Cell biology facts for kids
Cell biology is the study of how living cells work. This includes the structure and function of the cell organelles, and the carbon-based molecules which cells produce. Cell biology is an interdisciplinary subject, and uses ideas from genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, and other subjects and techniques.
The most important molecules in cell biology are DNA, RNA and proteins.
The most important structures in the cell are the nucleus and the chromosomes, but there are others. The structure of eukaryotic cells is much more complex than prokaryotic cells. This is because endosymbiosis has occurred: some or all of the eukaryote organelles are former prokaryotes. Examples are mitochondria and plastids.
The most important function of cells is to divide by mitosis or meiosis. Cells in a multicellular organism also specialise in different functions, and the different types may look quite to each other.
- Cytology is mostly about the appearance and structure of cells.
Practical job applications for a degree in Cell Molecular Biology includes the following.
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Images for kids
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A diagram of an animal cell
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Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně is best known for his 1837 discovery of Purkinje cells.
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Theodor Schwann, discoverer of the Schwann cell
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Yoshinori Ohsumi, Nobel Prize winner for work on autophagy
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See also
In Spanish: Biología celular para niños
