The structure of the cell

CELL FLUID

Inside the cell membrane is a cell fluid. In the cell fluid are the organelles, many dissolved substances
and a kind of skeleton of proteins. The proteins give the cell its shape and ability to move. The proteins
also transport various substances inside the cell.

MITOCHONDRIA

Energy is needed for all the tasks of the cell. Just as we extract energy in our power plants, the cell
extracts energy in the mitochondria. In the mitochondria, carbohydrates and fats are burned with the
help of oxygen that we inhale. It is this combustion that is called cellular respiration.

LYSOSOMES

The lysosomes are the cell's cleaning patrols. They contain enzymes and acids that break down waste
substances and damaged cell parts. Of the case, it is transported to the cell membrane and tipped out
into the blood for further transport to the liver, lungs and kidneys.

CELL NUCLEUS

All organisms, except bacteria and archaea, have a cell nucleus. In the cell nucleus are the
chromosomes with the genes. The genes in your cells control most everything, from the tasks of your
organs to your hair colour. You have inherited the genes from your parents, who have inherited their
genes from their parents, etc.

CELL MEMBRANE

The cell membrane, the ring wall, surrounds the entire cell. It consists of fats and proteins. The main
tasks of the cell membrane are to communicate with the outside world and to transport substances in
and out of the cell. There are also special markers on the cell membrane that tell your immune system
that the cell is yours and that it is healthy. On the outside of some cells there are cilia, for example in
the trachea.

Chromosome, DNA and gene

In the cell nucleus there are a number of molecules, which are called chromosomes. Human cells have
46 chromosomes in the cell nucleus. Horses have 64, common potatoes have 48 and ferns have
approximately 1,200 chromosomes in each cell. The chromosomes were already discovered in the 19th
century, when stained cell nuclei were studied under a microscope. Then they got the name
chromosome, which means colored body. But it took almost 100 years before it was understood that
chromosomes are carriers of the genes - the inheritance. The chromosomes are actually long DNA
molecules. Human chromosomes can be several centimeters long and have a combined length of
approximately 2 meters, in each cell! DNA is an abbreviation of the molecule's English name - Deoxyribo
- Nucleic Acid. All known organisms have chromosomes made of DNA molecules. Bacteria, archaea,
plants, fungi, animals and several viruses all have DNA molecules as carriers of the genes. Human
chromosomes have approximately 21,000 genes. A gene is a blueprint for a protein, to be produced in
the cell. The genes thus function as an instruction book for the cell's life. It is the genes that give us our
characteristics, but not all genes are used in all cells. A muscle cell, for example, uses less than a third of
the cell's genes.