(521.14) Fundamentals of Biochemistry, a free and new LibreText book for Undergraduate Courses

Poster Board Number: A474

Henry Jakubowski (College of St. Benedict/St. Johns University), Patricia Flatt (Western Oregon University), Henry Agnew (University of California), Delmar Larsen (University of California)

We are developing a new fee online biochemistry text, Fundamentals of Biochemistry, within the LibreTexts project (Libretexts.org) as part of a Department of Education funded grant to produce textbooks for all chemistry courses required for a four-year ACS certified degree.  This text covers a full year sequence of biochemistry and will be available in Fall 2022. The book could serve traditional, ASBMB-certified and ACS-certified majors, as well as students taking a one-semester course.  Adopting instructors could create a custom text from the content. Characteristic of all LibreText books, Fundamentals of Biochemistry will be open to everyone via the internet and completely free, as all should have access to knowledge. It is comprehensive and topical, as new materials are easily added. It has and will be constructed with a community of active collaborators. The LibreText collections of books have served 223 million students and saved them $31 million, an undue burden for our students and society.

Some of the features of Fundamentals of Biochemistry include
Interactive 2D mathematical graphs with sliders that allow change of constants with immediate update of graphs;
Interactive molecular models using iCn3D (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/icn3d/full.html) that allows students to view and interact with rendered structures;
Imbedded VCell (https://vcell.org/) models that allow users to display time course graphs for simple to complex reactions;
Animations to accompany the VCell progress curve graphs;
Chapter sections on metabolic control analyses that will include Vcell models;
Addition of new materials such as RNA glycans, SARS-CoV-2 structures, etc.

The text will be available for adoption by Fall 2022. We continue to need help in writing key features and in a continual process of updating, especially in these areas:
end-of-chapter and chapter-imbedded problems (hopefully based on research literature)
mechanisms of your favorite enzymes or topics you feel not presented well in other texts
inclusive and diverse content
climate change, health disparities, addiction, etc.

Open Textbooks Pilot Program award from the Department of Education (2018)