CELL BIOLOGY

Modern cell theories

All living matter is composed of cells All new cells arise from other cells All metabolic reactions of an organism take place in cells Cells contain the hereditary information of the organisms of which they are a part, and this is passed from parent to daughter cell

Other information
All cells are similar in comprising a self-contained and more or less self-sufficient unit, surrounded by a cell membrane and having a nucleus at some stage of their existence. At the same time cells show a remarkable biodiversity of structure and function.

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Cells are basically spherical in shape, although modification to suit function leads to a degree of diversity In size, they mostly range from 10-30m in diameter Their size is restricted by:
The surface area to volume ration, which must be large to allow exchange of metabolic substances The capacity of the nucleus to exercise control over the rest of the cells

THE DISCOVERY OF CELLS

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MICROSCOPE
To observe the dramatic properties of a single cell Visible parts of the cell Light microscope - achieve magnifications of up to 1500 Electron microscope- over 500,000 times

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Comparison of light and electron microscopes

Light microscope Advantages Cheap to purchase and operate Small and portable Unaffected by magnetic fields Preparation of material is relatively quick and simple Living as well as dead material may be viewed Natural colour can be observed Electron microscope Disadvantages Expensive to purchase and operate Very large and must be in special room Affected by magnetic field Preparation of material is lengthy and complex Living material cannot be observed All images in black and white

Image by microscopes
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Light microscope

Electron microscope

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Light microscope Disadvantages Magnifies object up to 1500x Can resolve objects up to 200 nm apart The depth of field is restricted Electron microscope Advantages Magnifies objects up to 500,000x Has a resolving power for biological specimens of around 1 nm It is possible to investigate a greater depth of field

BASIC CELL POPERTIES

Cells are highly complex and organized

Cellular activities - remarkably precise Eg DNA duplication (error rate 1 in 10 million nucleotides incorporated) Organizations: atom, molecules, polymers, polymeric molecules, subcellular organelles, and finally into cells From cells into tissues, organ and system

Cells possess a genetic program and the means to use it

Organisms are built accoding to information encoded in a collection of genes A set of chromosomes that occupies th space of a cell nucleus Genes are more than storage lockers for information They constitute the blueprints for constructing cellular structure, the directions for running cellular activities and the program for making more of themselves Allows variation among individuals

Cells are capable of producing more of themselves

Reproduce by division, a process in which the contents of a mother cell are distributed into two daughter cells Prior to division, genetic material is duplicated, and each daughter cells receives complete and equal share of genetic information In certain cases (eg oocyte), the cells retain the cytoplasm but receive only half of the genetic material

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Cells acquire and utilize energy

Developing and maintaining complexity requires the constant input of energy The energy from sunlight is trapped by lightabsorbing pigments present in the membranes of photosynthetic cells Light energy is then converted into chemical energy that is stored in energy-rich carbohydrates ATP is produced when breakdowns of macromolecules occur

Cells carry out a variety of chemical reactions

Chemical changes which require enzymes The biochemical reactions - cells metabolism

CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Knowledge of the submicroscopic molecular pattern of the protoplasm is necessary to comprehend the structure and function of cells Biochemistry Describe and analyze the chemical changes that occur in organisms Investigations into the chemistry of living systems have shown that individual cells, whether of plants, animals and microorganisms, are fundamentally similar in function despite vast differences in structure

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Physiology response of organisms and cells to their environment, mechanism of cell growth, duplication, and reproduction, ability of cells to take up nutrients from the environment, function and method of control of an organisms metabolic machine

CYTOLOGY
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A study of cells Two basic types prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

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MOLECULAR ORGANISATION

ATOM
Smallest unit of a chemical element which can exist independently It has a nucleus made up of Positively charged particles protons Particles with no charge - neutrons Around this positively charged nucleus orbit - negatively charged particles called electrons

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IONS
When an atom loses an electron (a process called oxidation), it becomes positively charged due to the excess of protons over electrons A positive ion
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