Cell Structure Flashcards
What are the levels of organisation in a cell from smallest to largest?
Organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
What and where is the nucleus of a cell?
The nucleus is an organelle in the centre of the cell that contains DNA, much of which serves as protein-coding genes.
What and where is the cytoplasm of a cell?
The cytoplasm is a thick solution that fills each cell and is enclosed by the cell membrane. Chemical processes, controlled by enzymes, take place there.
What and where is the cell membrane/cell wall?
The cell membrane/cell wall is the edge of a cell.
Plant cells have cellulose cell walls, which provide tensile strength.
Animal cells have permeable cell membranes, and they control what passes into and out of the cell.
What and where is mitochondria?
The mitochondria, (sg. form mitochondrion) is the site of aerobic respiration. It is found in the cytoplasm.
What and where are the chloroplasts?
The chloroplasts are plant cell organelles that convert light energy into chemical energy.
What and where are the ribosomes?
Proteins are assembled from amino acids by molecular structures called ribosomes. A cell contains thousands of ribosomes.
What and where is the vacuole?
The vacuole is in a plant cell. It contains water, mineral ions, proteins, pigments, and other molecules.
Name some similarities and differences between plant and animal cells.
Similarities: Both have a nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, and ribosomes.
Differences: The plant cell has the vacuole, chloroplasts, and cellulose cell wall. it’s also larger and more rigid. The plant cell shape is more regular and has thicker walls. They also both have different cell specialisations.
What is cell differentiation?
Cell differentiation is the process by which stem cells gain specialisations.
Many rounds of mitosis must occur for specialisation of cell function to be achieved.
For different cells from one organism to function differently, they must make different proteins, while still having the same genes. Many of those genes are turned “on” and “off” from cell to cell.
What is a stem cell?
A stem cell is a cell that has the ability to divide many times by mitosis while remaining undifferentiated.
Later, it can differentiate into specialised cells such as muscle or nerve cells.
What are some different types of stem cell therapy?
Stem cell therapy - the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease, or to repair damaged tissues.
Bone marrow transplant is currently the most common stem cell therapy. It has been used for over 30 years to treat blood cancer/leukemia. Chemotherapy is used to kill stem cells in the bone marrow. A bone marrow transplant repopulates the bone marrow with healthy stem cells that differentiate into normal blood cells.
Scientists have been able to isolate and culture stem cells with the intent of treating different diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and nerve damage. This is still in the experimental stage.
