News tagged with metabolism
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 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
|
Cyborg snail produces electricity
(PhysOrg.com) -- First it was grapes, then cockroaches, and now snails have become the latest organism to generate electricity through an implanted biofuel cell. The process works similarly in all three situations: ...
Mar 15, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (13) |
6
|
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 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (3) |
7
|
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 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Black bears found to have surprising wound healing capabilities during hibernation
(PhysOrg.com) -- For most mammals, small cuts and scrapes to the skin during times of low body temperature or slowed metabolism usually means a reduced ability to heal and a higher incidence of infection. ...
Mar 21, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
2
|
Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution
(PhysOrg.com) -- A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect ...
Mar 19, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
|
Insulin, nutrition prevent blood stem cell differentiation in fruit flies
UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory ...
Mar 12, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Nature Commentary investigates synthetic-biology disaster
Experts say at least $20 million to $30 million in government research is needed over the next decade to adequately identify and address the possible ecological risks of synthetic biology, an emerging area of research focused ...
Feb 29, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
|
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.
