MCB 3020C Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Cytoskeleton, Microvillus, Nucleoid
Document Summary
Cell biology arose from contributions in the fields of cytology, biochemistry, and genetics: cytology (morphology, focus on cellular structure and optical techniques, biochemistry, focus on cellular structure and function, genetics, focus on information flow and heredity. The discovery of cells followed from the invention of the microscope. Tenets of cell theory: all organisms consist of one or more cells, the cell is the basic unit of life, cells arise by division from preexisting cells. Cells are governed by the laws of chemistry & physics. Cells acquire and utilize energy: photosynthesis provides fuel for most organisms, animals derive energy from the products of photosynthesis, mainly in the form of glucose (glucose -> atp) Cells carry out a variety of chemical reactions: enzymes serve as biological catalysts. The characteristics of organisms are passed down from generation to generation. Inheritance of genes contained within chromosomes: each gene is a specific dna sequence, directs the synthesis of one protein.