Food and drugs can be sources of chemicals that act as exogenous ligands in cell communication. Exogenous ligands can disrupt the usual activity of a signal transduction pathway, thereby altering the responses of target cells.
Signal Transduction pathways differ in specific details, but have certain, unifying characteristics. All pathways follow a sequence: Reception,Transduction, Response
The conversion process that transforms the energy of sunlight into chemical energy stored in sugars and other organic molecules is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis nourishes almost the entire living world directly or indirectly.
Respiration breaks the fuel down, using oxygen and generating ATP. The waste products of this type of respiration, carbon dioxide and water (H2O), are the raw materials for photosynthesis.
Enzymes speed up metabolic reactions by lowering energy barriers. Each enzyme has an optimal temperature and pH. Regulation of enzyme activity helps control metabolism.