transformation

Examples of transformation in the following topics:

• Transforming Chemical Energy

  • Cellular respiration is the process of transforming chemical energy into forms usable by the cell or organism.
  • For example, geothermal energy plants start with underground thermal energy (heat) and transform it into electrical energy that will be transported to homes and factories.
  • This geothermal energy plant transforms thermal energy from deep in the ground into electrical energy, which can be easily used.

• The First Law of Thermodynamics

  • The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be transferred or transformed, but cannot be created or destroyed.
  • The transfers and transformations of energy take place around us all the time.
  • For instance, light bulbs transform electrical energy into light energy, and gas stoves transform chemical energy from natural gas into heat energy.
  • Plants perform one of the most biologically useful transformations of energy on Earth: they convert the energy of sunlight into the chemical energy stored within organic molecules.
  • Shown are two examples of energy being transferred from one system to another and transformed from one form to another.

• Prokaryotic Reproduction

  • Prokaryotes reproduce asexually by binary fission; they can also exchange genetic material by transformation, transduction, and conjugation.
  • In transformation, the prokaryote takes in DNA found in its environment that is shed by other prokaryotes.
  • In (a) transformation, the cell takes up prokaryotic DNA directly from the environment.

• The Energy-Requiring Steps of Glycolysis

  • In the first half of glycolysis, energy in the form of two ATP molecules is required to transform glucose into two three-carbon molecules.
  • In the fifth step, an isomerase transforms the dihydroxyacetone-phosphate into its isomer, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.

• The Second Law of Thermodynamics

  • A living cell's primary tasks of obtaining, transforming, and using energy to do work may seem simple enough, but they are more problematic than they appear.
  • The second law of thermodynamics explains why: No energy transfers or transformations in the universe are completely efficient.
  • As living systems take in energy-storing molecules and transform them through chemical reactions, they lose some amount of usable energy in the process because no reaction is completely efficient.
  • Since all energy transfers result in the loss of some usable energy, the second law of thermodynamics states that every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe.

• Types of Energy

  • Eventually, most of energy used by organisms is transformed into heat and dissipated.
  • This energy is transformed into kinetic energy that allows a car to race on a racetrack.

• The Role of Energy and Metabolism

  • Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical processes that enables organisms transform the chemical energy stored in molecules into energy that can be used for cellular processes.
  • The hummingbird obtains its energy from taking in food and transforming the nutrients into energy through a series of biochemical reactions.

• Early Biotechnology: Cheese, Bread, Wine, Beer, and Yogurt

  • As a cheese ages, microbes and enzymes transform texture and intensify flavor.
  • This transformation is largely a result of the breakdown of casein proteins and milkfat into a complex mix of amino acids, amines, and fatty acids.

• Hormone Functions

  • The transformation from tadpole to frog, for example, is complex and nuanced to adapt to specific environments and ecological circumstances .

• Epigenetic Alterations in Cancer

  • Epigenetic alterations are as important as genetic mutations in a cell's transformation to cancer.