Cell Biology/Glossary


 * Alpha Helix:DNA forms a specific formation called a alpha helix.
 * Amino Acid:The basic subunit of proteins.
 * Atom:One unit of a given element.
 * Bacteria:
 * Carbohydrate:
 * Carbon:One of the common elements found in organic matter and living things.
 * Cell Wall:found in prokaryotic plants and it provides structural support and protection.
 * Chloroplasts:convert light/food into usable energy. (ATP production)
 * Cholesterol:Found in cell membranes, affects the rigidity of the membrane. Also a basic compound used to form man hormones.
 * Chromatin:
 * Chromosome:A group of genes/DNA that are contiguous, a functional unit. Humans have 23 pairs chromosomes.
 * Cilia:Hair-like structures.
 * Cisternae:The flatten sacs of the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum.
 * Crossover:Genetics term for chromosomes literally crossing over DNA from one chromosome to another.
 * Cyanophytes:One type of prokaryote (cell without a nucleus).
 * Cytoplasm: the protoplasm outside the nucleus
 * Cytoskeleton:Microtubules, actin and intermediate filaments. This produces the support structure/shape of cells. Of course plant cells have a much more rigid shape due to the cell wall.
 * Cytosol:The 'fluid' portion of the cell, it is made up of water and many free proteins and other elements - all except the organelles.
 * DNA:Deoxyribonucleic Acid, made up of 4 nucleotides: Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, and Cytosine (A,G,T,C).
 * Element:Element is one atom of a particular substance found on the periodic table. (Things such as Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, etc.)
 * Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER):Important for protein synthesis. It is a transport network for molecules destined for specific modifications and locations. There are two types: Rough ER - has ribosomes, and tends to be more in 'sheets'. Smooth ER - Does not have ribosomes and tends to be more of a tubular network.
 * Eukaryote:A Cell with a nucleus.
 * Flagella:
 * Gene:A section of DNA molecule that produces a functional RNA molecule
 * Genetic Material:
 * Globular Protein:
 * Glycolipids:
 * Glycoprotiens:
 * Golgi Apparatus:important for glycosylation, secretion.
 * Histones:
 * Hydrogen:A common element in organic and living organisms.
 * Hydrophilic:'likes water' (hydro = water; philic = like). Meaning that a hydrophilic molecule or portion would be attracted to water. Much like the opposite poles of a magnet pulling each other together.
 * Hydrophobic:'fears water' (hydro = water; phobic = fear). Meaning that a hydrophobic molecule or portion would be repulsed/push-away a water molecule. This would be like trying to put together the same pole of two magnets. Examples: oils, fatty acids (i.e. the 'tails' of phospholipids), cholesterol.
 * Lipid:
 * Lysosomes:Digestive sacks - the main point of digestion, these are only found in animal cells.
 * Meiosis:is a type of cell division. See section on meiosis. This occurs for formation of egg/sperm cells, which in the end have 1/2 the normal number of chromosomes, only 1 copy of each chromosome.
 * Micrometer:A unit of measure in the metric system. 10^-6 meters.
 * Microtubules:made from tubulin, and make up centrioles,cilia, etc.
 * Millimeter:A unit of measure in the metric system. 10^-3 meters.
 * Mitochondria:convert foods into usable energy. (ATP production) A mitochondrion does this through aerobic respiration. They have 2 membranes, the inner membranes shapes differ between different types of cells, but they form projections called cristae. The mitochondrion is about the size of a bacteria, and it carries its own genetic material and ribosomes.
 * Mitosis:The cell division, that is found in most non-reproductive cells.
 * Nanometer:A unit of measure in the metric system. 10^-9 meters.
 * Nitrogen:A common element in organic and living organisms.
 * Nucleic Acid:Basic Building block for DNA.
 * Nucleolus:Or densely packed portion of the Nucleus.
 * Nucleus: (only in eukaryotes) - where genetic material (DNA) is located, RNA is transcribed.
 * Organelles:(which also have membranes) in 'higher' eukaryote organisms:
 * Osmosis: The diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane down the water potential gradient (from areas of high water potential to areas of low water potential)
 * Oxygen:A common element in organic and living organisms.
 * Peptidoglycan:This is the main component of prokaryotic cell walls, it is made from a large protein polymer and sugar.
 * Peroxisomes:Use oxygen to carry out catabolic reactions, in both plant and animals.
 * Phospholipid:See the section of the course on Cell Membranes and specifically phospholipids.
 * Phosphorus:A common element in organic and living organisms.
 * Plasma membrane:The surface around the cell made up of phospholipids, proteins, cholesterol, etc.. See the section on the Cell Membrane
 * Plasmid:
 * Plastids:
 * Prokaryote:Cells without a nucleus.
 * Protein:
 * Protoplasm: the living material in the cell
 * Pseudopod:literally means 'false foot'
 * RNA:Ribonucleic Acid
 * RNApolymerase:
 * Recombination:
 * Ribosomes:half are on the endoplasmic reticulum, the other half are 'free' in the cytosol, which is where the RNA goes for translation into proteins.
 * Sulphur:A common element in organic and living organisms.
 * tRNA:Transfer RNA, a 3D structure. It works with the ribosome and mRNA to form proteins (called translation). It has an 'anti-codon' which will match codons of the mRNA, and also has a amino-acid. The tRNA is a key to the having the amino acid match a specific codon on the mRNA, See the Codon Table to see how these are matched in general. There are differences in how the matches take place in mitochondria and bacteria.
 * Vacuole:
 * Vesicle: