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Organism's Metabolism Within a Single Cell

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Damn Near Everything There Is To Know About Cells:Biology Cell ReportThere are many parts of a cell, they all have specific duties, and are allneeded to continue the life of the cell. Some cells exist as single-celledorganisms that perform all of the organism's metabolism within a single cell.Such single-celled organisms are called unicellular. Other organisms aremade up of many cells, with their cells specialized to perform distinctmetabolic functions. One cell within an organism may be adapted for movement,while another cell carries out digestion. The individual cells no longercarry out all life functions, but rather depend on each other.

Many-celledorganisms are called multicellular. When a group of cells function together toperform an activity, they form a tissue. The cells of a human are organizedinto tissues such as muscle and nerve tissues. Plant tissues include thoseof the stem and root. Many cells in tissues are linked to each other atcontact sites called cell junctions

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Cell junctions help maintain differencesin the internal environment between adjacent cells, help anchor cells together,and allow cells to communicate with one another by passing small molecules fromone cell to another. Groups of two or more tissues that function togethermake up organs. An organ system is a group of organs that work together tocarry out major life functions.Eukariotic Cell Structure:Boundaries and Control:Plasma Membrane - The plasma membrane is sometimes called the cell membrane, orthe cellular membrane. It is the outermost part of the animal cell, and it'spurpose is to enclose the cell, and change shape if needed. The cell membraneis capable of allowing materials to enter and exit the cell.

Oxygen andnutrients enter, and waste products such as excess water leave. The plasmamembrane helps maintain a chemical balance within the cell.Cell wall - The cell wall is an added boundary to the cell. It is relativelyinflexible, and surrounds the plasma membrane. The cell wall is much thinkerthan the plasma membrane and is made of different substances in differentorganisms. The cells of plants, fungi, almost all bacteria, and some protistshave cell walls.

Animal cells have no cell walls. Plant cells containcellulose molecules, which form fibers. This fibrous cellulose of plantsprovides the bulk of the fiber in our diets. Chitin, a nitrogen-containingpolysaccharide, makes up the cell walls of fungi.Nucleus - The nucleus of the cell is the organelle that manages cell functionsin a eukariotic cell. The nucleus contains DNA, the master instructions forbuilding proteins.

DNA forms tangles of long strands called chromatin, which ispacked into identifiable chromosomes when the cells are ready to reproduce.Also within the nucleus is the nucleolus, a region that produces tiny cellparticles that are involved in protein synthesis These particles, calledribosome's, are the sites where the cell assembles enzymes and other proteinsaccording to directions of the DNA.Assembly, Transport, and Storage:Cytoplasm - The material that lies outside the nucleus and surrounds theorganelles is the cytoplasm, a clear fluid that is a bit thinner than toothpastegel. It usually constitutes a little more than half the volume of a typicalanimal cell.Endoplasmic Reticulum - The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a folded membrane thatforms a network of interconnected compartments inside the cell.

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