Metabolism Essay

Metabolism is the chemical process that occurs in every living organism to maintain its life. Without it, an organism would ultimately die because metabolism is the powerhouse of an organisms body, creating energy to make it work and function. There are two different processes that occur in metabolism, these processes are called catabolism and anabolism. In the catabolism process molecules breakdown, these molecules include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. When they breakdown they go into a simpler form, which is then used to create energy that the body can use. Anabolism is a constructive metabolism, which is a process when the body harnesses the energy that was released by catabolism to synthesize many complex molecules. These molecules

This organic molecule has a lot of critical roles in the human body. First off proteins come in four main structures and these structures are called primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. A primary protein structure is a linear arrangement of amino acids. Secondary structure has areas of folding or coiling and these are known as an alpha helices and pleated sheets. Tertiary structure has a three-dimensional structure, which is from non-covalent contact between the amino acids. Lastly, quaternary structures form into one larger protein because of non-covalent interactions that combine many polypeptides together. The three-dimensional shape of a protein is determined by its primary structure. The way the amino acids are lined up makes a protein 's structure and specific function. The instructions for the order of amino acids are made by the genes in an organisms cell. A process called DNA transcription makes up the sequence of the amino acids and then a specific protein is produced. Each protein structure has a specific function in it. Changing the structure will then change its function since it rearranges everything in the protein structure. Proteins are there for an essential part of the body, since it helps form body tissues, like muscles, organs and is used within many biological processes as well. For example proteins are used in our body to make things such as enzymes,

The function of an enzyme is determined by its structure, thus the order in which the amino acids are in make up the enzymes specific shape. The precise way that the amino acids are twisted and folded creates a distinctive shape of the enzymes active site. This active site is now open for substrates which are reactant molecules. Once the substrates go into the enzymes active site they bond together and then leave the enzyme, making the enzyme ready for another set of substrates. The function of enzymes is to speed up reactions by lowering the amount of activation energy needed to get the reaction started. Along with that enzymes can only work in specific temperatures and specific pHs as well. If the temperature or pH is too high or to low, they won 't work as quickly or may not work at all. For enzymes there are two main hypothesizes, these are know as the induced fit hypothesis and the lock and key hypothesis. In the induced fit hypothesis the binding of the substrate changes the shape of the enzyme’s active site. For the lock and key hypothesis the substrate fits the enzymes active site. Then as the bond with the substrate becomes stressed it speeds up the reaction leading it into a chemical reaction with two end products as the