Why is a constant body temperature vital to the function of enzymes?
832479
enzymes have certain functions that work like a lock and key. heat can change the shape and there for the function and how well the enzymes perform with the one task its suposed to do. This can either make the lock not work or "get stuck" and need extra time. for your body its important for the reactions to work at fast as possible to keep things running and the best temperature for the enzymes is your constant body temperature. for example a siamese cat has black fur on all the warmer parts of its boady because the warmth allows those cartain reaction to take place because of the enzyme
233031
One function of proteins is structural.  They are kind of like the framework of a cell, known as a cytoskeleton.  Proteins also make up structural features such as your hair.  The second function of proteins in the human body is a biochemical function.  Our enzymes are proteins.  Without them we would not be able to digest our food, use the energy we get from food, repair our cells, carry oxygen from the air we breathe around our body, fight off infection, and many, many other things.  Proteins are so important to the human body that the function of our DNA is to code for our proteins!  That's what DNA mostly does, it just tells our body what protiens to make and in what amounts.
874146
lower temperatures help inibit the proliferation of pathogens (bacteria)
60612
Proteins are necessary in order for numerous vital functions of your body to happen.  Simply stated, without protein synthesis, you would die.  Proteins are necessary for the execution and regulation of nearly everything that happens in your body.
875611
Boiling and non-optimal pH denature enzymes.
941373
Within limits,as temperature increases,so does the amount of O2 released from the hemoglobin.Heat is a byproduct of the metabolic reations of all cells and the heat released by contracting muscle fibers tends to raise body temperature.Metabolically active cells require more O2 and liberate more acids and heat.The acids and heat, in turn, promote release of O2 from oxyhemoglobin(oxy binded with hemoglobin in blood).\n\nSo, increased in temperature caused the rate of respiration to increase too.Because O2 tends to be released from the hemoglobin compared to when the weather is cold.This explain why during fever,a person will breath faster than normal person.\nIn contrast,during hypothermia(lowered body temperature) cellular metabolism slows and the need for O2 is reduced,and more O2 remains bound to hemoglobin.\n\nPlease check my grammar too.Im sux with my grammar coz English is my 3rd language.So, please check it.Hope this helps ya!
440247
'coz most of the microorganisms have MORE cytosine-guanine bond IN THEIR DNA OR RNA which is bounded by three hydrogen bonds as compared to adenine-thymine or adenine-uracil bonds,hence more temp. and energy is required to break the triple hydrogen bonds,hence they can tolerate EXTREMITIES OF TEMP.
73051
All sorts of factors affect the suitability of the human body fluids to sustain life; these include properties like temperature, salinity, and acidity, and the concentrations of nutrients such as glucose, various ions, oxygen, and wastes, such as carbon dioxide and urea. Since these properties affect the chemical reactions that keep bodies alive, there are built-in physiological mechanisms to maintain them at desirable levels.\n\nHowever, it should be noted that homeostasis is not the reason for these ongoing unconscious adjustments. Homeostasis should be thought of as a general characterization of many normal processes in concert, not their proximal cause per se. Moreover, there are numerous biological phenomena which do not conform to this model, such as anabolism.
498975
An enzyme is a protein that catalyzes, or speeds up, a chemical reaction. The word comes from the Greek ένζυμο, énsymo, which comes from én ("at" or "in") and simo ("leaven" or "yeast"). Certain RNAs also have catalytic activity, but to differentiate them from protein enzymes, they are referred to as RNA enzymes or ribozymes.\n\nEnzymes are essential to sustain life because most chemical reactions in biological cells would occur too slowly, or would lead to different products without enzymes. A malfunction (mutation, overproduction, underproduction or deletion) of a single critical enzyme can lead to a severe disease. For example, the most common type of phenylketonuria is caused by a single amino acid mutation in the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, which catalyzes the first step in the degradation of phenylalanine. The resulting build-up of phenylalanine and related products can lead to mental retardation if the disease is untreated.\n\nLike all catalysts, enzymes work by providing an alternate pathway of lower activation energy of a reaction, thus allowing the reaction to proceed much faster. Enzymes may speed up reactions by a factor of many millions. An enzyme, like any catalyst, remains unaltered by the completed reaction and can therefore continue to function. Because enzymes do not affect the relative energy between the products and reagents, they do not affect equilibrium of a reaction. However, the advantage of enzymes compared to most other catalysts is their sterio-, regio- and chemoselectivity and specificity.\n\nEnzyme activity can be affected by other molecules. Inhibitors are naturally occurring or synthetic molecules that decrease or abolish enzyme activity; activators are molecules that increase activity. Some irreversible inhibitors bind enzymes very tightly, effectively inactivating them. Many drugs and poisons act by inhibiting enzymes. Aspirin inhibits the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes that produce the inflammation messenger prostaglandin, thus suppressing pain and inflammation. The poison cyanide inhibits cytochrome c oxidase, which effectively blocks cellular respiration.\n\nWhile all enzymes have a biological role, some enzymes are used commercially for other purposes. Many household cleaners use enzymes to speed up chemical reactions ( e.g., breaking down protein or starch stains in clothes).