Lives of a Cell Article

The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas goes to argue that the world is kind of like a cell, along with many other points. I agree with him because this world is a big ball consist of many different organelles that work together to make this cell function properly. Thomas cleverly gives his readers a tour of general cell biology that i think nearly anybody can understand by forming numerous connections between the human condition and the way any other biological organism works. What sets this apart from any other didactic biology textbook is that Thomas injects biology with thought, analogy, and metaphor while also explaining relatively recent discoveries and delving a bit into the history of biological discoveries. He explores the hypothetical and the quietly obvious, which is actually where the strength of this book lies but of course everything dies. What makes this article so addicting is that Thomas flips our perspectives on these simple matters, even at times poking fun at our neurotic human nature or our views on science. He brings up the oddest, yet simplest questions: What if we are the product of bacteria and viruses? What if they make us for their survival and not vice versa?

Cell Poem

Cell Wall Cell Wall Cell Wall.

Why so strong?

The plant cell wall is a remarkable structure.

It provides the most significant difference. 

It is rigid and gives plant cells a great finish. 

While most cells have a outer membrane,

None is comparable in strength to the plant cell wall's bearings. 

Cell Wall Cell Wall Cell Wall
Why so poor?
The cell wall is composed of cellulose fiber,

polysaccharides, 

and proteins. 

In new cells the cell wall is thin and not very kin. 

This allows the young cell to grow and not shrink.

When the cell is fully grown, 

it may retain its primary wall, 

sometimes thickening it, 

sometimes flattering it.

On the whole, each cell's cell wall interacts with its "mall" to form a tightly bound plant core.

Cell Diversity Wordle

There are smaller pieces to cells that include proteins and organelles. There are also larger pieces called tissues and systems. Cells are small compartments that hold all of the biological equipment necessary to keep an organism alive and successful on Earth. There are millions of different types of cells. There are cells that are organisms onto themselves, such as microscopic amoeba and bacteria cells. And there are cells that only function when part of a larger organism. The cell is the smallest unit of life in our bodies. In the body, there are brain cells, skin cells, liver cells, stomach cells, ect. All of these cells have unique functions and features. One major difference in cells occurs between plant cells and animal cells. Many animals have skeletons to give their body structure and support. Plants do not have a skeleton for support and yet plants don't just flop over in a big spongy mess. The cell wall is a rigid structure outside of the cell membrane. The chloroplast allow plants to harvest energy from sunlight. Specialized pigments in the chloroplast absorb sunlight and use this energy to complete the chemical reaction.
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/4682547/Untitled

Cellular Metabolism Wordle

Cellular metabolism is the sum total of all the biochemical reactions taking place within a cell. It includes all the reactions involved in degrading food molecules, in synthesizing macromolecules needed by the cell, and in generating small precursor molecules, such as some amino acids , for cellular needs. It also includes all reactions involving electron transfers (oxidationreduction, or redox, reactions). Metabolism takes place in sequences of biochemical reactions called pathways. It is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. Cellular metabolism involves complex sequences of controlled biochemical reactions, better known as metabolic pathways. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to environmental changes.
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/4682538/Untitled

Exemplars of Phyla of Protozoa

Phylum Sporozoans are nonmotile, unicellular protists that are commonly parasitic on vertebrate animals. The microorganisms invade red blood cells where they multiply, eventually escaping from the ruptured cells. The disease is characterized by spells of fever and chills, associated with the simultaneous rupture of red blood cells. Malaria is one of the most widespread diseases throughout tropical regions of the world, and it is transmitted through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.

Phylum Ciliophora are fringed with hairlike cilia which propel them through the water. Conjugation is a form of sexual reproduction in which the individual cells fuse together and swap nuclear DNA in the form of small micronuclei. It involves the division and fusion of micronuclei from opposite paramecia. After conjugation, each paramecium continues on its way, genetically altered from its brief encounter because of different chromosomal combinations. The genetically altered paramecia continue to produce clones of themselves by asexual cell division, a process known as fission.

Phylum Rhizopoda includes a large group of protists that move by means of pseudopods. Most Rhizopodians use their pseudopods to capture prey and also for locomotion. Rhizopods are heterotrophic, feeding on a wide range of bacteria, algae and other protists. Some Rhizopodians are important parasites. Entamoeba histolytica causes amebic dysentary and another Entamoeba is a common symbiont in the human mouth where it feeds on bacteria and human macrophages.

Phylum Zoomastigophora are named for the flagella that they use to move themselves. They engulf and consume their prey by phagocytosis. Most zooflagellates live alone, but some species form colonies of cells. They are found in the gut of termites, and are used to digest the cellulose in wood. Some Zooflagellates are not symbiotic, but parasitic.



http://waynesword.palomar.edu/trnov01b.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC372943/
http://library.thinkquest.org/27819/ch7_8.shtml
http://staff.jccc.net/pdecell/protista/rhizopoda.html
Images from Google

Comparing Bacteria, Virus, Prion, and Protist

Bacteria are living things that are neither plants nor animals, but belong to a group all by themselves. They are very small individually not more than one single cell, however there are normally millions of them together, for they can multiply really fast. A few beneficial functions of bacteria are the production of food products including dairy products, such as yogurt, sauerkraut, fermented meat products such as summer sausage, and vinegar. Bacteria also help fix nitrogen in the soil and are responsible for decomposing organic materials, which returns important nutrients back to the soil. The beneficial aspects of microorganisms far outweigh their harmful effects.

Viruses occupy a special taxonomic position. they are not plants, animals, or prokaryotic bacteria (single cell organisms without defined nuclei), and they are generally placed in their own kingdom. In fact, viruses should not even be considered organisms because they are not free living; for example, they cannot reproduce and carry on metabolic processes without a host cell.

A prion is a microscopic protein particle similar to a virus but lacking
nucleic acid, thought to be the infectious agent responsible for scrapie and certain other degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Prion illnesses affect the brain and cause extensive damage to brain tissue, causing it to become spongy in appearance. Though prion illnesses are not contagious in typical fashion, introduction of infectious prions into healthy brain tissue transmits the infection.

Protists are organisms in the kingdom Protista. These organisms are eukaryotes, meaning they are made up of single or multiple cells which all contain a nucleus enclosed by a membrane. The protists are a diverse group of eukaryotes that cannot be classified as animals, plants, or fungi. Organisms in the Protista kingdom include amoebae, red algae, dinoflagellates, diatoms, euglena and slime molds.



http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/protists/introduction.htm
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/bacteria.html
http://www.bacteriamuseum.org/cms/Bacteria/what-are-bacteria.html
http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Virus.aspx

Extreme Organism

Thermophiles are the heat loving bacteria found near hydrothermal vents and hot springs. Many thermophiles use dissolved sulfur or other elements as their energy source and iron as a means of respiration. It is generally considered as one that maintains life or activity at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Thermophilic microorganisms are able to survive because of their ability to produce thermophilic enzymes. Some thermophilic enzymes have been discovered that can maintain at least half of their specific activities at temperatures as high as 80 degrees or even higher temperature. However, enzymes might partially denature at high temperatures but have adaptive systems that allow them to renature once removed from extreme conditions.

http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/extremeheat/

http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/thermo.htm