There is a battle playing out inside your body right now. It started billions of years ago and it is still being fought in every one of us every minute of every day. It is the story of a viral infection, the battle for the cell.
This film reveals the exquisite machinery of the human cell system from within the inner world of the cell itself - from the frenetic membrane surface that acts as a security system for everything passing in and out of the cell, the dynamic highways that transport cargo across the cell and the remarkable turbines that power the whole cellular world to the amazing nucleus housing DNA and the construction of thousands of different proteins all with unique tasks. The virus intends to commandeer this system to one selfish end: to make more viruses. And they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.
Exploring the very latest ideas about the evolution of life on earth and the bio-chemical processes at the heart of every one of us, and revealing a world smaller than it is possible to comprehend, in a story large enough to fill the biggest imaginations. With contributions from Professor Bonnie L Bassler of Princeton University, Dr Nick Lane and Professor Steve Jones of University College London and Cambridge University's Susanna Bidgood.
The Hidden Kingdom The Cell
Adam Rutherford tells the story of the biological cell. He explores how centuries of scientific and religious dogma were overturned by the discovery of the cell.
Part 1: The Hidden Kingdom
Part 2: The Chemistry of Life
Part 3: The Spark of Life
How DNA RNA and Protiens Work
How RNA and Protiens Work
Essentials of Cell Biology
Contents
Cells are tremendously variable in their shapes and sizes, yet all cells share common properties. They all face the challenge of generating energy from food molecules that they will use to move, grow, and reproduce. This unit provides an overview of molecules and processes that make up the inner workings of the cell.
Cells Are the Basic Units of Living Organisms
All cells evolved from a common ancestor and use the same kinds of carbon-based molecules. Learn how cell function depends on a diverse group of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and sugars.
Eukaryotic Cells Possess a Nucleus and Membrane-Bound Organelles
Eukaryotic cells are more complex than prokaryotic ones because of specialized organelles. Learn how ancient collaborations between cells gave eukaryotes an important energy boost.
Cell Function Depends on the Continual Uptake and Conversion of Energy
Cells generate energy from the controlled breakdown of food molecules. Learn more about the energy-generating processes of glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.
Photosynthetic Cells Capture Light Energy and Convert It to Chemical Energy
The sun is the ultimate source of energy for virtually all organisms. Photosynthetic cells are able to use solar energy to synthesize energy-rich food molecules and to produce oxygen.
Metabolism is the Complete Set of Biochemical Reactions within a Cell
Cells constantly adjust the flow of molecules through metabolic pathways in response to energy needs. Learn how enzymes control these molecular transformations.
A cell's ability to function depends on its set of various proteins. How is a cell’s genetic information used to make proteins, the master operators of the cell? In this unit, you will learn about the processes involved in producing proteins and how a protein's three-dimensional form determines its function.
Information Transfer in Cells Requires Many Proteins and Nucleic Acids
The decoding of information in a cell's DNA into proteins begins with a complex interaction of nucleic acids. Learn how this step inside the nucleus leads to protein synthesis in the cytoplasm.
DNA Is Extensively Compacted with Proteins Chromosomes
Long, slender DNA molecules wind around proteins and fold in complex ways to form chromosomes. Learn how chromosomes are more than just packaging devices for DNA.
Differential Control of Transcription and Translation Underlies Changes in Cell Function
In multicellular organisms, nearly all cells have the same DNA, but different cell types express distinct proteins. Learn how cells adjust these proteins to produce their unique identities.
The Functions of Proteins Are Determined by Their Three-Dimensional Structures
Proteins are the workhorses of cells. Learn how their functions are based on their three-dimensional structures, which emerge from a complex folding process.
Proteins Are Responsible for a Diverse Range of Structural and Catalytic Functions in Cells
Protein surfaces are designed for interaction. Learn how proteins can bind and release other molecules as they carry out many different roles in cells.
What are the specialized components of a cell? Some parts of a cell are universal to all types, and some are specific to certain tissues and organisms. The eukaryotic cell cytoplasm contains a variety of membrane-enclosed compartments, called organelles, and each has a specialized function. How are these organelles organized within the cytoplasm? In this unit, you will learn about membrane-bound cell compartments called organelles, which are essential to cell structure and function.
Specialized Membranes Organize the Eukaryotic Cell Cytoplasm into Compartments
There are many different kinds of membranes in a cell. Learn how they subdivide sections of a cell and how proteins in these membranes are gatekeepers for what goes in and what comes out.
Cytoskeletal Networks Provide Spatial Organization and Mechanical Support to Eukaryotic Cells
Dynamic networks of protein filaments give shape to cells and power cell movement. Learn how microtubules, actin filaments, and intermediate filaments organize the cell.
The internal membranes of eukaryotic cells form an interconnected network. Learn about how they break down food particles, recycle cell debris, and export waste.
Mitochondria Are Independently Replicating Organelles - Supply Much of the Energy of the Cell
Mitochondria are fascinating structures that create energy to run the cell. Learn how the small genome inside mitochondria assists this function and how proteins from the cell assist in energy production.
Plant Cells Have Chloroplasts and Other Structures Not Present in Animal Cells
Plant cells have some specialized properties that make them distinct from animal cells. Learn how special structures, such as chloroplasts and cell walls, create this distinction.
Cells do not exist in isolation. They are constantly receiving and sending signals to other cells and to themselves. How do cells sense their environment and initiate responses to signals they receive? This unit introduces the biochemical pathways that cells use to process information from their environment.
Cells Receive and Process a Diverse Set of Chemical Signals and Sensory Stimuli
Chemical signals are continually bombarding cell. Learn how the binding of a signal to cell receptors initiates a process called signal trandsduction inside the cell that causes a chain of reactions.
