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
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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 ...
Molecule discovered that makes obese people develop diabetes
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Many people who are overweight or obese develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes at some stage in their lives. A European research team has now discovered that obese people have large amounts of the ...
Protein critical for insulin secretion may be contributor to diabetes
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes.
Researchers discover mechanism of insulin production that can lead to better treatment for diabetes
Nov 12, 2009 |
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How a specific gene within the pancreas affects secretion of insulin has been discovered by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Japanese and American universities. Their ...
Study Shows How Normal Cells Influence Tumor Growth
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It was once thought that the two communities of cells within a cancerous breast tumor - fast-growing malignant cells and the normal cells that surround them - existed independently, without interaction. Then ...
Could antioxidants make us more, not less, prone to diabetes? Study says yes
Oct 06, 2009 |
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We've all heard about the damage that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - aka free radicals - can do to our bodies and the sales pitches for antioxidant vitamins, skin creams or "superfoods" that can stop them. In fact, there ...
A 'spoonful of sugar' makes the worms' life span go down
Nov 03, 2009 |
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If worms are any indication, all the sugar in your diet could spell much more than obesity and type 2 diabetes. Researchers reporting in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, say it might also b ...
Gut hormone has 'remote control' on blood sugar
Aug 05, 2009 |
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A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What's ...
Dynamic changes in DNA linked to human diabetes
Sep 01, 2009 |
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A study in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, may give new meaning to the adage, "You are what you eat."
Unstable proteins can cause premature ageing
Aug 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The normal ageing process has long been linked to problems with cell respiration, the process through which the cells extract energy from nutrients. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska ...
Link between obesity and diabetes discovered
Jul 08, 2009 |
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A Monash University study has proven a critical link between obesity and the onset of Type 2 diabetes, a discovery which could lead to the design of a drug to prevent the disease.
Researchers show new antioxidant could help treat cardiovascular disease
Jun 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe they have found a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease which reduces blood pressure.
Scientists reveal mechanism that regulates cancer-causing gene
Mar 26, 2009 |
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Two University of Rhode Island scientists have revealed how a cancer causing protein is regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) -- a type of stress signal. Their findings provide new insight into how this protein normally ...
High-fat diets plus extra protein make for bad mix
Apr 07, 2009 |
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It's basically a given that diets loaded with fat can lead to considerable health problems. But a new study in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, shows that in some cases diets that are high in bot ...
