Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Entropy within the Cell

Entropy within the Cell

A living cell's primary tasks of obtaining, transforming, and using energy to do work may seem simple. However, the second law of thermodynamics explains why these tasks are harder than they appear. None of the energy transfers in the universe are completely efficient. In every energy transfer, some amount of energy is lost in a form that is unusable. In most cases, this form is heat energy. Thermodynamically, heat energy is defined as the energy transferred from one system to another that is...

Non-equilibrium in the Cell

Non-equilibrium in the Cell

An important concept in studying metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium. Most chemical reactions are reversible. They can proceed in both directions, releasing energy into their environment in one direction, and absorbing it from the environment in the other direction. The same is true for the chemical reactions involved in cell metabolism, such as the breaking down and building up of proteins into and from individual amino acids, respectively. Reactants within a closed system...

Introduction to Metabolism

Introduction to Metabolism

Metabolism encompasses all biochemical reactions in a living organism, facilitating both the breakdown and synthesis of biomolecules. These metabolic processes are categorized into catabolic and anabolic pathways, which operate in a coordinated manner to ensure energy balance and cellular function.Catabolic Pathways and Energy ReleaseCatabolic pathways involve the breakdown of complex macromolecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins into smaller structures like monosaccharides, fatty...

Overview of Metabolism

Overview of Metabolism

Living cells constantly carry out various chemical reactions which are necessary for their proper functioning. These reactions are interlinked to one another via multiple pathways. The collection of these chemical reactions is known as metabolism.
Plant Metabolism
Sunlight, the primary source of energy in plants, is first absorbed by the chlorophyll pigments present in their leaves. Plants then use this energy to carry out photosynthesis, where water is oxidized into oxygen and carbon dioxide...

Regulation of Metabolism

Regulation of Metabolism

Cellular needs and conditions vary from cell to cell and change within individual cells over time. For example, the required enzymes and energetic demands of stomach cells are different from those of fat storage cells, skin cells, blood cells, and nerve cells. Furthermore, a digestive cell works much harder to process and break down nutrients during the time that closely follows a meal compared with many hours after a meal. As these cellular demands and conditions vary, so do the amounts and...

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Second Law of Thermodynamics

In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Processes that involve an increase in entropy of the system (ΔS > 0) are very often spontaneous; however, examples to the contrary are plentiful. By expanding consideration of entropy changes to include the surroundings, a significant conclusion regarding the relation between this property and spontaneity may be reached. In thermodynamic models, the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Special edition of BioSystems: information processing in cells and tissues.

Bio Systems·2008

Same journal

Spatiotemporal bursting in simulated cultures of cortical neurons.

Bio Systems·2026

Same journal

A brief discussion on recent models shedding light on how life emerged.

Bio Systems·2026

Same journal

Memory-based strategy reputation and adaptive learning in spatial evolutionary games: A robust agent-based model for cooperation dynamics.

Bio Systems·2026

Same journal

Coherent Photonic Biofields: Revisiting Fritz-Albert Popp's Hypothesis.

Bio Systems·2026

Same journal

Ruliological Resilience: Pattern Restoration and Robustness in Wolfram Patterns. A Basis for Regeneration, Not Just in Cone Shells?

Bio Systems·2026

Same journal

The quantum-to-classical transducer: A thermodynamic and quantum mechanical framework for the emergence of bioenergetics.

Bio Systems·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Construction of Out-of-Equilibrium Metabolic Networks in Nano- and Micrometer-Sized Vesicles

Construction of Out-of-Equilibrium Metabolic Networks in Nano- and Micrometer-Sized Vesicles

Published on: April 12, 2024

Why metabolic systems are rarely chaotic.

Tjeerd olde Scheper¹

¹Department of Computing, Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley Campus, Oxford, UK. tvolde-scheper@brookes.ac.uk

|July 12, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chaos is rarely observed in biological systems. This study identifies a mechanism in enzymatic reactions that prevents chaos, suggesting chaos may appear when this mechanism is absent or ineffective.

More Related Videos

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

Published on: October 14, 2013

A Method for Measuring Metabolism in Sorted Subpopulations of Complex Cell Communities Using Stable Isotope Tracing

A Method for Measuring Metabolism in Sorted Subpopulations of Complex Cell Communities Using Stable Isotope Tracing

Published on: February 4, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Construction of Out-of-Equilibrium Metabolic Networks in Nano- and Micrometer-Sized Vesicles

Construction of Out-of-Equilibrium Metabolic Networks in Nano- and Micrometer-Sized Vesicles

Published on: April 12, 2024

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

Published on: October 14, 2013

A Method for Measuring Metabolism in Sorted Subpopulations of Complex Cell Communities Using Stable Isotope Tracing

A Method for Measuring Metabolism in Sorted Subpopulations of Complex Cell Communities Using Stable Isotope Tracing

Published on: February 4, 2017

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Biochemistry
Systems Biology

Background:

Chaos theory is a complex mathematical concept, rarely observed in biological systems.
This scarcity leads to skepticism regarding chaotic models in biology.
Understanding the presence and interpretation of chaos in biological signals is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the reasons for the rarity of chaos in biological systems.
To identify mechanisms that may control or prevent chaos in enzymatic reactions.
To propose conditions under which chaos might emerge in biological contexts.

Main Methods:

Analysis of catalytical reaction mechanisms in enzymatic processes.
Theoretical modeling of enzymatic reactions incorporating potential chaos-controlling factors.
Comparison of reaction dynamics in systems with and without proposed control mechanisms.

Main Results:

A specific mechanism within catalytical reactions is identified as a potential controller of enzymatic reactions, preventing chaotic behavior.
The proposed mechanism effectively regulates enzymatic activity, maintaining non-chaotic dynamics.
Systems lacking this specific mechanism or where it is ineffective are hypothesized to exhibit chaotic behavior.

Conclusions:

Enzymatic reaction mechanisms play a critical role in preventing chaos in biological systems.
The absence or ineffectiveness of these specific catalytic control mechanisms may explain the occurrence of chaos in certain biological scenarios.
This finding offers a potential explanation for the observed rarity of chaos in biology and suggests avenues for future research.