Compendium Review #1 (Unit One)

Cells (The basic characteristic of life):

A cell is the basic unit of life (Mader pg.42). Without them we wouldn’t have humans, animals, or even plants, because all living things are made up of cells (Mader pg.42)



Animal Cell Human Cell Plant Cell

Humans alone are composed of millions of cells (Unknown). Each cell in the human body came from a single fertilized egg (Unknown). This process allows new cells to arise from preexisting cells (Mader pg.42). “These cells are the smallest unit of life that can reproduce, respond to certain stimuli, remain homeostatic, grow and develop, take in and use materials from the environment, and become adapted to the environment” (Mader pg.42). All of these processes from a single cell come together, and make up a very complex human life.
There are two main types of cells that are vital to all life forms. These are Prokaryotic, and Eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus, the structure where DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is found (Mader pg.43). Even though Prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus, there are still DNA molecules loose in the semi-fluid medium known as cytoplasm (Frolich pg.2).


Prokaryotic cell Eukaryotic cell

Prokaryotic cells also have cell membranes, small ribosomes, microtubule structures such as flagella and cilia, and mitochondria and chloroplasts which have their own independent DNA (Frolich pg.2). These cells are fairly small and simple cells (Frolich pg.2). Interesting enough, these cells are made up of bacteria and archaea (Mader pg.44). Usually bacteria are known for causing viruses and sickness, but they are also very important in the environment (Mader pg.44). They help us make a variety of products including biotechnological goods (Mader pg.44).
There are also more complex cells to all living things. These cells are known as eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells are approximately one hundred times the size of prokaryotic cells, and are much more complex (Frolich pg.2). Eukaryotic cells are said to have evolved from the archaea, which make it possible for these cells to survive extreme temperature and acidic environments (Mader pg.44). All eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus, which store DNA (Mader pg.44). These cells also have a cell membrane, mitochondria, large ribosomes, and membrane-bound organelles (Frolich pg.2). All multi-cellular organisms such as plants and animals are made up of eukaryotic cells (Frolich pg.2).

Molecules of life:

Along with cells are molecules, which also help make up all living things. Some of the main molecules that are most important to our existence are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, DNA and RNA (Frolich pg.1).
Carbohydrates, which break down into simple sugars, are mainly used for the storage of energy (Frolich pg.1). These simple sugars are used in order to fuel cellular metabolism in the mitochondria (Frolich. Pg.1). Although many people think of carbohydrates in terms of gaining weight, they are very important to human survival. In fact, 60-70% of everyone’s diet should contain carbohydrates in order to do any activities (Mader pg.29).


Carbohydrates DNA RNA

Proteins are another molecule that is important to human life. Proteins come in a very complex form, derived from amino acids (Frolich pg.1). These proteins allow chemical reactions to speed up through a process called catalyzing (Frolich pg.1). This in turn allows for many other processes in the molecule to occur.
What is said to be “fundamental to life and origins” (Frolich pg.2) are fats. Fats are organic molecules that contain glycerol and fatty acids, which are found in adipose tissue (Mader G-7). Fats act as a long-term energy storage for mammals and other vertebrae (Frolich pg.2). Again, people may think of fat in terms of health and diet, but based on a 2,000 calorie diet, humans should have 65g daily (Mader pg.31).
One of the most important molecules to even have life is DNA. DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic material of nearly all organisms (Mader pg.35). By definition, DNA is a nucleic acid polymer produced from covalent bonding of nucleotide monomers that contain the sugar deoxyribose (Mader G-6). DNA not only stores information, but replicates and transmits this information when a cell or organism reproduces. (Mader pg.35). Without DNA, we would cease to have humans, or several other organisms.
Another molecule crucial in getting messages to the rest of our body is RNA. RNA is short for ribonucleic acid. By definition, RNA is a nucleic acid produced from covalent bonding of nucleotide monomers that contain the sugar ribose, which occurs in three different forms: messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA (Mader G-16).

Cell Structure and Function:
Some of the main functions of a cell are provided by the nucleus, ribosomes, cilia, flagella, and mitochondria.


