• Question: What is the difference between biochemistry and biomedicine?

    Asked by 259prmc54 to Alex, Laura, Lesley, Richard, vediacan on 15 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by paria.
    • Photo: Lesley Pearson

      Lesley Pearson answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Biochemistry is literally biological chemistry: the study of the chemical processes within and relating to organisms.

      Biomedicine is medical biology: it really comes down to viewing biological sciences from a clinical perspective.

      You will find biochemistry within biomedicine, but also toxicology, physiology, pathology, things of that nature.

      hope this helps!

    • Photo: Richard Prince

      Richard Prince answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Ok…. Biochemistry is a subject that incorporates quite a lot of things but it’s basically the chemistry of life. If you did a biochemistry degree, you’d have to study a fair bit of chemistry, but you could take optional modules in more diverse subjects like pharmacology or physiology.
      Biomedicine (or Biomedical Sciences) is a much broader degree. You would HAVE to study things like pharmacology, physiology and biochemistry but you would probably have a lot of choice of subjects in the later part of the degree.
      In some universities, the Biomedical Science degrees are “accredited”. This means that they follow a much stricter curriculum and the degree you get allows you to work in the NHS as a Biomedical Scientist. Those are people who do lab work in hospitals. It’s a good career, but not really the best way to get into research.
      Here’s some information on Biomedical Science careers in the NHS:
      http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/healthcare-science/careers-in-healthcare-science/careers-in-life-sciences/biomedical-science/

      All the best
      Richard

    • Photo: Laura Newton

      Laura Newton answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Hey!

      In addition to what everyone else has said let’s look at the subject lists for a biomedicine degree vs a biochemistry degree at my uni so you can get an idea of what you’d be studying for each.

      Biomedical science covers:
      Human genetics and genomics
      Physiology
      Cancer biology
      Pathology
      Anatomy
      Immunology and microbiology
      Molecular and cellular biology
      Biochemistry
      Pharmacology

      Biochemistry covers:
      Biological chemistry
      Biochemistry
      Enzymology
      Protein structure
      DNA and genes
      Bioinformatics
      Molecular biology

      Biochemistry is more focused on the microscopic level whereas biomedical science also covers how the human body works as a whole. It’s also focused on humans whereas biochemistry often covers plants, other animals, bacteria and viruses as well.

      Different universities offer slightly different things and there are many other various degrees in the bioscience area, like pure genetics, molecular biology, medical biochemistry, biotechnology, immunology, microbiology, molecular medicine which are all very similar but have slightly different emphasis so read as much as you can about different subjects before you apply!

      Best wishes,
      Laura

    • Photo: Vedia Can

      Vedia Can answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Hey 259prmc54!

      In addition to all of the fantastic answers above, it is worthwhile looking at the IBMS website too https://www.ibms.org/ to give you an insight into what the outcomes are of studying a Biomedicine.

      As I studied Biomedical Sciences (Biomedicine), I can tell you that there is a huge difference between Biochemistry and Biomedicine. Biomedicine is a degree designed for laboratory diagnostics. By studying Biomedicine you will be equipped (knowledge wise) to diagnose a range of diseases across a wide range of disciplines; Immunology, haematology, microbiology, virology, genetics, you name it the list is endless! Biochemistry only looks at the biochemical pathways of compounds, and anything and everything related to chemistry. It is much more specific than Biomedicine; only focuses in one discipline; Biochemistry. The career prospects are very different too!!! But not limited. For example, if you are studying Biomedicine you are being trained to work in a diagnostics laboratory (like hospital laboratories), if you are studying Biochemistry you are more likely to be trained to enter into research companies.

      Hope this helps!!

      Best Wishes,

      Vedia

Comments

  • Photo: Richard

    Richard commented on :

    Biomedical sciences differs quite a lot between universities. Our Biomedical Sciences course has the same compulsory courses as neurosciences, pharmacology, anatomical sciences, physiology. That means you get to try out lots of new subjects and many students transfer at the end of year 1 to the subject they’ve become interested in. It’s a good general degree. Ours isn’t accredited though – it’s more research orientated and many of our students go on to Ph.D.s.