Bioenergetics is the study of energy flow and transformation in biological systems, focusing on how cells acquire, convert, store, and utilize energy to drive metabolic processes. It encompasses the thermodynamics and kinetics of biochemical reactions, including ATP synthesis, redox reactions, and proton motive force generation across biological membranes. Central topics include oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthetic energy conversion, substrate-level phosphorylation, and the coupling of catabolic and anabolic pathways. Bioenergetics provides quantitative frameworks (e.g., Gibbs free energy, redox potentials, chemiosmotic theory) to analyze how cellular structures such as mitochondria, chloroplasts, and bacterial membranes support energy transduction and maintain nonequilibrium steady states required for life.
Sloths are the slowest mammals on the planet, but living in dense jungles has made them notoriously difficult to study. For the first time, scientists have now sequenced and analyzed the two-toed sloth genome and revealed ...
Evolution
Jun 9, 2026
0
20
Researchers in Leiden have, for the first time, observed how a specialized enzyme helps bacteria stay alive when oxygen levels are low, and how that process can be blocked. The study, published in Science Advances, opens ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 28, 2026
0
19
Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have elucidated how the production of certain proteins and their insertion into the inner membrane ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 28, 2026
0
8
Bats are the only mammals that can actively fly, enabling many species to perform seasonal migrations. In migratory birds, remaining airborne for many hours is supported by burning fatty acids, something most mammals are ...
Plants & Animals
May 27, 2026
0
22
How does an ecosystem distribute its energy across body sizes? A new study suggests the answer depends on where you are—and how much humans have altered the landscape. Analyzing communities of birds and mammals worldwide, ...
Plants & Animals
May 14, 2026
0
9
Dysfunction resulting from mitochondrial DNA mutations has been implicated in multiple human pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic syndromes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The stress from mtDNA ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 7, 2026
0
21
So-called rock-eating microorganisms obtain their energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) from inorganic sources and make up the vast majority of biomass producers. Using electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy, a research ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 6, 2026
0
10
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have solved a long-standing mystery of how a model green microalga reorganizes its central metabolism to supercharge growth when given access to both light and a carbon ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 9, 2026
0
14
A mitochondrial enzyme, Ak4, strengthens immune defense by promoting mitochondrial DNA synthesis and enhancing macrophage antibacterial activity. When bacteria invade the body, macrophages serve as frontline defenders, rapidly ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 7, 2026
0
6
Almost all living things have an internal 24-hour clock that remains accurate regardless of temperature or other environmental changes. This clock is a highly sophisticated yet simple timekeeping mechanism that is critically ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 24, 2026
0
15
