Cellular Biology

Cell biology is a branch of biology that studies cells physiological properties, their structure, the
organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division, death and
cell function. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level. Cellular Biology is also
referred to as Cytology. Cellular Biology mainly revolves around the basic and fundamental
concept that cell is the fundamental unit of life. The most important concept of Cellular Biology
is the cell theory which states mainly 3 points: a: All organisms are composed of one or more
cells, b: The cell is the basic unit of life in all living things and c: All cells are produced by the
division of preexisting cells.
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Cell and Molecular Biology is an interdisciplinary field of science that deals with the fields of
chemistry, structure and biology as it seeks to understand life and cellular processes at the
molecular level. Molecular cell Biology mainly focuses on the determination of cell fate and
differentiation, growth regulation of cell, Cell adhesion and movement, Intracellular trafficking.
The relationship of signalling to cellular growth and death, transcriptional regulation, mitosis,
cellular differentiation and organogenesis, cell adhesion, motility and chemotaxis are more
complex topics under Cellular and Molecular Biology. Molecular biology explores cells, their
characteristics, parts, and chemical processes, and pays special attention to how molecules
control a cell’s activities and growth. The molecular components make up biochemical pathways
that provide the cells with energy, facilitate processing “messages” from outside the cell itself,
generate new proteins, and replicate the cellular DNA genome. To understand the behaviour of
cells, it is important to add to the molecular level of description an understanding on the level of
systems biology.
Molecular Cell
Molecular cell is the study of how molecules interact to give rise to the properties of cells, their
ability to grow, maintain themselves and divide. Molecular Cell examines how the interaction of
macromolecules gives rise to life, i.e., to the functioning of living organisms. The integration of
molecular structure, function, and behaviour can lead to a functional living cell. The structural
dynamics of domains within macromolecules and subunits of macromolecular assemblies,
through the integration of pathways and organelles, to the interactions of a cell with its
immediate environment are elucidated. The integration generates new functional properties
through the nonlinear, dynamic and spatial nature of the interactions between biological
macromolecules. The perturbations of molecular structures and their interactions cause
malfunction and disease.
Molecular Genetics
Molecular genetics is a branch of genetics and molecular biology that deals with the structure
and function of genes at a cellular and molecular level. One of the main achievements of
molecular genetics is that now one can have the clarity about the chemical nature of the gene.
Molecular genetics is concerned with the arrangement of genes on DNA molecule, the
replication of DNA, the transcription of DNA into RNA, and the translation of RNA into
proteins. Gene amplification, separation and detection, and expression are some of the general
techniques used for molecular genetics.
Cellular DNA Studies
Cellular DNA studies works with the function of the cellular DNA and its applications such as
cell division. The morphological, molecular biology studies of the cellular DNA are analysed
indepth in Cellular DNA studies. Cells contain the body’s hereditary material, the DNA. Most
DNA is located in the cell nucleus (nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found
in the mitochondria (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). An important property of DNA is that it
can make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a template for
duplicating the sequence of bases. This is important when cells divide as each new cell needs to
have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell. Because the total length of cellular DNA
in cells is up to a hundred thousand times the cell’s length, the packing of DNA into
chromosomes is crucial to cell architecture. Histone protein helps the DNA to be packaged inside
the cell. Bacterial chromosomes usually are circular DNA molecules that replicate from a single
origin. The general structure of chromatin is remarkably similar in the cells of all eukaryotes
including fungi, plants, and animals.
Molecular Biotechnology
Molecular biotechnology is the use of laboratory techniques to study and modify nucleic acids
and proteins for applications in areas such as human and animal health, agriculture, and the
environment. Molecular biotechnology results from the convergence of many areas of research,
such as molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and cell biology.
It is an exciting field fueled by the ability to transfer genetic information between organisms with
the goal of understanding important biological processes or creating a useful product. The tools
of molecular biotechnology can be applied to develop and improve drugs, vaccines, therapies,
and diagnostic tests that will improve human and animal health. Molecular biotechnology has
applications in plant and animal agriculture, aquaculture, chemical and textile manufacturing,
forestry, and food processing.
Cell Biology Techniques
Cell biology Techniques are used to study the physiological properties of cells, their structure,
the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division, death
and cell function. Few such techniques are General Biochemical and Biophysical
Methods, Spectrophotometry, Fluorescence, Radiochemistry, Differential Precipitation of
Proteins, Chromatography, Electrophoresis, Immunoassays, Hybridization and Blotting
Techniques.
