(This article is not finished)
After this article, you will understand;
-the basic parts of a cell
-what the parts of the cell do
-where parts are located
Let’s get on to learning!
The Cell Membrane
What is a cell membrane?
The cell membrane, (also called plasma membrane), is the protective shield of the cytoplasm. (Cytoplasm is shown above as the blue stuff in the cell.) The cell membrane has a semipermeable lipid bilayer. This means that it has two layers of organic compound/fatty acids that allow only certain substances.
What is it made up of?
A cell membrane is made up of glycerophospholipids. According to https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/cell-membranes-14052567/, “Glycerophospholipids are molecules composed of glycerol, a phosphate group, and two fatty acid chains. Glycerol is a three-carbon molecule that functions as the backbone of these membrane lipids.” A fun fact about the cell membrane is that it does not need any energy to make its own unique bilayer. This is because glycerophospholipids are double-faced molecules, one side being hydrophilic (loves water) whereas the other is hydrophobic (hates water.) The faces of the molecules line up in the water and the hydrophilic part of the molecule faces the cytoplasm and the exterior of the cell.
What does a cell membrane do?
A cell membrane’s main job is to be a barrier for the cell. Certain substances, such as oxygen, are allowed to pass through the cell membrane. Small polar molecules, however, pass through the cell membrane slowly. High-charged molecules such as ions are prohibited by the cell membrane and are not allowed to pass through the cell.
When in the action of membrane transport, the movement of molecules goes through the cell membrane, and they must use a burst of energy to create a pathway for the incoming molecule. When needing to transport protein for the concentration gradient, it requires even more energy. The maintenance of the cells depends on the cell’s measure of concentration gradience as well.
(Other information): A cell membrane is light brown.
The Cytoplasm
What is a cytoplasm?
A cytoplasm, in short, is “the semifluid substance of a cell that is external to the nuclear membrane and internal to the cellular membrane, sometimes described as the nonnuclear content of protoplasm,” according to brittanica.com. This means that the cytoplasm is the area around the nucleus of a cell, but in the inside of the cell as well. For example, think of an avocado. The avocado nut can stands for the “nucleus” and the green mush in the avocado stands for the cytoplasm of a cell. The skin is the cell membrane.
What is a cytoplasm made up of?
“Cytoplasm is the gelatinous liquid that fills the inside of a cell.” (www://genome.gov) The cytoplasm consists of water, salt, and other organic molecules. The cytosol is the name of the gelatinous substance in the cytoplasm.
What does the cytoplasm do?
The cytoplasm is a holding component to the cell. It fills up the rest of the space in a cell, almost like resin in a mold. It also stores molecules to help with cellular processing. This process includes metabolism, respiration, osmosis, (the act of equalizing each side of the membrane), and active transport (the movement of dissolved molecules through a cell.) The cytoplasm is also the main component of the shape of the cell.
(Other Information): A cytoplasm has no color and is instead translucent. A cytoplasm is usually made up of about 80% water.
The Ribosome
What is ribosome?
The ribosome is located in large and small parts of the cytoplasm. Ribosomes are basically small particles of RNA, ribonucleic acid. Ribonucleic acid is a type of polymeric molecule, (a molecule that has many small links of polymer, also called monomers) that helps with the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. Ribosomes are also found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells are cells whose DNA is not stored in their nucleus. Instead, the DNA of the cell is found in fluids in the cytoplasm. Eukaryotic cells are cells where the nucleus of a cell is surrounded by a nucleus envelope. A nucleus envelope is basically a small skin around a nucleus and nucleoplasm that helps separate the nucleus and the cytoplasm.
What is ribosome made up of? and What does ribosome do?
The ribosome is separated into two subunits: the small and the large. rRNA, or ribosomal RNA, is found in both subunits. Ribosomal RNA is part of the ribosome’s process of converting RNA information into protein. (We will not go into the process of the conversion, but here is a link that you can click on: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/translation-dna-to-mrna-to-protein-393/#:~:text=During%20transcription%2C%20the%20enzyme%20RNA,encoded%20by%20the%20original%20gene.
Ribosomal RNA is a type of RNA, along with mRNA and tRNA.
RNA itself resembles DNA, except it is single-stranded. According to genome.gov, “An RNA strand has a backbone made of alternating sugar (ribose) and phosphate groups. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases–adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C), or guanine (G).”
