Test 1 Flashcards
What are the normal circumstances for mammalian cell growth?
Growth factors from the body, Substratum for the cell to grow under, and nutrients
define density dependent inhibition
Cells will fill gaps but will not overcrowd themselves
define anchorage dependence
Cells must be anchored to the bottom of a dish or other platform (such as bone, muscle, etc)
Why is cell division useful?
for regular and embryonic growth, regular maintenance, and healing damage
Define microtubule
the strings that pull chromosomes to the poles in mitosis
what are the four parts of the cell cycle?
M- Mitotic phase, the reproduction of a cell characterized by prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase)
G1- Gap one or Growth one, the stage where new cells grow in size
S- Synthesis, duplication of DNA
G2- Gap 2 or Growth 2, the cell is preparing for mitosis
Define chromosome
a condensed double helix of DNA
Define chromatid
Half of a duplicated chromosome
Define chromatin
the proteins (histones) and DNA that chromosomes and chromatids are made of
Define centromere
The center part of a pair of sister chromatids where they link
Define telomere
the end part of a chromatid/chromosome that is non-coding DNA
How do you count Chromosomes and chromatids?
Chromosomes and sister chromatids are counted as one until they’re split during anaphase
How do you distinguish between RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
The sugar. DNA has an “H” on the 3’ carbon whereas RNA has an “OH”
What are the two nucleotide base structures?
Single ring structures, Purines and double ring structures, pyrimidines
What are the Purine bases?
Adenine and Guanine
What are the Pyrimidine bases?
Cytosine, Uracil, and Thymine
How do bases pair up?
Purines pair with pyrimidines through hydrogen bonds
Briefly explain the process of DNA synthesis
The parent strand of DNA splits and is used as a template for the two new complementary strands
