1. Cell Biology Flashcards
What are the rules of cell theory?
- Living organisms are composed of cells
- Cells are the smallest units of life
- Cells come from pre-existing cells
Explain the structure and features of a striated muscle cell.
- striped striated pattern
- composed of sarcomeres
- one nucleus and 30 mm long
Explain the structure and features of a giant algae: acetabularia.
Structure:
- rhizoid
- stalk
- umbrella top
Features:
- 0.5 - 10 cm
- single cell
Explain the structure and features of an aseptate fungal hyphae.
Structures:
- long threads with many nuclei
Function:
- no dividing cell wall called septa
- shared cytoplasm and multiple nuclei
Describe all the functions of life in a cell.
- Metabolism -chemical reactions
- Growth- increase in shape and size
- Reproduction -offspring
- Response - reactions to changes in enviro
- Homeostasis - regulation of internal conditions
- Excretion - remove waste
- Nutrition - intake of nutrients
Why can’t a virus carry out all the processes of life?
Do not metabolise or reproduce
Because they exhibit no properties of life outside the host cell and do not have a cellular structure
What is the function of metabolism in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
- catalysed by enzymes and take place in cytoplasm
What is the function of growth in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
paramecium:
- consumes = enlarges
- certain size reached = divide into two daughter cells
Chlamydomonas:
- produces organic molecules during photosynthesis and absorption of minerals causes the organisms to increase in size
- certain size reached= divide into two daughter cells
What is the function of response in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
Paramecium:
- wave action of beating cilia propel in response to changes
Chlamydomonas:
- senses light changes in environment using eye spot and flagella to move towards light to increase photosynthesis
What is the function of homeostasis in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
- maintained by collecting excess water in contractile vacuoles and then expelling it through plasma membrane
- helps maintain their water balance
What is the function of nutrition in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
Paramecium:
- engulfs food particles in vacuoles where it digests
- soluble products are then absorbed into cytoplasm of cell
- feeds on microorganisms
Chlamydomonas:
- uses large chloroplast to carry out photosynthesis to produce own food
What is the function of reproduction in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
Paramecium:
- both sexual and asexual
- divides into two daughter cells in binary fission
Chlamydomonas:
- both
- when it is a certain size, each cell reproduces
What is the function of excretion in paramecium and chlamydomonas?
Paramecium:
- food vacuoles - cytoplasm - vacuole shrinks - fully digested - anal pore - expelled
Chlamydomonas:
uses whole surface of plasma membrane to excrete its waste products
What happens to volume as cell grows?
volume increases much more than the surface area in a cell
Why is dividing or folding necessary to increase the ratio of surface area to volume?
If a cell’s surface area is too small compared to its volume, not enough of the necessary molecules can get in and not enough waste (including heat) can get out.
Give two examples of how folding helps with increasing the ratio of surface area to volume.
Folding in human brain.
- increases surface area
- allows more brain tissue to fit in small area
- helps fit our growing cortex and folding nerve signals to travel over a smaller distance
Folding in the digestive system:
- small intestine folded
- increases surface area for more absorption
Explain the steps of evolution of multicellular organisms.
- grew larger
- differentiation of cells
- emergent properties
Define emergent properties.
special functions and structures the whole complex system possess but not each individual part
What is cellular differentiation?
a process when the specialised stem cell changes and carries out a specific function in the body
How does stem cells help in embryo growth?
Early stage: fertilised egg starts to divide, some cells develop differently
The cells in the embryo are called pluripotent embryonic stem cells, meaning they can develop into any type of body cell
Define a stem cell.
a stem cell is an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that can form more cells of the same cell type indefinitely and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.
List the types of stem cells.
Totipotent
pluripotent
multipotent
unipotent
What is the function of a totipotent stem cell and give examples?
Can differentiate into any type of cell including placental cells.
Can give rise to a complete organism.
eg. the eight cells of the morula
What is the function of a pluripotent stem cell and give examples?
Can differentiate into all body cells, but cannot give rise to a whole organism.
eg. embryonic stem cells of the blastocyst
What is the function of a multipotent stem cell and give examples?
Can differentiate into a few closely related types of body cell.
eg. umbilical cord stem cells
What is the function of a unipotent stem cell and give examples?
Can only differentiate into their associated cell type. For example, liver stem cells can only make liver cells.
Why are embryos totipotent cells?
Once an egg has been fertilised
It starts to divide
And forms totipotent cells
Continues to divide and develop to form the pluripotent cells of the blastocyst from which all the specialised tissues of the developing embryo are generated
What is stargardt’s disease? What is the role of stem cells in this disease?
The disease of the eye
Role:
- Retinal cells derived from human embryonic system injected into retina
- The cells become functional
- May be possible to restore eyesight to affected individuals using stem cells.
What is leukemia disease? What is the role of stem cells in this disease?
A type of cancer in the blood or bone marrow.
Role:
- Harvesting multipotent cells
- HSCs taken from bone marrow, peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood
- patient undergoes radiotherapy or chemotherapy to get rid of white blood cells
- HSCs injected back into bone marrow
Discuss the uses of stem cells in therapeutic uses.
- Cells used in therapy to treat diseases
- Transplants in human organs without killing anyone or impact on donor
- Stem cells are harvested from embryo so no pain for embryo
What are prokaryotes? Explain in detail.
- earliest and most primitive type of cell
- unicellular
- found everywhere
- no internal compartments
- no nucleus
- no membrane bound organelles
- all metabolic processes occur within the cytoplasm
- reproduce by binary fission
Explain how prokaryotes divide by binary fission.
- chromosome is replicated semi-conservatively
- two copies of DNA move to the opposite ends of the cell
- Cell elongates
- plasma membrane grows inwards and pinches off to form two identical cells
What is the function of cell walls in prokaryotes?
- encloses the cell
- protects and help maintain shape
- prevent cell from bursting in hypotonic media
What is the function of plasma membrane in prokaryotes?
- surrounds the cell
- control movement in and out of cell
What is the function of cytoplasm in prokaryotes?
- fills the cell and the site of all metabolic reactions