Ribosomal proteins are also found in both subunits of the ribosome. Ribosomal proteins are proteins that make up ribosome subunits involved with the cellular process of translation. The cellular process of translation is the process of when a cell reads the information from the RNA to make protein, as said before.
According to britanicca.com, “Ribosomes are usually made up of three or four rRNA molecules and anywhere from about 40 to 80 different ribosomal proteins. Each ribosome is composed of two subunits, a larger one and a smaller one, each of which has a characteristic shape.”
The Mitochondrion
What is a mitochondrion? and What does mitochondrion do?
A mitochondrion is a powerhouse of the cell according to biology4kids.com. They act as a digestive system and take in nutrients, break them down, and creates energy molecules for the cell. The chemical energy it produces helps the cell with chemical reactions. The energy of the mitochondrion is stored in the adenosine triphosphate, which is a small organic compound and hydro type. An organic compound is a compound that has carbon and hydrogen bonds. A compound in science is a chemical substance that is made up of more than one element and atoms. H2O, or water, is made out of two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule. Therefore, it has more than one element because hydrogen and oxygen are two separate elements and atoms that can classify as a compound.
What is a mitochondrion made up of? and What are some other parts to a mitochondrion?
According to mikipedia.com, “A mitochondrion contains outer and inner membranes composed of phospholipid bilayers and proteins.” (A phospholipid bilayer is just a bilayer of lipid.)
Other parts of a mitochondrion are the Matrix and Cristae. The Matrix located within the inner membrane whereas the cristae are where the inner membrane folds. When the inner membrane folds, it should create a higher length than other parts of the inner membrane. The result is a crista.
The Nucleus
What is a nucleus?
The nucleus of a cell is a organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Inside the nucleus, most of the genetic material is stored. There are five main parts of a nucleus. The five main parts are ,”(1) Nucleolemma or nuclear membrane (karyotheca) (2) Nuclear sap or karyolymph or nucleoplasm (3) Chromatin network or fibres (4) Nucleolus (5) Endosomes,” according to https://www.biologydiscussion.com/nucleus/5-main-parts-of-nucleus-biology/491.
Karyotheca
The nuclear membrane, also called the karyotheca or nucleolemma, is the barrier separating the cytoplasm and nucleus. The nuclear membrane is counted as a part of the nucleus.
Karyolymph
Nucleoplasm, also called nuclear sap and karyolymph, is the sap in in the nucleus. If we refer back to this picture:
We can see that the nucleoplasm is the yellow filling in the nuclear envelope. It is almost like a cytoplasm for a cell, except that it is smaller. Remember, this nucleus is located inside a part cell, the nucleus to be exact, so a nucleoplasm and a cytoplasm are different.
Chromatin network
“The chromatin is the network of the cell nucleus, which contains all the DNA of the nucleus of the cell,” according to . To make things clearer, chromatin is the network of the cell nucleus and the nucleus contains all DNA of the well. The DNA inside the nucleus is filled up with histone, a group of basic proteins in chromatin. In the Oxford dictionary, the definition of chromatin is “the material of which the chromosomes of organisms other than bacteria.” A chromosome is a structure that has nucleic acids, proteins, and carries genetic information in the form of genes. (Definition from oxford languages.)
Nucleolus
The nucleolus is the largest part of the nucleus for eukaryotic cells. You can think of it as an avocado nut, but with another nut in the middle of it. It is also where ribosome biogenesis occurs, which is the process of creating ribosomes. The nucleolus does not have any membranes supporting it.
Endosomes
What does the nucleus do?
“The nucleus controls and regulates the activities of the cell,” according to . This includes the growth and metabolism of the cell. The nucleus also carries genes and any hereditary information. (Hereditary information is basically any information the nucleus touches or senses along the way. You can think of this as a hereditary sickness, like a fever. When you go close to someone sick, you want to stay away from them, because they could speak their fever to you by standing near. This is an example of something hereditary.)
The DNA
What is DNA?
What is DNA made up of?
What does DNA do?
The Endoplasmatic Reticulum
What is the endoplasmatic reticulum?
What is Endoplasmatic Reticulum made up of?
What does the Endoplasmatic Reticulum do?
The Lysosome
What is the lysosome?
What is lysosome made up of?
What does the lysosome do?
The Golgi Apparatus
What is the Golgi Apparatus?
What is the Golgi Apparatus made up of?
What does the Golgi Apparatus do?
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Oops typo
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