so we are reverting now to the idea that life isnt life, its just a series of chemical reactions?
I am not a scientist, however someone who understands it, has addressed this issue in response to a website post about the idea of "
Life Arises Constantly from non living matter:
Among multicellular organisms (eg kingdoms of animals, plants & fungi), large parts of the body structure, comprised of tissues.
for instances, among vertebrate animals, these tissues are the make of all muscle tissues, connective tissues, nerve tissues & epithelial tissues (eg skin). And these various tissues are made of cells. And these cells are made of a number of different types of large biological molecules (or macromolecules), which among macromolecules that within all cells:
- proteins
- nucleic acids (eg DNA, RNA)
- carbohydrates
- lipids
Those tissues that were talking about earlier, are largely made of proteins.
In human body, the most abundant biological (or organic) molecules is proteins, which make up about 20% of body mass, follow by 12% of lipids (body fat). RNA is only 1% and DNA 0.1%. And ab 65% of human body mass are made of water, however water (H
2O) by itself is actually inorganic molecule, not organic!
Now, you had mentioned “chemical reactions”.
I am sure you have heard of metabolism before,
@AdamjEdgar , unless you have failed basic high school biology.
Do you know what metabolism is? Do you know it work?
I think instead of explaining it, let me give you example, which may be easier to illustrate how metabolism works.
take for instance, humans eat their food. The food should contains some nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, natural vitamins % minerals, etc. We break down by chewing, and further breakdown as the food moved through digestive system, including acids from stomach, and so forth, through the intestines before we pooped it out.
But as the digestive system breakdown the food, it also the extract whatever nutrients it can, in the meantimes, the proteins known as enzyme cause chemical reactions, which among them convert the nutrients into some forms of carbohydrates, which you would know as sugars or glucose (C
6H
12O
6).
Carbohydrates are the main sources of energy. Your body requires to store these energy, which you would use, whenever you or your body parts (eg muscles flexing, heart pumping blood, etc) do some activities.
Plants, use photosynthesis, in which sunlight help as a catalyst for chemical reaction of carbon dioxide & water, convert to oxygen and starch. Starch is the carbohydrate that provide energy to living plants. And as we eat plants, we get lots of carbohydrates, especially from wheat, rice, potatoes, etc, which are rich in starch/glucose.
And metabolism isn’t just about converting into carbohydrates. Metabolism are required for growth and for healing. All of that are chemistry.
So, the oxygen (O
2) in the air that you breath in, go through your lungs, then taken all parts of your body, also provide energy to cells, just as glucose do. The oxygen will pick up carbon after the cells get their energy boost, chemically converting the air into carbon dioxide (CO
2) when you breath out.
And so are reproduction, that chemistry too. How do you think two gamete cells - sperm and ovum (or egg) - combined to form one single cell, the zygote? Fertilisation is chemistry. And so is when the zygote cell, divide, making up more cells. More cells are made to eventually form the embryos. More cells are produce body parts of the fetus. All of that involved chemistry.
But whether it be organic matters or molecules, or inorganic matters or molecules - the tissues and cells wouldn't exist at all, without chemical molecules and chemical reactions.
So, yes, AdamjEdgar, chemistry is very important for every single living organisms, even among bacteria. And metabolism are essential for every living organisms. Without chemistry, you wouldn’t even be alive.