News tagged with metabolism
Scientists uncover molecular roots of cocaine addiction in the brain
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe ...
Neuroscience
9 hours ago |
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Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells
Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.
Medical research
May 21, 2013 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
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New factor to control oncogene-induced senescence
An article published on the journal Nature describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence induce ...
Cancer
May 21, 2013 |
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Do men's and women's hearts burn fuel differently?
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine will study gender differences in how the heart uses and stores fat—its main energy source—and how changes in fat metabolism play ...
Medical research
May 21, 2013 |
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Metabolic biomarkers can predict mortality in the ICU
A metabolic profile of intensive care unit (ICU) patients based on biomarkers of four metabolites can be used to accurately predict mortality, according to a new study.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 20, 2013 |
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Rise in type 2 diabetes amongst young
The number of young people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has seen the sharpest rise over the last twenty years compared to a background of a general increase across the board, new University research has ...
Diabetes
May 20, 2013 |
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Research uncovers a potential role of two proteins in diabetes
(Medical Xpress)—Flinders University researchers are breaking new ground in a decade-long journey to pinpoint the function of two closely related proteins.
Diabetes
May 20, 2013 |
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Treatment of sleep apnea improves glucose levels in prediabetes
Optimal treatment of sleep apnea in patients with prediabetes improves blood sugar (glucose) levels and thus can reduce cardiometabolic risk, according to a study to be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference in ...
Sleep apnea
May 20, 2013 |
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Study finds that sleep apnea and Alzheimer's are linked
A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
May 19, 2013 |
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What role do processing bodies play in cell survival and protection against viral infection?
As scientists learn more about processing bodies (PBs), granules present within normal cells, they are unraveling the complex role PBs play in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating RNA metabolism ...
Medical research
May 16, 2013 |
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Posttraumatic stress disorder associated with type 2 diabetes
The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. This is the finding of scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital Gießen ...
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 16, 2013 |
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Study findings significant for treating infections in Type 1 diabetes
A small University at Buffalo study has found for the first time that in Type 1 diabetics, insulin injections exert a strong anti-inflammatory effect at the cellular and molecular level, while even small amounts of glucose ...
Diabetes
May 16, 2013 |
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Cholesterol-lowering drug may reduce exercise benefits for obese adults, study finds
Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders ...
Cardiology
May 15, 2013 |
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Become a marathon runner with the protein PGC-1alpha
Even with a greater muscle mass, a sprinter cannot win a marathon. His specially-trained and strengthened muscles will fatigue faster than the endurance-trained muscles of a long distance runner. The research ...
Medical research
May 15, 2013 |
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Getting a grip on sleep
All mammals sleep, as do birds and some insects. However, how this basic function is regulated by the brain remains unclear. According to a new study by researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, ...
Neuroscience
May 14, 2013 |
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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.
