Anuttra Chandran 10/09/2013

Is a cell more like a machine or a city? A cell has many organelles which could relate to parts of a machine and parts of a city. In this essay I am going to start of comparing the different parts of the cell to a city and a machine and conclude it with what I think a cell should be more like giving reasons. A cell has many organelles which have many different functions to it. I am firs going to compare it with an animal and plant cell which are eukaryotic cells. How are these functions related to things in a city and things in a machine? In a cell there are a number of organelles doing their own work but Nucleus they can only do their work when they are commanded to do something and thats where the nucleus comes in. The nucleus contains instructions for each organelle so it basically controls the cell (the boss). How is the nucleus related to the city? I think that the nucleus is like the government of a city. The government controls the people and gives them orders which are also like instructions. The government are also the boss of a city and they have a lot of work to do and they are the most important part of a city without the government, the city might not be able to stand. The nucleus for a machine is the chip of the machine; it contains all the information and all the commands. Without the chip the machine might not be able to work properly and also it wouldnt be stable and at one point it will break. The nucleolus contains the DNA, the genetic information so that also connects with the government because they keep their important stuff in the vault and others thing that should not be lost kept safely. In a machine again its the chip because it also contains the information and everything else.
Cell Then there is the cell membrane which protects the cell, it surrounds Membrane the cell and separates the inside of the cell and the outside of the cell. The cell membrane decided what should come inside and what should not come inside but sometime bad things get through because it is attached to something good. The cell membrane is related to the city as a border. Every city has a border and at the border there are officers who check and see if they can go in or not, in this case if you have a passport you can go through but if you do not have a passport, they will not let you in. Sometime criminals get in because they act all good and they have a fake passport which lets them go in. The cell membrane related to any machine would be the outer covering of a machine; all machines have a cover so that nothing goes inside and corrupts it. This is related to the cell membrane because both are protecting the inside and if in both something bad goes inside, it might break or die. The outer covering of the machine prevent water to go in or any liquid because if any liquid does go in and it will corrupt and the machine will not work anymore. In a cell if a bacteria gets in then it will expand and the cell dies.

Anuttra Chandran 10/09/2013

Ribosomes manufacture protein. A small subunit and a large subunit join together to start a chain of proteins. Which are then by a process taken outside or inserted to the cell membrane. In a city ribosomes could be taken as factories which produce food. There are many factories but ribosomes could a food factory. Ribosomes are located around Rough endoplasmic reticulum and around the nucleus. In factories the food is made then are sorted and then shipped of. The ribosomes when are done are sent to the Rough endoplasmic reticulum which takes it to the Golgi apparatus. The ribosomes give energy to our body by making protein so does factories they make food which humans by and they eat which gives them energy. Machines can be related to ribosomes. Machines such as windmills the turn when wind come in and create energy for machines energy is like food for the machine this can be taken as a ribosome. Machines are not alive but they need energy to work which is like food for humans.

Rough ER

The rough endoplasmic reticulum is a long network membrane which surrounds the nucleus like a blanket. The rough endoplasmic reticulum is covered with ribosomes. The rough endoplasmic reticulum is a long network so its like a tunnel. It takes the protein from the ribosomes and then is taken from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. In cities the rough endoplasmic reticulum can be taken as a road to specifically a port because its transporting the food to another place where it will be useful. The road can be also the sea meaning a boat going to another place. Machines that use electricity has energy have wires, all machines like this have wires. I think that the wires are the Rough endoplasmic reticulum because the electricity is passed around everywhere so the machine works. If the wire doesnt work then the machine wouldnt work. The wires are very important to an electricity used machine. A cell without rough endoplasmic reticulum could die because the proteins are not where they are supposed to be.
Smooth ER

The smooth endoplasmic reticulum is the same as rough endoplasmic reticulum except it doesnt have ribosomes covering it and it manufactures lipids and it transports fat to the Golgi apparatus. In a city the Smooth endoplasmic reticulum can also be a road but transporting something else such as meat slices because fat are present in meat and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum transport fat. In a machine it would be the same as rough endoplasmic reticulum, in a machine the wires are smooth endoplasmic reticulum because wires gives the energy around.

Anuttra Chandran 10/09/2013

The Golgi apparatus is an organelle that decides what goes where, the endoplasmic reticulum brings the protein or energy in a vesicles and the Golgi apparatus decides whether it should go to waste or transported outside the cell and so on. In a city the Golgi apparatus could be the place when after the factories products are done they are decided which country to go to. And then they package it and send it and thats how they are sorted out. The Golgi apparatus is like currency machine the machine checks each and everyone and decided if it is fake or real it is fake then it doesnt take it in but if it real it takes it in and it also puts it in the right categories for example all the 20 MTS are put together and then the 50MTS are put together and so on.

