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1 Introduction to Cells
Essential Idea: The evolution of multicellular organisms allowed cell
specialization and cell replacement.
Cell Theory
-All living things are made of cells
-Cells are the smallest (basic) structural/functional unit of life
-All cells come from pre-existing cells
-Cells contain hereditary information which is passed from one generation to
another
Molecules-1nm
Virus-100nm
Cell membrane thickness-10nm
Bacteria-1um
Organelles-up to 10um
Cells-up to 100um
Light Microscope
-Easiest to use, 2 lenses
-Magnification: enlargement of an object
-Resolution: ability to see 2 adjacent points as separate
Electron Microscope
-Instead of using light it uses a beam of electrons (since electron beam uses
smaller wavelength, should be more sensitive than white light compound
microscope)
-Instead of using light and lenses, it uses an electron beam and magnetic
field for focusing
-Much higher resolution and magnification than light microscope
-Expensive, complicated, needs a lot of electricity and specialized tools
2 Main Types:
-Scanning: shows 3D structure (surface) of samples
-Transmission: more like light microscope, beam goes through specimen to
see interior
Resolution
-human eye: 0.1mm
-light microscope: 0.0002mm
-electron microscope: 0.000001mm (1nm)
-All cells contain genetic material which has all the instructions for the cells
activities
-e.g: chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes produced by the cell
-All cells have some sort of process that releases energy to power the cells
activities
Some atypical examples that call into question the cell theory:
Striated muscle:
-Involved in the movement of body parts
-Made up of tissue fibres that dont resemble normal cells
-much larger than most animal cells (30mm in humans vs. 0.03mm of
other human cells)
-have many nuclei (as many as several 100!)
Giant algae:
-Photosynthetic organisms, but simpler than most terrestrial plants
-Numerous kinds of unicellular algae are found in oceans
-they form basis of most marine food chains, but these are usually
microscopic and very simple
-Giant algae can grow up to 100mm in length, but are still unicellular!
-e.g: Acetabularia acetabulum
Fungi:
-Made up of fibres or thread-like structures called hyphae
-have cell membrane that is surrounded by cell wall
-Some fungi have hyphae that are divided into separate cell-like sections by
walls called septa
-In aseptate fungi, hyphae dont have septa (walls)
-instead the hyphae are continuous tubes with multiple nuclei
Unicellular Organisms
-Earliest life forms are protists (e.g: bacteria)
-single celled, but can still carry out functions of all living things:
-However, bigger cells also require more nutrients, produce more waste
(things like the rate of waste production, heat production, resource
consumption depends on cells volume)
-However, the rate of exchange of materials and heat (energy) depends on
surface area
-Consider SA:V ratio of a cell (or a organism)
-As the cell size increases, SA:V ratio decreases, therefore the rate of
exchange decreases
-Square:
Length of side
1
2
3
4
5
8
SA
6
24
54
96
150
384
V
1
8
27
64
125
512
SA:V ratio
6:1
3:1
2:1
1.5:1
1.2:1
0.75:1
-Cells can only grow so large until it needs to divide, otherwise it cannot
maintain homeostasis
-Overall, the surface area to volume ratio limits cell size
Multicellular Organisms
-Organisms contain many cells, leading to complex interactions between all
these cells
-Multicellular organisms are said to show emergent properties, such as the
occurrence of characteristic or properties that arise from the interaction of
component parts (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)
-Individual cells in a group can organize themselves and interact to form a
living organism with distinct properties
-eg: in organ systems, individual organs have their functions, but when
they work together they are more useful and important to the organism
Stem Cells
-Stem cells is the name given to zygote and embryo cells
-Has not yet received signals to express certain genes and produce certain
proteins that will turn it into a certain cell type
-Can divide continuously to produce large quantities of new cells
-Can be obtained from human embryos, umbilical cord blood, and adult stem
cells
-Can be used to treat various conditions such as Parkinsons, leukemia
Therapeutic Cloning:
-The act of obtaining stem cells from adults and causing them to differentiate
-useful for treatment because they do not promote immune response
because it uses individuals own cells
-Can produce new tissue to treat burn victims, treat genetic diseases (type 1
diabetes: pancreatic cells malfunction; dont produce insulin, could use)
-embryonic stem cells can be used to make new pancreatic cells