Monthly Archives: March 2011

Mitosis – happening inside you right now!

Leave a reply

“Living cells as you have never seen them before” – from New Scientist TV

This week (week 9 of term 1) we are starting Chapter 4: Cell Division, which is a study of mitosis and meiosis. Although millions of cells multiply and divide in our bodies each day, scientists still don’t exactly what genes are involved in the process. This knowledge may one day help to identify the causes and help to prevent human cancers, because out-of-control mitosis is  a feature of most tumours. Watch the interactive Cells Alive animation to learn more about mitosis. You will need to remember each stage of the process: Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase and Telophase, as well as know what cytokinesis means. There is a handy iPod/iPhone/iPad app called “Mitosis” (free) that you can download to help you learn more about the process. The app includes video content, text and audio, actual photographs of cells from light microscopes, comprehensive glosssary and an interactive quiz.mitosis_app

You Tube video of Mitosis

 YouTube video of Mitosis by students

Mitosis by Josh and Matt

What Josh and Matt said about making a movie – Matt_and_Josh

Mitosis by Tessa and Caitlyn – small

What Tessa and Caitlyn said about making a movie – Tessa_and_Caitlyn

Paddys Mitosis Movie

Well done folks – you have all produced great little animations that demonstrate your understanding of the process of mitosis and the different stages involved. While I am away on long service leave over the next two weeks, you need to finish the Chapter  4 Review questions and then read Chapter 5: Obtaining Energy and Nutrients for Life. Then start the chapter review questions for Chapter 5.

Composition of Cells

Leave a reply

MichaelDenton2

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.