Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gas exchange
Gas exchange or respiration takes place at a respiratory surface; a boundary between the external environment and the interior of the body. For unicellular organisms the respiratory surface is simply the cell membrane, but for large organisms it usually is carried out in respiratory systems.
This name can cause problems; in biology the word "respiration" can mean cellular respiration or metabolism (ATP generation inside cells), however sometimes (such as here) it can also refer to breathing (which is how the word is most often used by non-biologists). In humans and other mammals, respiratory gas exchange or ventilation is carried out by mechanisms of the lungs. The actual exchange of gases occurs in the alveoli.
Related Stories
1
2
Health & Medicine News
August 16, 2026
Aug. 16, 2026 A centuries-old heart drug costing less than ten cents a day could help keep heart-failure patients out of the hospital. New research suggests low-dose digoxin can reduce heart-failure hospitalizations by about 25%, potentially paving the way for ...
Aug. 16, 2026 Exercise and healthy blood sugar levels in midlife may help slow cognitive decline decades later. Physical activity appeared especially beneficial for Mexican American adults, suggesting that some brain-protective factors may differ across ...
Aug. 16, 2026 Aging gradually wears down the cartilage and fluid that protect our joints, but avoiding movement may actually make matters worse. Exercise helps nourish cartilage, strengthens the muscles that protect joints, and can reduce osteoarthritis pain. ...
Aug. 16, 2026 As we age, the body appears to sacrifice walking efficiency in exchange for stability. Older adults stiffen the ankle more with each step, which may help prevent falls but also forces the muscles to work harder while producing less forward motion. ...
Aug. 15, 2026 COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses hiding in the body, including Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and several herpes viruses. One poorly understood viral family was strongly associated with long COVID and lasting disability, offering a ...
Aug. 15, 2026 Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be leaving a measurable imprint inside the human body. Researchers analyzing more than two decades of U.S. health data found that blood bicarbonate levels ...
Aug. 15, 2026 Gut microbes need something to eat, and when fiber is limited, they may begin consuming proteins from the mucus lining that protects the gut. Researchers found that fiber can suppress this process, while indigestible plant proteins help microbes ...
Aug. 15, 2026 Scientists have uncovered why two seemingly opposite ways of targeting the same brain receptor can both promote weight loss. In mice, activating the GIP receptor in the brainstem reduced appetite, ...
Aug. 14, 2026 Scientists have discovered that the aging human brain may be far less isolated from the rest of the body than once believed. Stanford researchers found that large numbers of immune cells from the blood begin entering the brain as early as middle ...
Aug. 14, 2026 Simply choosing the stairs could have surprisingly big benefits for your heart and longevity. A large analysis involving more than 480,000 people found that regular stair climbers were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 24% less ...
Aug. 14, 2026 A surprising stress-related signal may help the brain repair itself after injury. Researchers found that myelin-producing precursor cells rapidly release the stress hormone CRH near damaged brain tissue, helping control how those cells mature and ...
Aug. 14, 2026 Women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy later in life were less likely to develop dementia and showed fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to a large study of more than 21,000 participants. Hormone therapy use was ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Aug. 15, 2026 A widely available food-preservation chemical is emerging as a disturbing factor in rising UK suicide deaths, particularly among younger people and men. Researchers say the scale may be ...
Aug. 13, 2026 A large study of more than 5,500 adults over 50 found a striking combination of risk factors: abdominal obesity paired with vitamin D deficiency was ...
Aug. 13, 2026 Researchers have discovered that a gene linked to congenital heart disease acts like an architect for the heart cell’s DNA. Losing just one copy of TBX5 can cause the genome’s carefully folded 3D ...
Aug. 13, 2026 Orange juice may have a much bigger effect on the body than scientists once realized. Drinking it regularly appears to influence genes tied to inflammation, blood pressure, metabolism, and blood ...
Aug. 13, 2026 A protein inside appetite-controlling brain cells may play an important role in preventing overeating and obesity, particularly when high-fat foods are readily available. Unexpected differences ...
Aug. 13, 2026 Researchers have found a striking new way to potentially eliminate HIV soon after infection using a one-time combination of three therapies. In newborn nonhuman primates treated within three days of ...
Aug. 12, 2026 AI has helped scientists measure the brain’s hidden cleaning system, revealing that fluid moves rapidly around its outer spaces but about 50 times ...
Aug. 12, 2026 Ozempic-like drugs appear to weaken more than hunger—they may also reduce cravings for alcohol and other addictive substances. Scientists are increasingly tracing this effect to the lateral septum, ...
Aug. 12, 2026 Scientists have pinpointed a brain network—and its distinctive electrical rhythm—that appears to drive the benefits of deep brain stimulation for ...
Aug. 12, 2026 Ancient remains from Vietnam suggest diseases like yaws may have been passed from mother to child thousands of years ago, a form of transmission ...