Water (BioDeep_00000004362)

Description

Water is a chemical substance that is essential to all known forms of life. It appears colorless to the naked eye in small quantities, though it is actually slightly blue in color. It covers 71\\% of Earths surface. Current estimates suggest that there are 1.4 billion cubic kilometers (330 million m3) of it available on Earth, and it exists in many forms. It appears mostly in the oceans (saltwater) and polar ice caps, but it is also present as clouds, rain water, rivers, freshwater aquifers, lakes, and sea ice. Water in these bodies perpetually moves through a cycle of evaporation, precipitation, and runoff to the sea. Clean water is essential to human life. In many parts of the world, it is in short supply. From a biological standpoint, water has many distinct properties that are critical for the proliferation of life that set it apart from other substances. It carries out this role by allowing organic compounds to react in ways that ultimately allow replication. All known forms of life depend on water. Water is vital both as a solvent in which many of the bodys solutes dissolve and as an essential part of many metabolic processes within the body. Metabolism is the sum total of anabolism and catabolism. In anabolism, water is removed from molecules (through energy requiring enzymatic chemical reactions) in order to grow larger molecules (e.g. starches, triglycerides and proteins for storage of fuels and information). In catabolism, water is used to break bonds in order to generate smaller molecules (e.g. glucose, fatty acids and amino acids to be used for fuels for energy use or other purposes). Water is thus essential and central to these metabolic processes. Water is also central to photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthetic cells use the suns energy to split off waters hydrogen from oxygen. Hydrogen is combined with CO2 (absorbed from air or water) to form glucose and release oxygen. All living cells use such fuels and oxidize the hydrogen and carbon to capture the suns energy and reform water and CO2 in the process (cellular respiration). Water is also central to acid-base neutrality and enzyme function. An acid, a hydrogen ion (H+, that is, a proton) donor, can be neutralized by a base, a proton acceptor such as hydroxide ion (OH-) to form water. Water is considered to be neutral, with a pH (the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration) of 7. Acids have pH values less than 7 while bases have values greater than 7. Stomach acid (HCl) is useful to digestion. However, its corrosive effect on the esophagus during reflux can temporarily be neutralized by ingestion of a base such as aluminum hydroxide to produce the neutral molecules water and the salt aluminum chloride. Human biochemistry that involves enzymes usually performs optimally around a biologically neutral pH of 7.4. (Wikipedia).
Water, also known as purified water or dihydrogen oxide, is a member of the class of compounds known as homogeneous other non-metal compounds. Homogeneous other non-metal compounds are inorganic non-metallic compounds in which the largest atom belongs to the class of other nonmetals. Water can be found in a number of food items such as caraway, oxheart cabbage, alaska wild rhubarb, and japanese walnut, which makes water a potential biomarker for the consumption of these food products. Water can be found primarily in most biofluids, including ascites Fluid, blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and lymph, as well as throughout all human tissues. Water exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. In humans, water is involved in several metabolic pathways, some of which include cardiolipin biosynthesis CL(20:4(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)/18:0/20:4(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)/18:2(9Z,12Z)), cardiolipin biosynthesis cl(i-13:0/i-15:0/i-20:0/i-24:0), cardiolipin biosynthesis CL(18:0/18:0/20:4(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)/22:5(7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)), and cardiolipin biosynthesis cl(a-13:0/i-18:0/i-13:0/i-19:0). Water is also involved in several metabolic disorders, some of which include de novo triacylglycerol biosynthesis tg(i-21:0/i-13:0/21:0), de novo triacylglycerol biosynthesis tg(22:0/20:0/i-20:0), de novo triacylglycerol biosynthesis tg(a-21:0/i-20:0/i-14:0), and de novo triacylglycerol biosynthesis tg(i-21:0/a-17:0/i-12:0). Water is a drug which is used for diluting or dissolving drugs for intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, according to instructions of the manufacturer of the drug to be administered [fda label]. Water plays an important role in the world economy. Approximately 70\\% of the freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture. Fishing in salt and fresh water bodies is a major source of food for many parts of the world. Much of long-distance trade of commodities (such as oil and natural gas) and manufactured products is transported by boats through seas, rivers, lakes, and canals. Large quantities of water, ice, and steam are used for cooling and heating, in industry and homes. Water is an excellent solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances; as such it is widely used in industrial processes, and in cooking and washing. Water is also central to many sports and other forms of entertainment, such as swimming, pleasure boating, boat racing, surfing, sport fishing, and diving .

Synonyms