Nucleus Ribosomes Mitochondria

The Nucleus is the largest part of the cell. The nucleus is located in the middle of the cell, and is bound by a porous nuclear envelope (Frolich pg.4). The nucleus contains several important characteristics of a cell such as DNA, ribosomal RNA, proteins called chromatin, and nucleoplasm (Frolich pg.4).
Following the nucleus are ribosomes. Ribosomes are organelles made of RNA and protein, and are located on the endoplasmic reticulum (Frolich pg.4). Ribosomes are also located within the cytoplasm known as polyribosomes (Mader pg.49). These ribosomes are used for various purposes in the cell, and some ribosomes may be eventually exit the cell, or become part of the plasma membrane (Mader pg.49).
Cilia and Flagella are both responsible for movement (Mader pg.51). They are both made of microtubules, which by definition are small cylindrical structures that contain 13 rows of the protein tubulin around an empty central core (Mader G12). The ciliated cells in our respiratory tract keep our lungs clean by removing trapped debris within the mucus in our throats (Mader pg.51).
Lastly, the powerhouse of the cell is mitochondria (Mader pg.52). The mitochondria are responsible for converting the chemical energy of glucose products into the chemical energy of ATP molecules (Mader pg.52). This process is known as cellular respiration (Mader pg 52). Mitochondria are found in eukaryotic cells, but are said to be derived from an engulfed prokaryotic cell (Frolich pg.5).

Cell organelles and metabolism:
Cell membrane or plasma membrane is what separates a cell from the outside world (Frolich pg.3). This membrane has a phospholipids bi-layer, embedded with proteins, and contains cholesterol for support (Frolich pg.3). It also has carbohydrates which are located on proteins and lipids, and is selectively permeable. Selectively permeable means that the cell membrane filters the type of substances that it wants to let in (Frolich pg.3).
One component of a cell that is vital in terms of cellular respiration is metabolism (Mader pg 53). Metabolism is all the chemical reactions that occur within a cell (Mader pg 53). Metabolism usually requires metabolic pathways in which processes are carried out by enzymes in a cell (Mader pg.53).


Metabolism


Tissue Types:
Millions of cells, alone with the help of metabolism are what make up another crucial component of human life, which is tissue (Frolich pg.6). There are four main types of tissue: Connective, Muscular, Nervous, and Epithelial (Frolich pg.6).


Connective tissue is important for binding and supporting different parts of the body (Frolich pg.6). This type of tissue has specialized cells known as ground substance and protein fibers (Frolich pg.6). Ground substance and protein fibers are what make up the fibrous, supportive and fluid tissue, the three types of connective tissue (Frolich pg.6). Connective tissue is responsible for binding tendons, bone, and cartilage (Frolich pg.7). It is also responsible for supporting blood vessels, nerves of cell population, such as the ones in blood or bone marrow (Frolich pg.7)
Another type of tissue that allows for body movement is muscle tissue (Frolich pg.7). Muscle tissue is mainly made up of the protein fibers actin and myosin (Frolich pg.7). There are also three different types of muscle tissue that have importance are skeletal, smooth, and cardiac tissue.
An additional type of tissue which is responsible for communication between cells is nervous tissue (Frolich pg.7). Nervous tissue needs sensory input, integration of data, and motor output in order to allow this communication (Frolich pg.7). In this tissue there are two major cell types accountable for communicating. These cells are known as neurons, which carry messages, and neuroglia, which support neurons (Frolich pg.7).
Lastly, the type of tissue that lines the body cavity is known as epithelial tissue (Frolich pg.6). This tissue also covers the surface of human bodies, and is located in glands. Epithelial tissue is made up of groups of cells that form a tight and continuous network (Frolich pg.6).

Citations
Animal cell picture - http://www.animalport.com/img/Animal-Cell.jpg
Human cell picture - http://www.dnatesting.biz/Basic_Genetics/animal_cell.gif
Plant cell picture - http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Programs/doublex/spring03/strawberrydna_files/image003.jpg
Pro. Cell - http://facstaff.uww.edu/wentzl/prokaryote.gif
Dna - http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_2_26_2005_13_38_09/DNA8-400.jpg71abe163-6969-448a-8c20-b7209efeefb0Large.jpg
Carbs - http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chemistryland.com/ElementarySchool/BuildingBlocks/CarbohydratesCO2water.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chemistryland.com/ElementarySchool/BuildingBlocks/BuildingOrganic.htm&h=345&w=500&sz=44&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=SZ74a_cHGyte2M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcarbohydrates%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Rna - http://leiwenwu.tripod.com/rna.ht4.jpg
Nucleus - http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/s2s/latest/cell1/src/images/nucleus.jpg
Ribosomes - http://www.williamsclass.com/SeventhScienceWork/ImagesCells/Ribosomes.gif
Mitochondria - http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/mitochondria/images/mitochondriafigure1.jpg
Tissue types - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/8682.jpg
Metabolism - http://img.search.com/thumb/8/8b/Metabolism1.png/350px-Metabolism1.png

Mader, Sylvia. Human Biology 10th ed. 2008
Frolich, Larry. Cell powerpoint slides
Unknown. Basic Genetics. http://www.dnatesting.biz/Basic_Genetics/basic_genetics.html