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Biology and its subfields of biochemistry and molecular biology study biomolecules and their reactions. Most biomolecules are organic compounds, and just four elements—oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen—make up 96% of the human body's mass. But many other elements, such as the various biometals, are also present in small amounts.
Biological processes are those processes that are necessary for an organism to live and that shape its capacities for interacting with its environment. Biological processes are made of many chemical reactions or other events that are involved in the persistence and transformation of life forms.
Metabolism (/ m ə ˈ t æ b ə l ɪ z ə m /, from Greek: μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the ...
Net reactions of common metabolic pathways. Each metabolic pathway consists of a series of biochemical reactions that are connected by their intermediates: the products of one reaction are the substrates for subsequent reactions, and so on. Metabolic pathways are often considered to flow in one direction.
Cellulose is an important structural component of plant's cell walls and glycogen is used as a form of energy storage in animals. Sugar can be characterized by having reducing or non-reducing ends. A reducing end of a carbohydrate is a carbon atom that can be in equilibrium with the open-chain aldehyde ( aldose ) or keto form ( ketose ).
Organic reactions can be organized into several basic types. Some reactions fit into more than one category. For example, some substitution reactions follow an addition-elimination pathway. This overview isn't intended to include every single organic reaction. Rather, it is intended to cover the basic reactions.
Organotrophs use organic compounds as electron/hydrogen donors. Lithotrophs use inorganic compounds as electron/hydrogen donors.. The electrons or hydrogen atoms from reducing equivalents (electron donors) are needed by both phototrophs and chemotrophs in reduction-oxidation reactions that transfer energy in the anabolic processes of ATP synthesis (in heterotrophs) or biosynthesis (in autotrophs).
In plants, it has important roles in nucleic acid metabolism, carbohydrate and protein metabolism, cell wall synthesis, cell wall structure, membrane integrity and function, and phenol metabolism. [20] Probably essential to animals, for reasons not well understood. [21] Toxic to both animals and plants. [22] bromine: 35: 5