Cell Biology. Perhaps the most crucial process the cell must undertake to sustain life is metabolism; that is, the ability to produce energy to break down food (catabolism) and to construct the inner components of cells (anabolism).

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Irfan Rajani

Block: E

07/10/19


The cells that make up our body serve a variety functions; the most important one being the ability to ultimately give life to the many different organisms living in our world. However, intracellularly there are various processes taking place that allow for life to be possible. That is, cells actively undergo processes such as intracellular digestion, metabolism, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and transport. Perhaps the most crucial process the cell must undertake to sustain life is metabolism; that is, the ability to produce energy to break down food (catabolism) and to construct the inner components of cells (anabolism).

        So what makes a cell tick? The key to this answer lies in the fact that each individual cell is made up of co-dependent organelles that perform specific functions. In the case with metabolism, it is the mitochondria and the chloroplasts that play the largest part in the process, but other organelles such as the cell membrane, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and vesicles are needed in order to for it to be quick, efficient, and complete. Without these organelles, particles would be unable to penetrate the cell, digested, be processed, packaged, or distributed around the cell.

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When we think catabolism, for instance, we usually associate it with digestion. At the cellular level, the process is similar to phagocytosis. You have a large particle either permeates the plasma membrane or is actively transported through it and is then encapsulated into a vesicle as it pinches off  a piece of the cell membrane, and then finally broken down by digestive enzymes within lysosomes. From there it is either used directly within the cell or excreted outside of it for use by other cells or as waste products. However, catabolism also digests particles made within the cell. For instance, ...

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