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The process of osmosis over a semipermeable membrane.The blue dots represent particles driving the osmotic gradient. Osmosis (/ ɒ z ˈ m oʊ s ɪ s /, US also / ɒ s-/) [1] is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low water potential ...
Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of electrolytes (salts in solution which in this case is represented by body fluid) to keep the body fluids from becoming too diluted or concentrated.
Since Osmosis is a passive process, like facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion, it does not require the use of ATP. Osmosis is important in regulating the balance of water and salt within cells, thus it plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis. [15]
Osmosis in a U-shaped tube. Osmotic pressure is the minimum pressure which needs to be applied to a solution to prevent the inward flow of its pure solvent across a semipermeable membrane. [1] It is also defined as the measure of the tendency of a solution to take in its pure solvent by osmosis.
A phospholipid bilayer is an example of a biological semipermeable membrane. It consists of two parallel, opposite-facing layers of uniformly arranged phospholipids. Each phospholipid is made of one phosphate head and two fatty acid tails. [3] The plasma membrane that surrounds all biological cells is an example of a phospholipid bilayer. [2]
Diffusioosmosis, also referred to as capillary osmosis, is flow of a solution relative to a fixed wall or pore surface, where the flow is driven by a concentration gradient in the solution. This is distinct from flow relative to a surface driven by a gradient in the hydrostatic pressure in the fluid.
Forward osmosis (FO) is an osmotic process that, like reverse osmosis (RO), uses a semi-permeable membrane to effect separation of water from dissolved solutes.
In other words, an osmotroph is an organism that has their "stomach" outside of their body. Some osmotrophs may have an internal digestive system, while still using osmosis as a way to gain supplemental nutrients. With bigger organisms, the surface-area-per-volume ratio drops and osmotrophy becomes insufficient to meet nutrient demands. Larger ...