Cells: What's in 'em



Introduction

    You know you have organs? Well, cells (sort of) do too, only cells' organs are called organelles. In fact, organelle means little organ.


Different Types Of Cells

   Before you read this text, you might want to know about different types of cells. Two types of cells are plant and animal cells. As you've probably guessed, animal cells are in animals and plant cells are in plants. One difference between the two is plant cells are more complex because they have more organelles.  Within plants and animals, different kinds of cells have different jobs.  For example, white blood cells get rid of harmful viruses and bacteria, while red blood cells give your other cells oxygen and nutrients.  All living things are made up of cells: animals, plants, fungi, protoctista, and bacteria. We discuss animal and plant cells.


Animal Cells

    Some organelles of animal cells are the nucleus, the nucleolus, the mitochondria (one is called a mitochondrion), the golgi apparatus, the endoplasmic reticulum, the cell membrane, the cytoplasm, ribosomes, lysosomes, centrioles, the cytoskeleton, the glycocalyx, and the lipid membrane.

    The nucleus controls what the cell does and keeps genetic information. The nucleolus, which is inside the nucleus, makes materials to repair the cell. The mitochondria breaks down food for energy. The golgi apparatus exports some things. The endoplasmic reticulum carries things around the cell. The cell membrane controls entering and leaving molecules and keeps everything inside the cell. The cytoplasm is jelly-like and surrounds the other organelles. Ribosomes are organelles that create proteins. Lysosomes help digest food that cells eat. Centrioles help the cell to duplicate. The cytoskeleton is invisible in regular light, but helps the cell keep its shape. The glycocalyx strengthens the surface of the cell and helps glue cells together.  The lipid membrane surrounds the cell. Animals cells are more flexible than plant cells because they don't have a cell wall.


Plant Cells

    Some organelles of plant cells are the cell wall, chlorophyll, the vacuole, plasmodesmata, and most (although it doesn't have all) I mentioned in animal cells.

    The cell wall protects the cell. It is made of cellulose.  This makes the cell more rigid than than an animal cell. Chlorophyll is needed for food. Chlorophyll is found inside the chloroplasts.  Plants look green because their choloroplasts contain the pigment chlorophyll. It is also inside the choloroplasts that plants make their own food by a process called photosynthesis. The vacuoles store food and water.  Plasmodesmata lets molecules enter or leave the cell.

    Fact: plant cells are the only cells that can use light as a source of energy.



Plant Cell
 

Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells 

    Some cells are more complex than others.  Scientists consider prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells are less complex.  They are very small, from 0.1 to 3 micrometers. All of the organelles in prokaryotic cells are the cell wall and ribosomes. Prokaryotic cells have one molecule of DNA in a closed loop. It floats free in what is called  the nucleoid. Bacteria are prokaryotic cells.


 
Prokaryotic Cell

    Eukaryotic cells are usually around 10 times larger than prokaryotic cells. They are more complex.  Some plant and animal cells are examples.

                                            

The Search For Cells

   Scientists have  always  wanted to look inside cells.  At the University of Calgary, researchers can see models of cells in a room like  a holodeck from "Star Trek". Scientists wear 3-D glasses and they can surround themselves with a virtual image such as a cell from a human body.  This  lab will be used by medical researchers who want to learn about genetic diseases to find out how the diseases work.  Examples include diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cancer.

    For those who want a more simple way to search for cells, here's a cell word search. All of these words have to do with cells. We used these words in our project.

   

Words To Find

bacteria, cell, eat, jelly, lysosome, lipid, nucleus, plant, protein, ribosome, vacuole, organelles, prokaryotic, mitochondrion


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