Molecular Biochemistry
A common concern for the life and composition of the cell brings biologists and chemists
together in the field of biochemistry-molecular biology. The vast and complex array of chemical
reactions occurring in living matter and the chemical composition of the cell are the primary
concerns of the biochemist. Life processes occurring at the molecular level, including the storage
and transfer of genetic information and the interactions between cells and the viruses that infect
them, are the investigatory concerns of the molecular biologist. Biochemistry and molecular
biology are sub-disciplines within the larger, more general area of biological sciences. The study
of biochemistry and molecular biology requires that students be genuinely interested and able to
perform successfully in the "quantitative" sciences and that they have acquired a solid foundation
in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics in their high school or community college
careers. The cutting-edge research programs span the broad areas of biochemistry and molecular
biology, covering both traditional and modern disciplines, including: Macromolecular structure
and function, Gene regulation and signal transduction, Enzymology and metabolism,
Bioinformatics and computational biology, Synthetic biology, Biophysics and analytical
methods.
Molecular and Cellular Proteomics
Molecular & Cellular Proteomics showcases contributions that describe the structural and
functional properties of proteins and their expression, particularly with respect to developmental
time courses. Emphasis is placed on determining how the presence or absence of proteins affect
biological responses, and how the interaction of proteins with germane cellular partners allows
them to function. Accelerating development of technology in the field of proteomics has led to
the study of protein structure and function, its expression in normal cell and a diseased cell. The
microarray technology has enabled the study of changes in mRNA. Molecular and cellular
proteomics allows knowing the post-translation modification of the proteins and the contribution
to the gene expression.
Cellular Dynamics
Cellular Dynamics studies the dynamics reaction shown by the cell during various processes. In
cellular dynamcis the reaction shown by the components of the cell during various process such
as cell differentiaion and implications on cell functions are studied in cellular dynamics. Cells
integrate information at multiple levels to rapidly adapt and respond to their enviroments, to
coordinate efforts and communicate with their neighbors in tissues and organs, and to migrate or
proliferate during development and disease. Cells employ a vast battery of proteins and protein
complexes, as well as membrane-associated proteins, to achieve these sensory mechanisms and
to transduce signals into action. Typical examples of coordination between signals and cellular
dynamics include cell crawling, shape changes and response to potential pathogens. Cytokinesis,
chemotaxis, asymmetric cell division or changes in synaptic strength depend upon spatially
localized, temporally dynamic biochemical reactions. Biological mechanisms that underpin these
cellular dynamics occur at multiple levels, from genesis of cell shape by rearranging the cortical
cytoplasm, to assembling protein complexes that choreograph membrane budding and
trafficking, to transport of small molecules and fluxes in signaling cascades.
Biomolecular Structure and Function
Biomolecular structure is complicated folded, three-dimensional shape that is formed by a
protein, DNA, or RNA molecule. The structure of these molecules is frequently decomposed into
primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure, and quaternary structure. Biomolecules
includes large macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids, as
well as small molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural
products. Biomolecular structure & function comprises of study and research related to
computational science, atomic structural biology, bioinformatics, virtual drug design, genomics
and biological networks.
Cell Cycle
The cell cycle or cell-division cycle is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to its
division and duplication (replication) that produces two daughter cells. In prokaryotes which lack
a cell nucleus, the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission. The cell cycle, most
prominently called as cell-division refers to the series of events which take place inside a cell
during the time of cell division. During cell division, a cell divides and then duplicates i.e forms
its copies. In prokaryotic cells, which lack nucleus, the cell cycle occurs by a process of binary
fission. The cell cycle consists of two stages viz. a: Mitosis and b: Meiosis. Mitosis refers to the
division of all body cells except germ cells while in meiosis the division of the germ cells takes
place. During mitosis, the chromosome number remains the same as that of the parent cell while
during meiosis, the chromosome number is reduced to half the number of the parent cell.
Methods and Techniques in Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology methods used to study the molecular basis of biological activity. Most
commonly used methods are protein methods, immunostaining methods, nucleic acid methods.
These methods used to explore cells, their characteristics, parts, and chemical processes, and
pays special attention to how molecules control a cell’s activities and growth.
Molecular Biology Techniques include DNA cloning, cut and paste DNA,
bacterial transformation , transfection, chromosome integration, cellular screening, cellular
culture, extraction of DNA, DNA polymerase DNA dependent, reading and writing DNA, DNA
sequencing, DNA synthesis, molecular hybridization, rewriting DNA: mutations, random
mutagenesis, point mutation, chromosome mutation. Most important techniques are Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR), Expression cloning, Gel electrophoresis, Macromolecule blotting and
probing, Arrays (DNA array and protein array).
