Biological Example
It is known that an important metabolic cycle, glycolysis, displays temporal order. Glycolysis consists of the degradation of one molecule of glucose and the overall production of two molecules of ATP. The process is therefore of great importance to the energetics of living cells. The global glycolysis reaction involves glucose, ADP, NAD, pyruvate, ATP, and NADH.
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The details of the process are quite involved, however, a section of the process is autocatalyzed by Phosphofructokinase (PFK). This portion of the process is responsible for oscillations in the pathway that leads to the ability of the process to oscillate between an active and an inactive form. In other words, the autocatalytic reactions can turn the process off and on.
Read more about this topic: Autocatalytic Reaction
Famous quotes containing the word biological:
“When human beings have been fascinated by the contemplation of their own hearts, the more intricate biological pattern of the female has become a model for the artist, the mystic, and the saint. When mankind turns instead to what can be done, altered, built, invented, in the outer world, all natural properties of men, animals, or metals become handicaps to be altered rather than clues to be followed.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“Although there is no universal agreement as to a definition of life, its biological manifestations are generally considered to be organization, metabolism, growth, irritability, adaptation, and reproduction.”
—The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, the first sentence of the article on “life” (based on wording in the First Edition, 1935)