MadSci Network: Cell Biology
Query:

Re: examples of a cell functiion

Date: Sat Sep 25 18:05:11 1999
Posted By: Melanie Stegman, Grad student, Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati
Area of science: Cell Biology
ID: 937401078.Cb
Message:

Cells do all the same things animals do.  They eat, adapt to their 
environment, sometimes they move, sometimes they divide--either sexually or 
asexually--they repair any damage to themselves and they remove or recycle 
their waste products. It depends, of course, which type of cells you are 
thinking about.  Yeast?  Amoeba?  Human?  

All cells need energy to do anything, so one cell function that has been 
well studied is obtaining energy from a food source.  Cells use sugar 
primarily, glucose to be exact.  Glycolysis is the process of breaking 
glucose down to form ATP.  ATP is Adenosine triphosphate and it is a very 
handy way for cells to store energy.

Cells use energy to build more cell membrane and more organelles when they
divide, or when they repair themselves.  Cells also use energy to 
replicate their DNA and when they express proteins.  And movement requires 
energy, of course.  Each time the cell uses energy it is usually using ATP.  

I hope this gives you many examples of cell functions.  There are many more 
I haven't mentioned.  But these are a good beginning.  You can search 
further for information about glycolysis, DNA replication and protein 
expression--or also about organelle and membrane synthesis, and cell 
motility.



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