The Organelles of a Cell

The Cell Organelles are similar to our own organs because they work together to keep the cell alive. In the video, I review the major organelles, provide pictures, and the structure and function of the following organelles.

Cell Membrane: The outer boundary of the cell that controls what enters and exits. It is made up of a phospholipid bilayer with embedded proteins.

Cytoplasm: The jelly-like substance inside the cell that holds all the organelles in place. It is mainly composed of water, salts, and proteins.

Cytoskeleton: A network of protein filaments that provides structural support to the cell, helps with cell movement, and assists in intracellular transport.

Ribosomes: Small structures made of RNA and proteins that are responsible for synthesizing proteins. They can be found floating freely in the cytoplasm or attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

Nucleus: The control center of the cell that contains the cell's genetic material (DNA). It is surrounded by a nuclear membrane.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER): A network of membranous tubes studded with ribosomes. It is involved in protein synthesis and the transport of proteins and lipids.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER): A network of membranes that lacks ribosomes. It is involved in lipid synthesis, detoxification, and calcium storage.

Vacuole: A large, membrane-bound organelle found mainly in plant cells. It is used for storing water, nutrients, waste products, and helps maintain cell turgidity.

Lysosome: Organelles containing digestive enzymes that break down waste materials, cellular debris, and foreign substances.

Golgi Complex (Golgi Apparatus): A stack of membranes that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins and lipids for secretion or delivery to other parts of the cell.

Chloroplasts: Organelles found in plant cells (and some algae) that contain chlorophyll. They are responsible for photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical energy.

Cell Wall: A rigid outer layer found in plant cells, fungi, bacteria, and some protists. It provides structural support and protection to the cell.

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10 Interesting facts about Mitochondria

Mitochondria are essential for the production of proteins, RNA, pumps, and several other essential processes in the cell.  Mitochondria are amazing and cool.

They are found in plants... animals,....fungi,.....protists, and any other eukaryotic cell.

Let's Learn 10 Facts about Mitochondria

1. They can quickly change shape and move around the cell when needed.

2. When the cell needs more energy, the mitochondria can reproduce by growing larger and then dividing. For example, say you want to get in shape. As you exercise more of the mitochondria in your muscles will increase in number and navigate to the edges of the cell, which allows these muscle cells to have more energy.

3. If the cell needs less energy, some mitochondria will die or become inactive. 

4. Mitochondria are very similar to some bacteria. For this reason, some scientists think that they originally were bacteria that were absorbed by more complex cells. This theory is called endosymbiosis.

5. During cellular respiration, with the help of oxygen, the mitochondria produce 25 ATP compared to only 3 ATP produced during glycolysis in the cytoplasm.

6. ATP is continuously broken down into ADP, like a rechargeable battery, and releases a huge amount of energy which is used by the cell in several metabolic processes as well as in building macromolecules such as proteins.

7. ATP is critical for the contraction of muscles.

8. ATP supplies the energy to move the contractile muscle proteins.

9. ATP is essential for certain pumps like the sodium-potassium pumps and calcium pumps. The sodium-potassium pump ensures that our cells have the correct amount of sodium and potassium which is essential to stay alive.

10. The adenosine from ATP is a building block of RNA and is directly added to RNA molecules. During Transcription DNA is copied to mRNA, which carries the information needed to make proteins. 

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