Heme (Noun)
Meaning
A complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds.
Classification
Nouns denoting substances.
Examples
- The heme in the blood allows for efficient transport of oxygen to different tissues in the body.
- Myoglobin's single heme unit facilitates rapid storage and release of oxygen for the muscle.
- Oxygen binding is affected when toxic substances, like carbon monoxide, replace the oxygen on a heme group.
- Research revealed a fascinating world where variations of heme iron interactions directly affected their efficacy as molecular machines.
- Some other organs depend heavily on enzyme catalysis incorporating one of these, including vital metal center examples containing this active component as iron atoms combined as an entity often depicted: 'the heme.'