Metabolism
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| + | '''Metabolism''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] μεταβολισμός (''metabolismós''), "outthrow") is the set of [[chemical reaction]]s that happen in living [[organism]]s 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]] uses energy to construct components of cells such as [[protein]]s and [[nucleic acid]]s. | ||
| - | [[Disaccharide]]s cannot be absorbed through the wall of the small intestine into the bloodstream, so in the absence of [[lactase]], [[lactose]] present in ingested dairy products remains uncleaved and passes intact into the [[Colon (anatomy)|colon]]. The [[operon]]s of [[Gut flora|enteric bacteria]] quickly switch over to lactose [[metabolism]], and the resulting in-vivo [[fermentation (biochemistry)|fermentation]] produces copious amounts of gas (a mixture of [[hydrogen]], [[carbon dioxide]], and [[methane]]). This, in turn, may cause a range of abdominal symptoms, including stomach [[cramp]]s, [[nausea]], [[bloating]], [[acid reflux]] and [[flatulence]]. In addition, as with other unabsorbed sugars (such as [[sorbitol]], [[mannitol]], and [[xylitol]]), the presence of lactose and its fermentation products raises the [[osmotic pressure]] of the [[colon (anatomy)|colon]] contents. | + | ==See also== |
| + | * [[Anthropogenic metabolism]] | ||
| + | * [[Basal metabolic rate]] | ||
| + | * [[Calorimetry]] | ||
| + | * [[Inborn error of metabolism]] | ||
| + | * [[Iron-sulfur world theory]], a "metabolism first" theory of the [[origin of life]]. | ||
| + | * [[Respirometry]] | ||
| + | * [[Thermic effect of food]] | ||
| + | * [[Water metabolism]] | ||
| + | * [[Sulphur metabolism]] | ||
| + | * [[Antimetabolite]] | ||
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Metabolism (from Greek μεταβολισμός (metabolismós), "outthrow") is the set of chemical reactions that happen 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 uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins and nucleic acids.
See also
- Anthropogenic metabolism
- Basal metabolic rate
- Calorimetry
- Inborn error of metabolism
- Iron-sulfur world theory, a "metabolism first" theory of the origin of life.
- Respirometry
- Thermic effect of food
- Water metabolism
- Sulphur metabolism
- Antimetabolite
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Metabolism" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
