How metabolism drives its energy?

Posted by Josyvan , 7/10/2007 Tags:metabolismdrivesenergyLivingorganismsderivetheirfrom

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In keeping with the first two laws of thermodynamics, organisms can neither create nor destroy energy but can only transform it from one form to another. Thus, the chlorophyll of plants, at the

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In keeping with the first two laws of thermodynamics, organisms can neither create nor destroy energy but can only transform it from one form to another. Thus, the chlorophyll of plants, at the foundation of almost all food and energy-transfer webs (see Food Web), captures energy from sunlight and uses it to power the synthesis of living plant [[KW]] cells [[/KW]] from inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. This energy, in the form of high-energy products (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins), is then ingested by herbivores and secondarily by carnivores, providing these animals with their only source of energy and cell-building chemicals.
Virtually all living organisms, therefore, ultimately derive their energy from the sun. On reproducing, each species member—whether green plant, herbivore, or carnivore—passes on specific genetic instructions on how to intercept, transform, and finally release energy back into the environment during its life span. Metabolism, from a thermodynamic point of view, embraces the processes by which cells chemically intercept and distribute energy as it continuously passes through the organism.

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