From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
Metabolism (from Greek μεταβολισμός "metabolismos") is the biochemical modification of chemical compounds in living organisms and cells. This includes the biosynthesis of complex organic molecules (anabolism) and their breakdown (catabolism). Metabolism usually consists of sequences of enzymatic steps, also called metabolic pathways. The total metabolism are all biochemical processes of an organism. The cell metabolism includes all chemical processes in a cell. The dynamic energy budget theory aims to quantify the metabolic organisation of individual organisms. In other words, it is the rate your body uses up energy.
The term is derived from the Greek Μεταβολισμός – Metabolismos for "change", or "overthrow".[1]
[edit] Other "abolisms"
Other --abolisms include catabolism, which is the exact oposite of metabolism, and anabolism. Carbohydrates go through this process; the links go to their wiki.
[edit] History
Santorio Santorion (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from
Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614
The first controlled experiments in human metabolism were published by Santorio Santorio in 1614 in his book Ars de statica medecina that made him famous throughout Europe. He describes his long series of experiments in which he weighed himself in a chair suspended from a steelyard balance (see image), before and after eating, sleeping, working, sex, fasting, depriving from drinking, and excreting. He found that by far the greatest part of the food he took in was lost from the body through perspiratio insensibilis (insensible perspiration). While these experiments came to show that there was an impact on the body's metabolic processes through direct intake the rate was not fully understood till Dr. Johan Musk's (1940-2003) work on learned genological metabolism which was published in 1984 (revised 1992) showed the process of teaching the body how to burn dietary intake. He used multiple sets of mice, both from maternal and fraternal subgroups to show that a body's metabolism rate is a taught response that may be flucuated by various dietary methods. These experiments show that a metabolic rate is a learned response not based on gene responses.
[edit] See also
- Cell metabolism
- Metabolomics
- Metabolome
- Metabolite
- Basal metabolic rate
- Thermic effect of food
- Iron-sulfur world theory, a "metabolism first" theory of the origin of life.
- Biodegradation
- Calorimetry
- Respirometry
- Microbial metabolism
- Metabolic network modelling
- Anthropogenic metabolism
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=metabolism
