The plasma membrane (cell membrane) is made of two layers of phospholipids.

The membrane has many proteins embedded in it. The plasma membrane regulates what enters and leaves the cell. Many molecules cross the cell membrane by diffusion and osmosis.

Functions of the Plasma Membrane The cell's plasma membrane does not simply form a "sack" in which to keep all the cytoplasm and other cellular organelles. The plasma membrane is a very important structure which functions to allow certain substances to enter or leave the cell. It can "pump" other substance into the cell against the concentration gradient or pump other "wastes" etc. out of the cell. Some of the transport process happens "passively" without the cell needing to expend any energy to make them happen. These processes are called "passive transport processes". Other transport processes require energy from the cell's reserves to "power" them. These processes are called "active transport processes".

Passive Transport Processes a) Diffusion: definition - is the movement of ions or molecules from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration. (Down a concentration gradient) The plasma membrane will allow certain substances to cross it but not others! Such a membrane is referred to as "selective permeable" (or "semipermeable"). The plasma membrane's permeability depends on a large part on its makeup. Both the protein portion and the phospholipid portion of the membrane are involved in the permeability. Therefore the three characteristics of a molecule that determine the permeability of the membrane to that species are . . . 1) polarity - (Hydrophobic vs Hydrophylic) 2) charge - (charged vs uncharged) 3) size - (large vs small) However: some molecules which we would think (from the above) should (or should not) cross the plasma membrane do - (or don't) because of the presence of the membrane proteins. We shall see that these proteins in the membrane are involved in both passive and active transport.

MITOSIS
1. Interphase * cells are not dividing

chromosomes are decondensed (called chromatin) and their information is available to the cell for synthesizing products cells spend most of their time in this intermediate non-mitotic state during interphase (in S phase), all the cell's DNA is duplicated -- resulting in 4 copies of each gene instead of the normal 2 in a diploid cell

2.Prophase

chromatin begins to coil and condense to form chromosomes each chromosome appears to have two strands (each containing a single molecule of DNA) each strand is called a chromatid each chromatid is attached to its sister chromatid at the centromere at this stage, the number of chromosomes (containing a pair of chromatids) is considered to be equal to the number of centromeres the two chromatids are the result of DNA replication that takes place just before mitosis starts. the nuclear envelope disappears the nucleolus disappears in cytoplasm, the spindle apparatus forms eventually the spindle guides the separation of sister chromatids into the two daughter cells

3. Metaphase

spindle grows and forms attachments to the chromosomes at the centromeres chromosomes move to an equatorial plate (metaphase plate) which is formed along the midline of the cell between the poles chromosomes are at their most condensed state now metaphase chromosomes can be stained and will show distinctive banding patterns

4. Anaphase

centromeres divide to create two chromosomes instead of a pair of attached chromatids spindle fibers shorten and the sister chromosomes are drawn to the opposite poles of the cell poles of the spindle apparatus are pushed apart as the cell elongates anaphase results in the exact division of chromosome, distributing one complete diploid complement of genetic information to each daughter cell

5. Telophase

nuclear envelopes reassemble and surround each set of daughter chromosomes nucleoli reappear inside the newly formed nuclei in animal cell, a furrow appears around the cell that eventually pinches the cell into two new cells in plants, a cell plate forms between the two daughter nuclei as the cell wall divides the cell chromosomes decondense in the daughter cells to become chromatin and the cells are once again in Interphase

What is DNA and where is it stored?

The nucleus is a membrane bound organelle that contains the genetic information in the form of chromatin, highly folded ribbon-like complexes of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and a class of proteins called histones. When a cell divides, chromatin fibers are very highly folded, and become visible in the light microscope as chromosomes. During interphase (between divisions), chromatin is more extended, a form used for expression genetic information. The DNA of chromatin is wrapped around a complex of histones making what can appear in the electron microscope as "beads on a string" or nucleosomes. Changes in folding between chromatin and the mitotic chromosomes is controlled by the packing of the nucleosome complexes. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is a large molecule structured from chains of repeating units of the sugar deoxyribose and phosphate linked to four different bases abbreviated A, T, G, and C. We will later show how the simple structure of DNA contains the information for specifying the proteins that allow life. The process of mitosis is designed to insure that exact copies of the DNA in chromosomes are passed on to daughter cells.