Metabolism

Metabolism is the network of chemical reactions that builds, transforms, and breaks down molecules in living systems. It supplies energy and materials for maintenance, growth, and reproduction.

Catabolism: The metabolic breakdown of molecules into smaller products, often releasing usable energy. It describes the degradative side of metabolism and how cells recover energy from nutrients.
Amino acid: An organic molecule containing amino and carboxyl groups; amino acids are protein building blocks. Amino acids supply nitrogen and carbon skeletons for biosynthesis and energy metabolism.
Cellular respiration: The process by which cells extract energy from molecules, commonly using oxygen as the final electron acceptor. It is a major route by which metabolism converts nutrient energy into ATP.
Bioenergetics: The study of energy flow and transformation in living systems. Bioenergetics focuses on energy accounting within the broader chemical network of metabolism.
Anabolism: The metabolic synthesis of complex molecules from simpler ones, usually requiring energy. It describes the constructive side of metabolism, which uses energy and precursors to make cellular materials.
Glucose: A six-carbon sugar used by organisms as a fuel and as a precursor for biosynthesis. Its breakdown and conversion connect central energy production with the construction of cellular molecules.
Photosynthesis: The process by which organisms use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic molecules. Photosynthesis supplies organic carbon and chemical energy that feed metabolism across ecosystems.
Nutrition: The acquisition and use of food and nutrients by organisms. Nutrition concerns resource intake; metabolism describes the reactions that process those resources.
Adenosine triphosphate: A nucleotide that transfers usable chemical energy to cellular processes. ATP couples energy-releasing reactions to energy-requiring metabolic work.
Fatty acid: A carboxylic acid with a hydrocarbon chain, used in membranes and as an energy-rich fuel. Fatty acids provide dense fuel and building material for lipid synthesis.

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