\n\nMore than 5,000 enzymes are known. Typically the suffix -ase is added to the name of the substrate (e.g., lactase is the enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of lactose) or the type of reaction (e.g., DNA polymerase catalyzes the formation of DNA polymers). However, this is not always the case, especially when enzymes modify multiple substrates. For this reason Enzyme Commission or EC numbers are used to classify enzymes based on the reactions they catalyze. Even this is not a perfect solution, as enzymes from different species or even very similar enzymes in the same species may have identical EC numbers.\nIn enzymes, as with other proteins, function is determined by structure. An enzyme can be:\n\n    * A monomeric protein, i.e., containing only one polypeptide chain, typically one hundred or more amino acids; or\n    * an oligomeric protein consisting of several polypeptide chains, different or identical, that act together as a unit.\n\nAs with any protein, each monomer is actually produced as a long, linear chain of amino acids, which folds in a particular fashion to produce a three-dimensional product. Individual monomers may then combine via non-covalent interactions to form a multimeric protein. Many enzymes can be unfolded or inactivated by heating, which destroys the three-dimensional structure of the protein.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme#3D_Structure
981100
no, it wouldn't be easier.  Certain compounds have lower melting points than others.  Lipids for example, if you cool your body down too much become very rigid.  The resulting body temp is actually in a very important lipid range that deals with lipid and membrane fluidity.  Evolution to this is probably the result of species out competing those with lower internal temps.  Besides, our bodies naturally produce a very high amount of heat non-related to cell temperature regulation as a result of moving and living anyways.
289586
The function of a protein depends on its shape.  If you alter the shape of it, you alter its function.  pH is a factor that can alter the shape, because the pKa values of residues on the protein will dictate which residues are or are not protonated, and that will, in turn, affect the manner in which the various amino acids will form internal ionic bonds.\n\nTemperature is another factor.  the stability of intramolecular bonding is dependent on the level of thermal excitation.  If a protein is at a high temperature, the thermal motion of the atoms might upset their abilities to form bonds.  At really high heat, the result will be total denaturation.  At low temperatures, you might even have the opposite problem, with a protein clinging to things in the wrong ways.\n\nFinally, you might alter it by introducing a chemical that reacts with it.  Some proteins need activator molecules to function, others might be inactivated by an inhibitor.  Enzymatic activity occurs in what is called the "active site" of the protein, which is where the substrates bind to the protein and catalysis occurs.  So the activity of the molecule might be altered by changing the arrangement of the moieties in the acive site relative to one another, of there might be a change which permits/blocks access to the active site by the substrate molecules.
527660
our bodies constantly generate a lot of heat because of our metabolism. So we have to constantly lose heat to maintain our normal temperature. \n\nIf you put a bucket of warm water outside, and that warm water just happened to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, but the outdoor temperature was 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the water would cool down. That's because the outdoor temperature, while still warm, is cooler than the temperature of the water. Heat naturally flows from warmer places to cooler places. The heat's "goal" is to reach equilibrium–a state where everything is the same temperature as everything that surrounds it. That's why a hot bowl of soup or a cold glass of soda will eventually reach room temperature if you leave them out long enough.\n\nThe difference between you and a bucket of water (well, one of many differences) is that your body is constantly generating more heat. All that heat has to go somewhere, so it tries to escape through your skin. The greater the difference between the outside temperature and the temperature of your body, the faster that heat will escape. That's why you'll feel much cooler on a 60-degree day than on a 90-degree day.
627632
Metabolic rate, vaso constriction, vaso dilation, sweating, shivering, goosebumps, water retention....these all are used to regulate body temperature. The process is controled by part of your brain at the back - the thymus (i think its called the thymus, but im not a physiologist!). Blood temperature is monitered and the list above varried.
102190
Some enzymes will be destroyed. But most will still work. Remember every enzyme has has an optimum envornment that it works at i.e. temperature and pH. So when it gets to 112 a lot of enzymes are not working at their best to sustain life.
205109
Enzymes work slowly at low temperatures, e.g. at refrigerator temperatures.\nEnzymes work faster and faster as the temperature increases up to a point - this is usually body temperature - salivary amylase (and our other enzymes) are designed to work best at this temperature.\nEnzymes controlled reactions will slow down beyond this optimal temperature because, since they are protein molecules, they will denature (scramble - exactly like like scrambled egg).\nTo see this in graph form have a look at this page:
412899
i done MSc immunology and the answer to this question was not clear. few theories for u to look at. 1. bacteria enjoy a specific temperature usually 37C. maybe they wont thrive in high temperatures? not a lot to support this theory. we know bacteria do very well in hot bodies! 2.its a physiological response to antibody production. the hypothalamus detects rice in bacterial invasion, switches on antibody production and heats up the system to speed it along 3. evolutionary mechanism for ensuring others are aware of illness so that they dont get infected too. 4. to ensure the person feels damn ill so the body can rest conserving energy so immune response can work better take your pick!
141010
Because calorie is the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 g of WATER by 1 °C.