3 July 2008, at 11:54
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living
organisms in order to maintain life. These processes allow
organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and
respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into
two categories. Catabolism breaks down large molecules, for example
to harvest energy in cellular respiration. Anabolism, on the other
hand, uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins
and nucleic acids.