Like other sciences, biochemistry aims at quantifying, or measuring, results, sometimes with sophisticated instrumentation. The earliest approach to a study of the events in a living organism was an analysis of the materials entering an organism (foods, oxygen) and those leaving (excretion products, carbon dioxide). This is still the basis of so-called balance experiments conducted on animals, in which, for example, both foods and excreta are thoroughly analyzed. For this purpose many chemical methods involving specific color reactions have been developed, requiring spectrum-analyzing instruments (spectrophotometers) for quantitative measurement. Gasometric techniques are those commonly used for measurements of oxygen and carbon ...(100 of 5269 words)
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