Our Grand Tour of the Cell

okay, so now that we're done with Biochemistry, we've moved on to learning about the cell and it's structure. So, let's get started.

The first thing we talked about today was the three types of cells. The three types of cells are prokaryotic, eukaryotic animal, and eukaryotic plant cells.

The main difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells is that eukaryotic cells have organelles and are compartmentalized whil prokaryotic cells are not.

Why Organelles?

-Organelles are important because they are specialized structures that carry out specific functions. Also, they act as containers that separate different parts of the cell so they do not affect each other. If there was not this compartmentalization, then the environments of each organelle would mix with the others, and most of the organelles would be damaged and unable to perform their designated function. Lastly, organelles are important because the membranes serve as sites for chemical reactions to take place.

Jobs of Cells

-Cells have three basic jobs that they must do. First, they must build proteins. They need proteins because proteins control every function of the cell. Proteins are the things that actually create new cells from DNA. As fillmore said today, DNA gets the glory, but proteins do all the work. Second, cells need to make energy, or ATP. The cell needs this energy to do everyday processes and for growth. Third, the cell needs to build more cells for growth, repair, and reproduction.

Building Proteins

-There are many organelles involved in building proteins. The production of proteins starts at the nucleus, where DNA is changed into RNA for transport to the ribosomes in the endoplasmic reticulum. The ribosomes then use the RNA to make proteins, which are then transported from the ER to the golgi apparatus by a transport vesicle. The golgi apparatus pretty much acts like a little UPS truck. It basically figures out where the protein needs to go, and sends it there in another vesicle.

Making Energy

-Why do cells make energy? Cells make energy because they need power. Without it, the cell would not be able to perform many of its daily tasks. On a daily basis, cells need to take in and digest food, take in oxygen, make ATP, and remove waste.

Lysosomes

-Lysosomes are the "little stomach" of the cell. They digest macromolecules and old organelles in the cell to help keep it clean. Without them, the cell would keep accumulating waste with no way to get rid of it, and would eventually be filled with wastes and be unable to perform any life processes. This is why it becomes so fatal when lysosomes do not work properly. When your lysosomes do not function properly, you can develop a lysosomal storage disease. There are over 40 different kinds of this disease, the most common being tay-sachs disease and hunters disease. Most often, people with these diseases die young and do not live past the age of three. This is why the proper function of lysosomes is extremely important.

That's it for today, today's lesson will be continued tomorrow by Jess.