Define the hydrophobic effect and its physiological importance. The makeup of the body is clearly different vs. the earth's crust and is evidence of a distinctive type of chemistry. Carbohydrates Lipids Protein Nucleic Acids. Water is a polar molecule. The electrons spend more time near the oxygen giving it a slight negative charge with the hydrogens becoming slightly positive.
Water has a high affinity for itself.
The opposite charges on the oxygens and hydrogens of different water molecules interact to form hydrogen bonds. The billions and billions of individual bonds make it a very cohesive substance. Hydrogen bonds also form between water and other polar molecules. Water sequesters nonpolar molecules such as lipids. This is termed the Hydrophobic Effect and is the driving force for the formation of biological membranes.