise, fall and resolution of the inflammatory response is deciphered in detail and the watery realm of the lymphatic system delineated. Finally we get to know some of the cellular personalities of the oldest branch of the cellular immune system, innate immunity.

The microbiome is that part of our biology that has a distinct DNA. It however influences our own gene expression, immune system and metabolism. Contemplating the extent and function of the microbial community of the human body, we might begin to appreciate the interspecies collaboration that keeps us in health. This lesson explores in depth the ecology and microbial terrain of the gastrointestinal system. This brings to light the critical importance of both the integrity and the immune system of this vast inner skin.

This lesson places the gastrointestinal system within the wider network of connections of the nervous system, appreciating its role as an organ of perception. Through taking in food, its vast surface is in contact with the outer environment, passing on information to the brain via the Vagus nerve. The central nervous system then feeds back responses to the gut, these communication highways being the gut-brain axis. Focus is turned to the autonomic nervous system and its intimate connections with the body’s hormonal axis. Understanding these connections and pathways, we can begin to appreciate the diverse factors that influence gastrointestinal integrity, and as a consequence, general health.

This lesson covers in great depth the downstream consequences of raised blood glucose and insulin. Starting by reviewing the metabolic pathways of energy generation and storage, the hormonal balance of ‘anabolism’ and ‘catabolism’ is considered. The physiology of digestion and processing dietary carbohydrates is then explored, giving an appreciation of ‘hyperinsulinaemia’ as an often unrecognised but important state of imbalance. Clinical manifestations and contributory drivers for a raised insulin are looked at in depth. We then bring Type 1 and type 2 Diabetes into focus, clarifying their distinct aetiologies. Finally, a historical perspective on the treatment of Diabetes offers insights into helping to address and indeed reverse this common dis-ease.  

This large and diverse food group includes cellulose, wheat, potatoes, beans, mangoes, table sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. Carbohydrates have become the foundation of the modern diet, displacing the essential and nutrient dense fats and proteins. Here we learn the nomenclature and categories of the different forms of carbohydrates in foods, as well as the role of sugars in biological structures and biochemistry. Consequences of their excess consumption are touched on, to be explored in depth in the next lesson. 

This lesson looks at the intricate biochemistry of fat metabolism, detailing several important pathways: the Krebs cycle, de novo lipogenesis, beta oxidation of fatty acids, and ketone production and breakdown. The important hormones and enzymes involved in the feedback processes are elucidated giving a thorough understanding of these interconnected pathways. Attention is then turned to the preferred fuels for different tissues and organ systems, and the benefits of nutritional ketosis, particularly for brain health. Finally, we explore the challenges of facing our inner carb monster.

This lesson is an immersion into the nomenclature, form, and function of fats. We learn about their place in the body’s gross structure, cell membranes, and brain, as well as their key role as Eicosanoids – biochemical precursors in inflammation and its resolution. The complex and often misunderstood biochemistry of the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids is explored in depth. This then enables an appreciation of these Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) – what makes them both essential and what makes them harmful. We learn about the degradation of the fats in the cell membrane through lipid peroxidation – a major contributor to meta-inflammation. The lesson concludes by bringing together the important clinical considerations when assessing the balance of the body’s fats.