Cell Structure and Function
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Cell Structure and Function
Introduction
By definition, a cell is life's basic unit. In practice, the cells share several mechanisms across different animals, plants, and microorganisms. Two fundamental differences exist between the architecture of cells for different classes of organisms (Jan, 2014). Lipids build and maintain both the plasma (the external bilayer) and the nuclear membrane within a cell. In addition, the thick filament of proteins (actin filaments and microtubes) confer rigidity to the cytoskeleton of the cell. Factors, such as physical forces acting on a cell as and the cell’s mechanical environment control gene regulation (the rate of production of proteins). In animals, the polymer filament gel (network) regulate the motility of cells. In fact, forces acting on the polymer gel tend to deform the cell membrane.
Cell Structures
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Cells are grouped into three categories namely plant, animal, and prokaryotic cells. In addition, the shape and size of cells range from a few millimeter to microns. The size of a cell is indicative of its function(s). The shape of cells in living organisms may range from concave, to spherical, oval, rectangular, flat, oval, or rod-shaped. The cells can be viewed with the aid of a microscope. Every living organism possesses multicellular and unicellular cells. At the same time, the different types of cells display common structural properties. Examples include the plasma membrane and genetic composition (Jan,
The building of the grocery store is like the cell membrane, because it gives it structure and keeps everything inside safe. The security guard of the front door in the grocery store is like the cell membrane, because it says what can come in and out of the cell. The boss of the store is like the nucleus, because they tell the employes what to do and what needs to be done. The floors of the grocery store is like the cytoplasm, because it hold everything in it place, where it need to be. The illes in the store is
Question 1: Briefly describe, in 500 words or less, the normal structure and function of your chosen cell type. In your answer, discuss specific features in your chosen cell type, including cell organelles.
There are many different cells that do many different things. But all of these cells fall into two categories: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus and are larger in size than prokaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells do not contain a nucleus, are smaller and simpler than eukaryotic cells. Two of their similarities are they both have DNA as their genetic material and are covered by a cell membrane. Two main differences between these two cells are age and structure. It is believed that prokaryotic cells were the first forms on earth. They are considered primitive and originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago. Eukaryotic cells have only been around for about a billion years. There is strong evidence that suggests eukaryotic cells may be evolved from groups of prokaryotic cells that became interdependent on each other (Phenotypic analysis. (n.d.).
The Structure and Function of Carbohydrates Large biological molecules are called macromolecules, there are giant molecules (polymers) made up of repeating units (monomers). Carbohydrates are one of the main classes of biological molecules. Macromolecule units (monomers) are joined together by condensation reactions and hydrolysis reactions split macromolecules down into their individual units. Carbohydrates are molecules that contain elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbohydrates have a 2:1 hydrogen to oxygen ratio, there are twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen atoms (the same proportion as in water).
to construct and or maintain the cell membrane. In a microscopic view of the cell membrane we can
The cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic intracellular platform constituted by a three-dimensional network of proteins responsible for key cellular roles as structure and shape, cell growth and development, and offering to the cell with "motility" that being the ability of the entire cell to move and for material to be moved within the cell in a regulated fashion (vesicle trafficking)’, (intechopen 2017). The cytoskeleton is made of microtubules, filaments, and fibres - they give the cytoplasm physical support. Michael Kent, (2000) describes the cytoskeleton as the ‘internal framework’, this is because it shapes the cell and provides support to cellular extensions – such as microvilli. In some cells it is used in intracellular transport. Since the shape of the cell is constantly changing, the microtubules will also change, they will readjust and reassemble to fit the needs of the cell.
Some living things are made of trillions of cells working together support the organism. Other living things, like bacteria or yeast, may have as few as one cell. But, all living things are made of cells. Individual cells have most of the same needs for survival as you do! These wondrous things, cells, are sometimes called the building blocks of life. This is because cells are the tiniest unit that can eat, get rid of waste, grow and reproduce, just like the whole organism. How do cells do all this? Well, just like your body has different organs that work together to help your body carry on its different functions, each cell contains several types of microscopic structures called organelles. These tiny organelles help the cell do all of the work necessary to sustain the life of the cell.
So how big are cells? Most human cells are about ten microns in diameter. This is about o...
Second, cells are the smallest units of life and third, cells arise only from preexisting cells. These three facts are referred to as the cell theory. All cells can be categorized into two basic cell types. They are prokaryotic and eukaryotic. To distinguish where cells are placed in the two categories, what is inside the cell must first be looked at.
There are two main types of cells in the world. The simplest cells such as bacteria are known as Prokaryotic cells, and human cells are known as Eukaryotic cells. The main difference between each of these cells is that a eukaryotic cell has a nucleus and a membrane bound section in which the cell holds the main DNA which are building blocks of life.
The Animal Cell is a little bit different than the Plant Cell for only a couple of reasons. One is how the Plant Cell has a cell wall and the Animal Cell doesn’t. The cell wall protects and gives structure to the cell. Then there is the Nucleus, which serves as a control center for the cell. Inside the Nucleus there are one or more Nucleoli. They are dense, granular bodies that disappear at the beginning of cell division and reappear at the end. Then you have the Cytoplasm. This is the watery material lying within the cell between the cell membrane and the nucleus. The Cytoplasm also contains organelles, which have specific functions in the cell metabolism. Then there are the Golgi Bodies, which serve as processing, packaging, and storage for the cell. These organelles package and ship things out. Another parts of the cell, a very important one in fact, are the Lysosomes. These organelles are used to break things down and contain enzymes.
In order to study the cell and its component, it has to be visualised and displayed in details. In this practical class, we will be looking at different microscopic techniques that visualise the cell structures and identify its features. As most cells are very small, they cannot be seen with naked eyes and therefore need to be magnified. Light microscopy was first used to magnify the image of the cells using stains. However, some tissue and subcellular structures are too small to be seen even under the light microscope. Therefore another technique was found to visualise the cell in more details. To study the smaller features of the cell, electron microscopy are used. Electron microscopy use electron beam to visualise the specimen. Electron microscopy can only magnify thin structures, therefore fluorescent microscopy are used to visualise the thicker structures. Fluorescent microscopy visualise the structures that emit light by allowing the light to get through the specimen.
Cells are incredibly complex and most complex cell would be a eukaryotic cell. It has many different organelles and each hold a specific job. Nucleus is very large and is controlling the whole system of the cell. The nucleus contains DNA in the form of chromosomes and is the site of synthesis of RNA. It is separated from the rest of the cell by a double membrane (envelop), which has pores to allow the movement of substances in or out. For example, messenger RNA passes out of the nucleus during protein synthesis. (Clamp, 2000, pg. 102) Endoplasmic reticulum is a system of membranes found in the cytoplasm of a cell. The ER provides a very large surface area for chemical reactions within the cell. It also acts as a pathway for
This report provides an insight into the differences in the structure of cells and the way that they carry out their internal mechanisms. Cells form the basis of all living things and they are the smallest single unit of life. Cell biology is the study of cells and how they function, from the subcellular processes which keep them functioning, to the