Learn how cells generate energy by harnessing chemical reactions, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Cells need energy to run their activities, which they obtain by harnessing chemical reactions. Join Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford as she explains how one reaction - aerobic respiration - is perfect for supporting the energy-demanding lifestyles of active animals, like us.

Aerobic respiration ultimately relies on a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. This reaction is so explosive that humans used it to launch a rocket into space, but the cell mostly needs much smaller amounts of energy. Find out how cells have tamed this reaction by using it to turn a molecular turbine. The turbine then re-charges small molecular 'batteries', called ATP, which can deliver energy all around the cell.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:21 Titles

00:27 Life and the Laws of Thermodynamics

01:32 How life harnesses chemical reactions

03:50 Are cells like rockets?

04:45 How cells generate energy

06:57 Aerobic respiration

08:01 Photosynthesis

09:58 Outro