Lysosome

Lysosomes are Spherical cells which contain enzymes that can break down food and worn out cells as well as kill bacteria. Lysosomes break down the food then take it to the Golgi apparatus. In a city the lysosomes can be taken as garbage cleaners, when they finish cleaning they put them into two categories biodegradable and degradable the biodegradable item which are rotten vegetables are broken down and are taken into the soil while the degradable are still there. Lysosomes are not much related but its the closest I could get. In machines the lysosomes can be like water filters, water filters kill bacteria and let pure water to come through. During this process there is breaking down of particles.

Vesicles are when solids that are taken in by vesicles that is then joined with lysosomes to break down particles and then are taken out of the cell. So they basically take in whatever is solid like medicine, break it down with the help of lysosomes and then is taken out again but in smaller pieces, this means that vesicles help break down solids. Vesicles can also transport things to the Golgi apparatus or any other place. In a city Vesicles are like packages or boxes that are transported from one place to another. Another thing in a city that can relate to a vesicle are rocks they are broken down to make cement for buildings. In machine the vesicle can be a grinder, it grinds and it breaks it down so we can use it on our food. Trucks can also be vesicles because they transport items to places.

Vacuoles are where they store the water, food and waste. Vacuoles are larger in plants cells than animal cells. In a city it can be a warehouse where we keep all storage items in them that will be used later on or never going to be used again. In a machine vacuoles can be petrol tanks because it stores petrol that is later turned into energy.

Anuttra Chandran 10/09/2013

The cytoskeleton is a network of fibres throughout the cell's cytoplasm that helps the cell maintain its shape and gives support to the cell. It also moves organelles. The cytoskeleton keeps the shape of the cell in shape. The cytskeleton is the one that keeps the cells the same sturcture the whole way. In a city the cytoskeleton csn be the stuctyre of the building the poles that kepp staight up and never lets it fall down. The stucture of the building is the same because of the poles that keep it up and the rods that holds it all together. In a machine the cytoskeleton can be the shell of the machine, it keeps its sturcture from the outer cover because once its covered nothing will be coming out amd it will stay like that forever and the metal is hard dso it wont bend.

The mitochondrion converts the energy in the food to usable energy for work. From the food we eat the mitochondrion converts it to energy for to work. In a city the mitochondria can be related, for example in a city the taxes can be thought as food so the government take the taxes and use it to make the city better for working and a better lifestyle. Mitochondria can be related to a machine as a windmill the wind energy is converted into electricity and then it is used to power the house.

The cell wall is only found in plant cells. The cell wall also keeps the structure of the cell and gives the cell protection. A major function of the cell wall is to act as a pressure vessel, preventing over-expansion when water enters the cell. The cell wall is related to a city in a different way. The traffic police in a traffic try to divert to clear the traffic the same way the cell wall doesnt let the cell to over expand when water goes in. In a machine the cell well relates to a pressure pan the vessel lets it come out so it doesnt explode. Also tells us when the steam is high, telling us that it is boiled.

Chloroplasts are organelles that take in light energy and convert it into food energy and this process is called photosynthesis. In a machine solar panels are used to convert light energy to usable energy to power a hot plate or something else which then enables people to cook. In a city solar panels are also used to convert light energy to electricity which generates the whole city.

Anuttra Chandran 10/09/2013

In conclusion, I believe that a cell is more like a city than a machine because most of the organelles relate to a part of the city than parts of a machine. The organelle best matched things in a city. For example the nucleus, Smooth endoplasmic reticulum, rough endoplasmic reticulum and few other organelles were matched with things from a city and a machine and out of them both a part of the city was more close to it. Bibliography: "Chloroplast Diagram." Chloroplast Diagram. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Cell Wall." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Science Blogs." A Blog Around The Clock. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Molecular Expressions Cell Biology: Plant Cell Structure - Vacuoles." Molecular Expressions
Cell Biology: Plant Cell Structure - Vacuoles. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

"Model Lipid Bilayer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 July 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Animal Cell Anatomy - EnchantedLearning.com." EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. Animal Cell Anatomy -

"Login to Meritnation with." Draw a Neat Labelled Diagram of Golgi Apparatus.... N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Could a Cell Live without an Endoplasmic Reticulum?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. Johnson, Priya. Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 17 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "ARGUS BioSciences - MtDNA." ARGUS BioSciences - MtDNA. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. Cells. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. "Nucleus, Mitochondria, Chloroplasts." Nucleus, Mitochondria, Chloroplasts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.