Metabolism is central to all cellular life. The video describes the cellular and molecular changes that deliver energy for organisms through different pathways. It highlights two of the most fundamental processes, photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Focusing on respiration, the video describes how electrons pass along the respiratory chain from one protein to the next and generate a proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane.
As protons move back into the mitochondrial matrix in a process known as chemiosmosis, the molecular machine known as ATP synthase generates ATP. Professor Sir John Walker was one of the researchers who discovered the structure of ATP synthase, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this research in 1997. Through further studies a detailed understanding of the structure and function of ATP synthase has been obtained – an example of this can be viewed in our Gallery of Molecules.
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