All of biology is, at some level, chemical. Over the past 50 years, since the first description of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, our understanding of the chemistry underlying biological phenomena has grown at an incredible pace, and biologists have spent a great deal of their efforts in this arena. The increasing sophistication of this understanding has made questions in biology both more tractable and more interesting to scientists who would traditionally be considered chemists.
Today, it is impossible to be considered a fully competent biologist or chemist without some grounding in what has come to be called "biochemistry." Even if your interests lay in developing new high-strength composites for the space program or studying predator-prey relationships in the jungles of Madagascar, you still need to know something of the molecules which are unique to living systems and how they are made, interact, and break down.
But what if you are interested in those very molecules: what they are, what they do, and how they do it? Should you study biology, to better appreciate their roles in living organisms and the larger living world? Or should you study chemistry, so that you can understand their structure and function? The answer of course is "Yes." You need to become well-grounded in both of the traditional disciplines of biology and chemistry in order to be able to tackle such questions.
Although knowledge of both biology and chemistry are required, biochemistry has long been a mature, independent discipline. The questions it explores are so wide-ranging, and so many, that the best way to study them today is to consciously take on a major in biochemistry, rather than try to adapt a major in chemistry or biology to your interests. Biochemists are active in all sectors of scientific life, from academic, corporate, and government research labs to newspapers and magazines to hospitals to law offices to local, state, and federal agencies. They are working to understand and combat human diseases, develop new and better pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and herbicides, struggle with patent issues in the courts, and advise politicians and the public on the science behind many of today's major issues.
Biochemistry is a challenging field, with many difficult questions being asked and many satisfactions to be had. Student who complete an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry are poised to go on into whatever field they find most fascinating, to tackle tough problems and to succeed in solving them.
