News tagged with metabolism
Tuatara iconic New Zealand reptile shows chewing is not just for mammals
The tuatara, an iconic New Zealand reptile, chews its food in a way unlike any other animal on the planet – challenging the widespread perception that complex chewing ability is closely linked to high ...
May 29, 2012 |
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New study shows how nanotechnology can help detect disease earlier
A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers shows a new way to precisely detect a single chemical at extremely low concentrations and high contamination.
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
May 22, 2012 |
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New research discovers metabolic adaptation to high altitudes
When mammals are cold, they can employ physical changes to stay warm -- such as intense shivering. Like any form of aerobic exercise, though, "shivering thermogenesis" is especially challenging at high altitudes ...
May 17, 2012 |
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Plant enzyme's origins traced to non-enzyme ancestors
(Phys.org) -- As plants began to transition from aquatic habitats to dry land some 500 million years ago, their needs changed. Those primitive ancestors of modern plants were ill-equipped to survive in a dry, sunlight-blasted ...
May 13, 2012 |
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Molecular spectroscopy tracks living mammalian cells in real time as they differentiate
Knowing how a living cell works means knowing how the chemistry inside the cell changes as the functions of the cell change. Protein phosphorylation, for example, controls everything from cell proliferation ...
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Apr 30, 2012 |
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Carbon-consuming life-forms in Antarctica
Lake Bonney in Antarctica is perennially covered in ice. It is exposed to severe environmental stresses, including minimal nutrients, low temperatures, extreme shade, and, during the winter, 24-hour darkness. ...
Apr 23, 2012 |
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Study finds that mild winters are detrimental to butterflies
The recent mild winter throughout much of the United States was a cause for celebration for many. However, butterfly aficionados shouldn't be joining in the celebration.
Apr 20, 2012 |
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Lactating tsetse flies models for lactating mammals?
An unprecedented study of intra-uterine lactation in the tsetse fly, published 18 April 2012 in Biology of Reproduction's Papers-in-Press, reveals that an enzyme found in the fly's milk functions similarly in ...
Apr 18, 2012 |
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Unique adaptations to a symbiotic lifestyle reveal novel targets for aphid insecticides
Aphids are pests that cause millions of pounds of damage to crops in the UK, but new research led by biologists at the University of York reveals potential new targets for aphid-specific insecticides.
Apr 18, 2012 |
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Licorice root found to contain anti-diabetic substance
It provides the raw material for liquorice candy, calms the stomach and alleviates diseases of the airways: liquorice root. Chosen as the "Medicinal plant 2012", the root has been treasured in traditional healing since ancient ...
Apr 17, 2012 |
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Study dusts sugar coating off little-known regulation in cells
In Alzheimer's disease, brain neurons become clogged with tangled proteins. Scientists suspect these tangles arise partly due to malfunctions in a little-known regulatory system within cells. Now, researchers have dramatically ...
Apr 16, 2012 |
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Athletic frogs have faster-changing genomes
Physically fit frogs have faster-changing genomes, says a new study of poison frogs from Central and South America.
Apr 12, 2012 |
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Genome-scale model of cyanobacterium developed
(Phys.org) -- In an important step toward engineering bacteria to produce biofuel, scientists have developed one of the first global models for the nitrogen-fixing photosynthetic cyanobacterium Cyanothece ...
Apr 11, 2012 |
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New databases harvest a rich bounty of information on crop plant metabolism
The Plant Metabolic Network, which is based at Carnegie's Department of Plant Biology, has launched four new online databases that offer an unprecedented view of the biochemical pathways controlling the metabolism of corn, ...
Mar 29, 2012 |
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Oceanographers develop method for measuring the pace of life
(PhysOrg.com) -- Life deep in the seabed proceeds very slowly. But the slow-growing bacteria living many meters beneath the seafloor play an important role in the global storage of organic carbon and have a long-term effect ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 28, 2012 |
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Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories. Catabolism breaks down organic matter, for example to harvest energy in cellular respiration. Anabolism, on the other hand, uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins and nucleic acids.
The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways, in which one chemical is transformed into another by a sequence of enzymes. Enzymes are crucial to metabolism because they allow organisms to drive desirable but thermodynamically unfavorable reactions by coupling them to favorable ones, and because they act as catalysts to allow these reactions to proceed quickly and efficiently. Enzymes also allow the regulation of metabolic pathways in response to changes in the cell's environment or signals from other cells.
The metabolism of an organism determines which substances it will find nutritious and which it will find poisonous. For example, some prokaryotes use hydrogen sulfide as a nutrient, yet this gas is poisonous to animals. The speed of metabolism, the metabolic rate, also influences how much food an organism will require.
A striking feature of metabolism is the similarity of the basic metabolic pathways between even vastly different species. For example, the set of carboxylic acids that are best known as the intermediates in the citric acid cycle are present in all organisms, being found in species as diverse as the unicellular bacteria Escherichia coli and huge multicellular organisms like elephants. These striking similarities in metabolism are most likely the result of the high efficiency of these pathways, and of their early appearance in evolutionary history.
For more information about Metabolism, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
