Chemical, Cellular & Tissue Organization Flashcards
What are cells?
The fundemental units of life
What is the nucleus?
The cells hard drive that contains DNA
What is DNA?
A polymer chain of nucleic acids that form a double helix
What is RNA?
The information stored in DNA made readable by the cell. It is less stable than DNA and is one stranded.
What is protein?
A polymer of amino acids
What is the plasma membrane?
The largest cell organelle that separates the cells interior from the external environment.
What properties does the plasma membrane have?
It’s composed of phospholipids with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails.
What is the mitochondria?
The cells energy supplier. It turns glucose and oxygen into energy.
What is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)?
It is the protein factory divided into two sections, soft and rough ER.
What is the rough ER?
Has ribosomes associated and is involved in making secretory, glyco and membrane proteins.
What is the smooth ER?
It has no ribosomes, instead it has fatty acid synthesis. It is found in liver cells and is involved in drug detoxification.
What are ribosomes?
It is a small protein-RNA complex that functions in protein synthesis and translates mRNA into protein.
What is the golgi appartus?
It’s the “sorting station”. The contents from the ER is dumped in the golgi for sorting and modification.
What are lysosomes?
The cells stomach, it digest both internal and external components.
What are prexisomes?
It acts as the cells detox system and breaks down lipids into smaller chains.
