All of us consume a lot of calories. But what about the organs that are responsible for processing that energy? We’re starting to think of them as chemical motors which drive the digestive process. Well, a new study suggests that that’s not quite right. It turns out that the organelles in cells do that job not by being the energy hungry machines we thought they were, but by combining with the food they eat to convert chemical energy into work.
In order to digest food, your body has to break down the chemicals and compounds within the food that form into energy. In fact, you only have to break down a single molecule of food at a time. Yet, scientists have been unable to determine the exact mechanism that converts these simple chemicals into energy. Now scientists from the University of Manchester, UK, have identified a specific organelle in plants that can do just that.
Every molecule in the natural world that is not directly involved in the cell’s energy production is called an organelle. The cell’s organelles contain the cell’s energy production machinery and the organelles work together to produce energy, make proteins, and break down fats and sugars in order.
Scientists have known for some time that the metabolic processes that convert glucose into energy in the body are incredibly complex. The first step that converts glucose to fat is catalyzed in the liver by a special protein called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The second step, which is catalyzed by another enzyme called citrate lyase, also requires ATP as the energy donor.
The best thing about this study was that the food scientists behind it were not looking to make money. They were just interested in understanding how the digestive system works. How it moves food through the body. And what happens when they have to break down a molecule of food.
The food energy in food is used by mitochondria to process the chemical energy in foods, and the organelles that do this are called the mitochondria. Mitochondria use the chemical energy in the food to run the cells they are in, and these food organelle convert the energy into a form your body can use and process. When you take a look at your mitochondria, you see that your mitochondria contain special structures that create energy in the form of ATP.
The liver, gut, and nervous system are some of the most complex and active organs in the body. These organs make use of substances that are highly energetic in nature. These substances are known as nutrients and are used in the form of energy to perform their tasks. However, what happens when we consume these nutrients is that they are converted into heat and water. The liver, gut and nervous system use energy in the form of food, to convert the nutrients into heat and water.
The food we eat is literally a chemical energy that is converted into energy inside of our bodies. Our ability to absorb oxygen and use this energy throughout our bodies is a critical part of the process that helps us grow and reproduce. We need this energy to grow and to breathe properly.
