The biochemical potential of a cell to carry out specific chemical reactions is nothing short of enormous. Even the simplest of cells have the ability to catalyze over a thousand reactions, only a subset of which is required at any given time. In order to save energy and resources, the cell needs to regulate these reactions such that only those that are necessary are carried out. In simplest terms, this involves a two-component system: one for sensing environmental conditions and thus metabolic needs, the other for translating these needs into a regulatory mechanism that can induce or suppress pathways according…
The Science Creative Quarterly
By colettedavis
Colette Davis is an undergraduate student at UBC in Microbiology and honours German. As such, she is either a science student or an arts student, depending on which of the two provides the best excuse for her behaviour at any given moment. She spends her days reading microbiology journals and renaissance literature, and retrieving valuable items from the jaws of her delinquent beagle.