Lecture  1:  Cell  Biology  

 Professor  

Rodrigo Torres
Escuela de Química-UIS
Oficina 233- Edificio “Camilo Torres”
rtorres@uis.edu.co

http://sites.google.com/site/
rodrigotorressaez
 Required  Textbooks  

•  Essen4al  Cell  Biology,  3rd  edi4on,  by  Alberts  et  al.    

•  Molecular  and  Cell  Biology,  Lodish    

Policies  

Turn off Cell Phones all the time during the class!!
All exams can be carried out with notes or books!!
What  is  cell  Biology?  
 What  is  cell  Biology?  

Divisions  in  the  biological  sciences  

are  based  on  degrees  of  
“complexity”  
Biochemistry  &  Biophysics:  study  of  
the  structures  and  behaviors  of  
molecules  
Microbiology:  study  of  prokaryo4c  cells  
and  viruses  
Cell  Biology:  study  of  the  structure  
and  func4on  of  eukaryo4c  cells  
 Developmental  Biology:  study  of  how  
communi4es  of  cells  form  4ssues,  organs,  
and  build  an  organism  
 Anatomy  &  Physiology:  study  of  the  
structures  and  func4ons  of  4ssues  and  
organs  
Zoology  &  Plant  Biology:  study  of  the  
organisms  
Ecology:  study  of  how  organisms  interact  with  each  
other  and  with  their  environments  
Levels  of  Biological  Complexity  

1.  Biochemistry  &  

Biophysics  
2.  Microbiology  
3.  Cell  Biology  
4.  Developmental  Biology  
5.  Anatomy  &  Physiology  
6.  Zoology  &  Plant  Biology  
7.  Ecology  
Understanding  cell  biology  is  important  to  
understand  the  basis  for  disease  
•  Hypercholesterolemia  (defec4ve  uptake  of  lipoproteins)  
•  Cys4c  fibrosis  (misfolding  of  key  protein)  
•  Hypertension  (defec4ve  cell-­‐cell  adhesion  in  the  kidney)  
•  Congenital  heart  defects  (errors  in  cell  migra4on  during  development)  
•  Muscular  dystrophy  (defec4ve  aYachment  of  the  plasma  membrane  to  the  
cytoskeleton)  
•  Lysosomal  storage  disease  (defec4ve  intracellular  transport  of  enzymes)  
•  Food-­‐borne  illness  (Salmonella,  E.  coli)  
•  Cancer  (errors  in  cell  division,  migra4on,  cell  polarity,  growth,  etc)  
•  Ageing  
•  All  disease  states  are  caused  at  the  cellular  level  
Understanding  cell  biology  is  important  to  
make  informed  decisions  on  social  issues  

•  Gene4c  engineering  of  foods  

•  Biotechnology  
•  Organ  growth  in  culture  
•  Stem  cell  research  
•  Forensic  sciences  
•  Archaeology  
•  Others