G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Play Many Different Roles in Eukaryotic Cell Signaling
The large family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) contains a diverse group of membrane-bound signaling molecules. Learn how activated GPCRs relay messages by heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins.
Ion Channel Receptors Generate Electrical Signals in Response to Chemical Signals
An excitable cell converts chemical or mechanical signals into electrical signals. Learn how ion channels connected to a receptor make this conversion happen.
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases Regulate Cell Growth, Differentiation, and Survival
Signal binding to membrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) activates an enzyme called a kinase. Learn how kinases initiate a signaling cascade that relays information to the nucleus.
Cells Sense the Presence of Other Cells and Their Environment
The orderly arrangement of cells in tissues depends on complex signaling between cells. Learn how cellular junctions play important roles in cell adhesion and communication.
The ability to reproduce is one of the defining characteristics of cells. Intricate cellular controls ensure that cell division is accurate and occurs only under the appropriate conditions. What happens when these control systems go awry? In this unit, you will learn about the cell cycle, the molecules that control it, and how slight alterations in the cycle can lead to large-scale changes in tissues and whole organisms.
The Eukaryotic Cell Cycle Consists of Discrete Phases
Cells grow and replicate their DNA, and then they divide. Learn the substages of this iterative pattern, called the cell cycle. How does a cell regulate these stages?
Cyclin-Dependent Kinases Regulate Progression through the Cell Cycle
Coordinated protein phosphorylation reactions control progression through the cell cycle. Learn how specific complexes of cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) catalyze these reactions.
Mitosis Produces Two Daughter Cells with the Same Genetic Makeup
Cells duplicate and condense their DNA prior to entering mitosis. During mitosis, chromosomes attach to a spindle of microtubules that distribute them equally to two daughter cells.
Tissues Are Organized Communities of Different Cell Types
The organized arrangement of cells in tissues relies on controlled cell division and cell death. Learn how cells are replenished by stem cells and removed by apoptosis.
Normal Controls on Cell Division are Lost during Cancer
Cancer is somewhat like an evolutionary process. Over time, cancer cells accumulate multiple mutations in genes that control cell division. Learn how dangerous this accumulation can be.
References and Supplementary Materials
https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/cntNm-14749010/contents/
Cell (biology)
Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomoleculessuch as proteins and nucleic acids.[2] Most plant and animal cells are only visible under a light microscope, with dimensions between 1 and 100 micrometres.[3] Electron microscopy gives a much higher resolution showing greatly detailed cell structure. Organisms can be classified as unicellular (consisting of a single cell such as bacteria) or multicellular (including plants and animals).[4] Most unicellular organisms are classed as microorganisms.
The number of cells in plants and animals varies from species to species; it has been estimated that humans contain somewhere around 40 trillion (4×1013) cells.[a][5] The human brain accounts for around 80 billion of these cells.[6]
Cells were discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665, who named them for their resemblance to cells inhabited by Christian monks in a monastery.[7][8] Cell theory, first developed in 1839 by Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, states that all organisms are composed of one or more cells, that cells are the fundamental unit of structure and function in all living organisms, and that all cells come from pre-existing cells.[9] Cells emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago.[10][11][12]
List of distinct cell types in the adult human body
Cell Biology is an event in which teams answer questions and/or perform lab tasks relating to cell biology and cellular biochemistry. The event was most recently run nationally in Division C in 2015 and 2016, and will return in 2022.
Cell Signaling Learn that living organisms constantly receive and interpret
signals from their environment. Cells of multi-cellular organisms also
receive signals from other cells, including signals for cell division and
differentiation.
Studying Cells Introduce yourself to the cell as the fundamental unit of life and the scientific method.
The Cell Cycle & Mitosis Understand the events that occur in the cell cycle and the process of mitosis that divides the duplicated genetic material creating two identical daughter cells.
Meiosis Understand the events that occur in process of meiosis that takes place to produce our gametes.
Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes, & Viruses Learn about the cells that make up all living systems, their organelles, and the differences between living cells and viruses.
The Cytoskeleton Learn that the cytoskeleton acts both a muscle and a skeleton, and is responsible for cell movement, cytokinesis, and the organization of the organelles within the cell.
Overview of Cells including their makup and the differences between animal and plant cells (link courtesy of Carey Konarski)
CELLS Alive! is a highly visual site, where you will find movies and animated illustrations on cell processes, parasites, penicillin and more.
cell.de Online-Service for Cell Biology includes digital media in internet quality and further information for university and high school on cellular and molecular biology. The IWF - Institute for Scientific Film, Göttingen (Germany) prepares educational media about cellular and molecular biology didactically and technically for different media carriers.
C. elegans Movies A visual introduction to C. elegans and its development. This page has links to movies made by C. elegans researchers worldwide.
Biology Mad. This website is mainly aimed for students studying AQA (spec. A) Biology in the UK. It is informative, beautifully designed and easy to use.
http://www.actionbioscience.org is an education resource of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The site provides peer-reviewed articles by scientists, science educators, and science students. In addition, the web site provides educators with original lessons and other resources to enhance bioscience teaching. Selected articles are translated into Spanish.
biochem4schools, is an online collection of biochemistry resources. With comprehensive reviews and extensive cross-referencing, this site will be an indispensable tool for teachers and students involved in biochemistry at all levels.
Cell Division - Mitosis and Meiosis | Ask A Biologist
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/cell-division
Cell Division: How centrioles acquire the ability to reproduce | eLife
https://elifesciences.org/articles/25358
