Bioenergetics is the study of the energy transformations that occur in living organisms. It is concerned with how energy is acquired, stored, and utilized by cells in order to maintain life. Bioenergetics is an interdisciplinary field of study that combines aspects of biochemistry, physiology, and molecular biology in order to understand the pathways of energy transformations in living organisms.
The study of bioenergetics began in the 1970s, largely as a result of the Nobel Prize-winning work of Hans Krebs and Fritz Lipmann, who discovered the process of oxidative phosphorylation. This process is the key to understanding how energy is produced in cells and is the foundation of bioenergetics. In the decades since, bioenergetics has become an important area of research in a variety of fields, including biochemistry, biophysics, and medicine.
Bioenergetics is used to study the energy needs of cells in order to understand how cells obtain, store, and utilize energy. It can also be used to study the effects of changes in energy metabolism on the physiology and behavior of organisms. Additionally, bioenergetics is used to investigate the molecular basis of diseases related to energy metabolism, such as diabetes and obesity.
Bioenergetics is a complex and rapidly advancing field of study. New discoveries continue to be made about the pathways of energy transformations in living organisms. As our understanding of bioenergetics improves, it will become increasingly important in the study of health and disease.
References
Hoefs, J. (2008). Bioenergetics: Energy metabolism in cells. Heidelberg: Springer.
Krebs, H. A., & Lipmann, F. (1953). The chemical basis of energy transformations in cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 39(7), 656-660.
Lyons, T. J., & MacInnes, A. (2017). Bioenergetics and biomineralization. In N. S. Hush & A. D. Wright (Eds.), The biochemistry of energy metabolism and its applications (2nd ed., pp. 3-30). London: Academic Press.
Ruderman, N. B. (2013). Bioenergetics: The cellular basis of life. Boston: Academic Press.
Sies, H., & Berndt, C. (Eds.). (2014). Bioenergetics: Molecular basis of energy metabolism. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.