Image Source – a YouTube video about Cell Structure

“To grasp the reality of life as it has been revealed by molecular biology, we must magnify a cell a thousand million times until it is twenty kilometers in diameter and resembles a giant airship large enough to cover a great city like London or New York. What we would then see would be an object of unparalleled complexity and adaptive design. On the surface of the cell we would see millions of openings, like the port holes of a vast space ship, opening and closing to allow a continual stream of materials to flow in and out. If we were to enter one of these openings we would find ourselves in a world of supreme technology and bewildering complexity.” Michael Denton (1986) “Evolution: A Theory in Crisis” p328

We continue our study of cells with a look at the chemical composition of cells. Make sure you understand that cells are made up of:

• carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides)
• proteins (made up of amino acids)
• lipids (made up of glycerol and fatty acids) and
• nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)

I will be at Professional Development in Melbourne on Friday, so you are asked to finish reading Chapter 3 and answer the review questions for that chapter. There are two 15 minute videos on my desk “The Living Cell” and “The Plasma Membrane”, both of which are useful for consoidating your knowledge of cells. You could also check out the resources for this chapter on the Hawkesdale Biology wiki.