Biological thermodynamics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the biological study of energy transformation. For the body-oriented psychotherapy, see Bioenergetic analysis.
In thermodynamics, biological thermodynamics (Greek: bios = life and logikos = reason + Greek: thermos = heat and dynamics = power) or bioenergetics is the study of energy transformation in the biological sciences. More definitively, biological thermodynamics may be defined as the quantitative study of the energy transductions that occur in and between living organisms, structures, and cells and of the nature and function of the chemical processes underlying these transductions. Biological thermodynamics may address the question of whether the benefit associated with any particular phenotypic trait is worth the energy investment it requires.
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[edit] Overview
Living cells and organisms must perform work to stay alive, to grow, and to reproduce themselves. The ability to harness energy from a variety of metabolic pathways so to channel it into biological work is a fundamental property of all living organisms. Thermodynamically, the amount of energy capable of doing work during a chemical reaction is measured quantitatively by the change in the Gibbs free energy.
Typical emphasis is on thermodynamic applications in biology and biochemistry. Principles covered include the first law of thermodynamics, the second law of thermodynamics, Gibbs free energy, statistical thermodynamics, binding equilibria, reaction kinetics, and on hypotheses of the origin of life. Presently, biological thermodynamics concerns itself with the study of internal biochemical dynamics as: ATP hydrolysis, protein stability, DNA binding, membrane diffusion, enzyme kinetics, and other such essential energy controlled pathways.
[edit] References
- Haynie, D. (2001). Biological Thermodynamics (textbook). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Lehninger, A., Nelson, D., & Cox, M. (1993). Principles of Biochemistry, 2nd Ed (textbook). New York: Worth Publishers.
[edit] Further reading
Thermodynamics
- Reactions and Enzymes Chapter 10 of On-Line Biology Book at Estrella Mountain Community College.
[edit] External links
- Biochemical Thermodynamics - Course Lecture (Andrew Howard, Illinois Institute of Technology)
- Cellular Thermodynamics - Wolfe, J. (2002), Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. www.els.net/els/public/home/, London: Nature Publishing Group.
