If anyone has any understanding of chemistry it is indeed astonishing.
Living organisms managed to develop chemistry in very tough conditions.
All is done in environment full of water. Water itself is good solvent for some reactions. However, in many of other reactions it acts as reagent and before chemical process is started the water needs to be removed. Biochemistry laughs at water.
Another thing is the temperature. Considering human (but there are many organisms without internal temperature control, and there is much colder than in our bodies) it is only 37 deg. C. Many chemical reactions are endothermic, they require a lot of energy to pass the activation barrier. In the laboratory we can keep the reaction under the reflux, which means constant boiling for hours or sometimes even days.
Another thing is the pH. Some reactions require to be done in more or less acidic or basic environment. Biochemistry also laughs at pH and all is done in 7.4 (considering human).
And finally, stereochemistry. It is also very important how the molecule is oriented in space. Things like proteins need to fold in specific manner.
If someone looks on the biochemical pathways they are indeed very complex. But it is not without purpose. It is amazing.
All is done in environment full of water. Water itself is good solvent for some reactions. However, in many of other reactions it acts as reagent and before chemical process is started the water needs to be removed. Biochemistry laughs at water. Another thing is the temperature. Considering human (but there are many organisms without internal temperature control, and there is much colder than in our bodies) it is only 37 deg. C. Many chemical reactions are endothermic, they require a lot of energy to pass the activation barrier. In the laboratory we can keep the reaction under the reflux, which means constant boiling for hours or sometimes even days. Another thing is the pH. Some reactions require to be done in more or less acidic or basic environment. Biochemistry also laughs at pH and all is done in 7.4 (considering human). And finally, stereochemistry. It is also very important how the molecule is oriented in space. Things like proteins need to fold in specific manner.
If someone looks on the biochemical pathways they are indeed very complex. But it is not without purpose. It is amazing.