 Cellular Signalling
Cellular Signalling is a mechanism by which cell interacts with environment and other cells
around them. In this process stimuli are transmitted via a Signaling cascade to effector molecules
that orchestrate the appropriate response. Receptors which are usually glycoprotein on the
plasma membrane of the cells help to detect signals. The stimuli bind to the receptor because of
the complementary shape and this integrates a chain of reaction within the cell leads to response.
Various hormones and medicated drugs are used as a Signaling molecule for the treatment of
various disorders as use of insulin through hormone mediated cell Signaling pathway to lower
the blood glucose level.
Cell synthesis
Cell synthesis involves the synthesis of various proteins and chemicals that are vital for the
development and functioning of the cell. Cell synthesis is essential for the growth and
development of the cell. Synthesis phase also known as S-phase is a part of cell cycle starts with
the replication of DNA and ends when all the chromosomes has been replicated that is each
chromosome has two sister chromatids. It occurs between G1 phase and G2 phase. This phase
results in the effectively doubled quantity of DNA and the synthesis is completed very quickly
because of the sensitivity of exposed base pairs to harmful external factors such as mutagens.
Precision and accuracy of this phase is mandatory to prevent genetic abnormalities sometimes
which lead to cell death or disease.
Cell Death: Apoptosis
The procedure of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is by and large portrayed by particular
morphological qualities and vitality subordinate biochemical components. Cell death is a vital
process of the cell to maintain the ratio of the cells such as cell movement. The cells of a
multicellular organism are members of a highly organized community. The number of cells in
this community is highly regulated and it done not only by controlling the rate of cell division,
but also by controlling the rate of cell death. If cells are no longer needed, they destroy
themselves by activating an intracellular death program. This process is called Apoptosis. The
amount of apoptosis that occurs in developing and adult animal tissues can amaze us. If one will
observe vertebrate nervous system, up to half of the nerve cells normally die soon after they are
formed. In a healthy adult human, billions of cells die in the bone marrow and intestine every
hour.
Cell Regeneration
Cell regeneration is the science in which the procedure of reestablishment, reclamation and
development that makes genomes, cells, living beings and biological systems. Cell regeneration
is a characteristic changes or occasions that cause aggravation or harm. Some parts of our bodies
can repair themselves quite well after injury, but others don’t repair at all. We certainly can’t
regrow a whole leg or arm, but some animals can regrow their body parts. Regeneration occurs
in both human and animals. In Humans regrowth of a damaged organ part from the remaining
tissue is known as regeneration. Humans are able to regenerate some organs, for example the
liver. If a part of organ is lost by disease or injury, the organ grows back to its original size.
Biggest example of regeneration in humans is our skin as it is constantly being renewed and
repaired. Regeneration also occurs in animals. There are few animals that can regenerate their
body parts. For example, flatworm or planarian can regenerate both the head from a tail piece,
and the tail from a head piece.
Stem Cell Biology
Stem cell Biology is the study of undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into
specialized cells and can divide to produce more stem cells. They are found in multicellular
organisms. In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells, embryonic stem cells, which are
isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts and adult stem cells, which are found in various
tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body,
replenishing adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all the
specialized cells ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm but also maintain the normal turnover of
regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues. Stem cells serve to renew tissue
throughout an individual’s postnatal life by replacing the cells that are lost owing to everyday
wear and tear in our bodies.
Cell Biology Junctions
A cell junction (or intercellular bridge) is a sort of structure that exists inside the tissue of some
multicellular organisms, such as animals. Cell junctions comprises of multiprotein complexes
that provide contact between neighbouring cells or between a cell and the extracellular matrix.
Cell junctions can be divided into two types: those that link cells together, also called
intercellular junctions (tight, gap, adherens, and desmosomal junctions), and those that link cells
to the extracellular matrix (focal contacts/adhesion plaques and hemidesmosomes). These
junctions play a prominent role in maintaining the integrity of tissues in multicellular organisms
and some, if not all of them, are involved in signal transduction.
Gene Expression and Regulation
Gene expression is the process by which the genetic code - the nucleotide sequence - of a gene is
used to direct protein synthesis and produce the structures of the cell. Genes that code for amino
acid sequences are called as Structural genes. The process of gene expression involves two main
stages as Transcription: the production of messenger RNA (mRNA) by the enzyme RNA
polymerase, and the processing of the resulting mRNA molecule. Translation: the use of mRNA
to direct protein synthesis, and the subsequent post-translational processing of the protein
molecule. Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription
step to post-translational modification of a protein.