Discuss the six basic life processes and your own example for each.
- Metabolism – sum of all the chemical processes that occur in the body
- Catabolism – breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler components (digestion wherein large molecules of sugar are broken down to simpler forms like glucose and fructose)
- Example: Lipolysis is the metabolic process through which triacylglycerols (TAGs) break down via hydrolysis into their constituent molecules: glycerol and free fatty acids (FFAs).
- Anabolism – building up of complex chemical substances from smaller, simpler components
- Example: Gluceneogenesis where glucose molecules are produces from non-carbohydrate sources. This process usually occurs in the liver and kidneys.
- Catabolism – breakdown of complex chemical substances into simpler components (digestion wherein large molecules of sugar are broken down to simpler forms like glucose and fructose)
- Responsiveness – the body’s ability to detect and respond to changes or stimulus (can be external or internal)
- Example: When your body reacts to the medications you take
- Movement – includes motion of the whole body, individual organs, single cells, and even tiny structures inside cells
- Example: Exercising or doing household chores
- Growth – increase in body size that results from an increase in the size of existing cells, an increase in the number of cells, or both
- Example: Hair growth
- Differentiation – the development of a cell from an unspecialized to a specialized state
- Example: When a stem cell develops into a muscle cell
- Reproduction – refers either to the formation of new cells for tissue growth, repair, or replacement, or to the production of a new individual
- Example: Meiosis