TOPIC 1 : CELL BIOLOGY

Essential idea: The evolution of multicellular

organisms allowed cell specialization and cell
replacement.
 1.1. Introduction to cells
Lesson 1: Objectives
• Understand the cell theory and challenge it.
• To list out and describe the life processes.
• To study all these life processes in 2 unicellular
organisms.
• To understand the significance of surface area
to volume ratio in cells.
State 3 postulates of cell theory
 Cell Theory
1. All living organisms are made up of cells.
2. Cells are the smallest units of life.
• Organisms consisting of one cell (unicellular)
carry out all functions of life in that cell.
• No one has been able to find any living entity
that is not made of atleast one cell.
3. Cells come from pre-existing cells.
Theory of spontaneous generation
Louie Pasteur Experiment
 NOS
Looking for trends and discrepancies: although most
organisms conform to cell theory , there are
exceptions.
Trends:
surrounding membrane
own genetic material
Cells have own energy release system
Chemical reactions inside cells catalysed by enzymes
Questioning the cell theory using atypical
examples

Around 30 mm long. Other cells

0.03mm long. Cells are multinucleate.
Giant algae
Acetabularia
Length of 100 mm
But unicellular with
one nucleus.
Challenges 2 notions
of cell theory :
- Cells must be
simple in
structure
- Cells must be
small in size.
 Aseptate hypha
Aspergillus Rhizopus
 Theory of knowledge
How can we tell the difference
between the living and the non-living?
Functions of life in unicellular organisms pg 8
(oxford)
1. Nutrition:
obtaining food , to provide energy and materials
needed for growth.
2. Metabolism:
Chemical reactions inside the cell, including cell
respiration to release energy
3. Growth:
an irreversible increase in size.
4. Response:
Ability to react to changes in the environment
5. Excretion:
Getting rid of waste products of metabolism.
6. Homeostasis:
Keeping conditions inside the organism within
tolerable limits
7. Reproduction:
Producing offsprings either sexually or asexually.
Paramecium

Nutrition
Excretion
Homeostasis
Reproduction
Response ???
Nutrition?
Response?
Text book (oxford) example Chlamydomonas
Why are we made up of so many cells?
Why can’t we be made up of one single cell?
Which is an advantage to the cell?
High or low SA:V ratio?
• The rate at which materials enter or leave a cell depends on
surface area of a cell. ie. Area of cell covered by plasma
membrane.
• For metabolism to continue substances used in the reaction
must be absorbed by the cells and waste products must be
removed through the plasma membrane at the surface of
the cell.
• Rate at which materials are produced or used depends on
(proportional to) the volume of cell - Amount of cytoplasm.
• As a cell increases in size, volume increases faster than
surface area. SA:V ratio decreases.
 Questions
• Which one is more advantageous- large or a
small surface area:volume ratio?

• Give an example of a cell that is adapted to

increase its surface area.
 Importance of SA:V ratio
• SA:V ratio is very important as if the ratio is too
small then the substances will not enter the cell as
quickly as they are required and waste products will
accumulate because they are produced more rapidly
than they can be excreted.
• SA:V ratio is also important in relation to heat
production and loss. If the ratio is too small then
cells may overheat because the metabolism
produces heat faster than it is lost over the cell’s
surface.
• video
 Emergent properties
“ the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

• Multicellular organisms have properties that

emerge from the interaction of their cellular
components of a complex structure.
• Skill:
• Use of a light microscope to investigate the
structure of cells and tissues, with drawing of
cells.
• Calculation of the magnification of drawings
and the actual size of structures and
ultrastructure shown in drawings of
micrographs. (Practical 1)
 RELATIVE SIZES
CELLS 10-100 micrometres in diameter
ORGANELLES upto 10 micrometres
BACTERIA upto 1 micrometre
VIRUSES upto 100 nanometres
MEMBRANES upto 10 nanometres thick
MOLECULES nearly 1 nanometre
 Activity
In pairs:
Consider the following structures:
Put them in order of size starting with the
smallest.
 a hydrogen molecule.
 a human cheek cell.
 a cell organelle(mitochondrion).
 a virus.
 a bacterium.
 plasma membrane
 Answers
 a hydrogen molecule.
 plasma membrane
 a virus.
 a bacterium.
 a cell organelle(mitochondrion).
 a human cheek cell.
See page 10 of your text book.
 LINEAR MAGNIFICATION
Magnification- size of image
size of specimen

Use of scale bars.

1 metre = 1000mm
1mm = 1000 micrometres
1 micrometre= 1000 nanometres
• Worksheet
---------------------------------------------------------------
Differentiation
Each cell has a full
genome
• The development of cells in different ways to
carry out specific functions is called
differentiation.
• In human there are 22 different specialized
cells.
• Differentiation involves expression of some
genes and not others in a cell’s genome.
• Eg. Olfactory receptor cells.
 What are stem cells?
• The capacity of stem cells to divide and
differentiate along different pathways is
necessary in embryonic development and also
makes stem cells suitable for therapeutic uses
Stem cells
 Properties of stem cells
• Stem cells divide again and again for growth of
tissues and replacement of dead and damaged
cells.
• Stem cells are not fully differentiated/
undifferentiated. They can differentiate to
produce different cell types.
Multipotent stem cells
Extra information:
The ability to become any type of cell in the
body is called pluripotent. The difference
between totipotent and pluripotent cells is
only that totipotent cells can give rise to both
the placenta and the embryo.
 Source of stem cells
• Specially created embryo
• Umblical cord blood of a new born
• Adult’s own tissues
• Stargardt’s disease – using embryonic stem
cells
• Leukaemia – using adult stem cells
ABCA 4 GENE MUTATION CAUSES
DEGENERATION OF PHOTORECEPTIVE CELLS.
ACTIVE TRANSPORT THROUGH MEMBRANE
TRANSPORT PROTEIN OF CELLS IS AFFECTED

EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS ARE USED TO TREAT

THE DISEASE.
 LEUKAEMIA
Normal wbc – 4000-11000 per mm3 of blood
Leukaemia – above 30,000 to 100000.

Adult bone marrow stem cells are used to treat

the disease.
Ethics of therapeutic use of stem cells.
• Embryonic
• Adult
• Umblical cord
 Utilization
• The use of stem cells in the treatment of
disease is mostly at the experimental stage,
with the exception of bone marrow stem cells.
• Scientists, however, anticipate the use of stem
cell therapies as a standard method of treating
a whole range of diseases in the near future,
including heart disease and diabetes.
• The end.