Related topics: type 2 diabetes , insulin resistance , diabetes , obesity , fat cells
Metabolism
hideMetabolism 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.
News tagged with cell metabolism
Dessert on your mind? Your muscles may be getting the message
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers reporting in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus contai ...
To keep muscles strong, the 'garbage' has to go
Dec 01, 2009 |
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In order to maintain muscle strength with age, cells must rid themselves of the garbage that accumulates in them over time, just as it does in any household, according to a new study in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. In the ...
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Appetite, consumption controlled by clockwork genes at cross-purposes in flies
Dec 06, 2009 |
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One of the pioneers in research on sleep:wake circadian genes, Amita Sehgal, Ph.D., has discovered that fruit flies' appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the ...
Watermelon: Fruit on the Fast Track
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are studying how watermelons grow from tiny flowers to plus-size, market-ready produce in only five weeks. Their findings have resulted in the ...
Low-density lipoprotein receptor reduces damage in Alzheimer's brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 09, 2009 |
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The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) has received a lot of attention because of its connection with coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis, but now it appears as if it may have a beneficial influence in degenerative ...
Shallow Origins
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 22, 2009 |
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In finding answers to the mystery of the origin of life, scientists may not have to dig too deep. New research is shedding light on shallower waters as a possible location for where life on Earth began.
Latest epidemic? High cholesterol, obesity in fruit flies
Dec 02, 2009 |
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How do fruit flies get high cholesterol and become obese? The same way as people do - by eating a diet that's too rich in fats.
Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
Dec 24, 2009 |
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In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers ...
Parasite evades death by promoting host cell survival
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Researchers have discovered how the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas' disease, prolongs its survival in infected cells. A protein on the parasite activates the enzyme Akt, which blocks cell ...
Targeting brain cancer cell metabolism may provide new treatment
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Inhibiting fatty acid synthesis in brain cancer cells may offer a new option to treat about 50 percent of deadly glioblastomas that are driven by amplified signaling of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), according ...
Researchers tackle protein mechanisms behind limb regeneration
Dec 14, 2009 |
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The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.
Understanding relationship of proteins, fatty acids could help treat diseases
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It's widely understood that eating a diet high in saturated fats increases the risk for a long list of chronic and deadly diseases, including diabetes and coronary heart disease. Understanding ...
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