Specialised cells.

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Question 1                Rob Hunt

Specialised cells

“A human body contains about 50 million million cells” (Boyle, Ingham, Senior, 1999,pg 2). A cell is the smallest unit of any organism. Inside each cell are different types of specialised components called organelle, each with their own features and specific function. (See diagram below). Each task completed is needed by the cell in order to survive.

  • The nucleus is the control centre of the cell, controlling the goings on inside the cell. Inside the nucleus there is a nucleolus. This nucleolus contains the cells DNA and is responsible for synthesising ribosomes.
  • The Endoplasmic Reticulum creates a path so that molecules can move from one part of the cell to another. Rough ER is lined with ribosomes and Smooth ER has no ribosomes attached and is the site of steroid production.
  • Ribosomes are the site of protein synthesis in a cell. Some are free in the cytoplasm; others line the membranes of the Rough ER.
  • The Mitochondria are responsible for energy production by aerobic respiration.
  • The Golgi apparatus is seen as the post office of the cell, receiving, sorting and preparing chemicals and substances for secretion in and around the cell.
  • Lysosomes are “simply bags of digestive enzymes” (Boyle, Ingham, Senior, 1999, pg 19) used to digest and destroy old organelles, cells, and bacteria.
  • The Cell Membrane controls what goes in and out of the cell.
  • The cytosol (cytoplasm) is the solution in which all the cell organelles inhabit and where most of the cellular metabolism occurs.
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Cell shapes and structure varies due to function. Each cell is specialised to carry out a specific function. This means some cells won’t have all of the organelle of a generalised cell and sometimes have extra organelles.

A red blood cells primary function is to carry oxygen from the lungs to every cell in the body for respiration. Any organelles that are not helpful for this function are missing. Looking at diagram 2 of a RBC we can see that the red blood cell has very few organelle including no nucleus. With all these missing organelle ...

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