Cell
Cell
Cell
molecules of life and of which all living things are composed. A single cell is
often a complete organism in itself, such as a bacterium or yeast. Other cells
acquire specialized functions as they mature. These cells cooperate with other
specialized cells and become the building blocks of large multicellular organisms,
such as humans and other animals. Although cells are much larger than atoms, they
are still very small. The smallest known cells are a group of tiny bacteria called
mycoplasmas; some of these single-celled organisms are spheres as small as 0.2 μm
in diameter (1μm = about 0.000039 inch), with a total mass of 10−14 gram—equal to
that of 8,000,000,000 hydrogen atoms. Cells of humans typically have a mass 400,000
times larger than the mass of a single mycoplasma bacterium, but even human cells
are only about 20 μm across. It would require a sheet of about 10,000 human cells
to cover the head of a pin, and each human organism is composed of more than
30,000,000,000,000 cells.
animal cell
animal cell
See all media
Category: Science & Tech
Key People: Torbjörn Oskar Caspersson Daniel Mazia Fred H. Gage Lynn Margulis Ralph
M. Steinman
Related Topics: stem cell tissue adipose cell DNA repair membrane
How are plant cells different from animal cells?
How are plant cells different from animal cells?
All living things are composed of cells.See all videos for this article
similarities and differences between cells
similarities and differences between cells
Basic similarities between cells and ways cells may vary depending on their
function.See all videos for this article
This article discusses the cell both as an individual unit and as a contributing
part of a larger organism. As an individual unit, the cell is capable of
metabolizing its own nutrients, synthesizing many types of molecules, providing its
own energy, and replicating itself in order to produce succeeding generations. It
can be viewed as an enclosed vessel, within which innumerable chemical reactions
take place simultaneously. These reactions are under very precise control so that
they contribute to the life and procreation of the cell. In a multicellular
organism, cells become specialized to perform different functions through the
process of differentiation. In order to do this, each cell keeps in constant
communication with its neighbours. As it receives nutrients from and expels wastes
into its surroundings, it adheres to and cooperates with other cells. Cooperative
assemblies of similar cells form tissues, and a cooperation between tissues in turn
forms organs, which carry out the functions necessary to sustain the life of an
organism.
Bruce M. Alberts
The nature and function of cells
cells
cells
Animal cells and plant cells contain membrane-bound organelles, including a
distinct nucleus. In contrast, bacterial cells do not contain organelles.
A cell is enclosed by a plasma membrane, which forms a selective barrier that
allows nutrients to enter and waste products to leave. The interior of the cell is
organized into many specialized compartments, or organelles, each surrounded by a
separate membrane. One major organelle, the nucleus, contains the genetic
information necessary for cell growth and reproduction. Each cell contains only one
nucleus, whereas other types of organelles are present in multiple copies in the
cellular contents, or cytoplasm. Organelles include mitochondria, which are
responsible for the energy transactions necessary for cell survival; lysosomes,
which digest unwanted materials within the cell; and the endoplasmic reticulum and
the Golgi apparatus, which play important roles in the internal organization of the
cell by synthesizing selected molecules and then processing, sorting, and directing
them to their proper locations. In addition, plant cells contain chloroplasts,
which are responsible for photosynthesis, whereby the energy of sunlight is used to
convert molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into carbohydrates.
Between all these organelles is the space in the cytoplasm called the cytosol. The
cytosol contains an organized framework of fibrous molecules that constitute the
cytoskeleton, which gives a cell its shape, enables organelles to move within the
cell, and provides a mechanism by which the cell itself can move. The cytosol also
contains more than 10,000 different kinds of molecules that are involved in
cellular biosynthesis, the process of making large biological molecules from small
ones.
Most of the catalytic macromolecules in cells are enzymes. The majority of enzymes
are proteins. Key to the catalytic property of an enzyme is its tendency to undergo
a change in its shape when it binds to its substrate, thus bringing together
reactive groups on substrate molecules. Some enzymes are macromolecules of RNA,
called ribozymes. Ribozymes consist of linear chains of nucleotides that fold in
specific ways to form unique surfaces, similar to the ways in which proteins fold.
As with proteins, the specific sequence of nucleotide subunits in an RNA chain
gives each macromolecule a unique character. RNA molecules are much less frequently
used as catalysts in cells than are protein molecules, presumably because proteins,
with the greater variety of amino acid side chains, are more diverse and capable of
complex shape changes. However, RNA molecules are thought to have preceded protein
molecules during evolution and to have catalyzed most of the chemical reactions
required before cells could evolve (see below The evolution of cells).