IBHL Biology Review from Biology Course Companion Review Book

CHAPTER 1: CELLS
Cell Theory: o The smallest unit of life and nothing smaller can survive independently o In all living things; smallest organisms may only consist of one cell o All come from pre-existing cells, by cell division, and therefore cannot be constructed from non-living chemical substances Plant cells: o Have a cellulose wall outside their plasma membrane; cellulose is in bundles called microfibrils, which have high tensile strength o Large permanent vacuole, has a solution of mineral ions such as potassium; it is bounded by a vacuole membrane o Have a nucleus with a cytoplasm around it, which is enclosed by a plasma membrane Animal cells: o Usually only have small fluid filled sacs in their cytoplasm, call vesicles o Never contain chloroplasts, unless they have taken in algal cell that have them o Do not synthesize or store starch o Have a nucleus with a cytoplasm around it, which is enclosed by a plasma membrane Unicellular organisms: must carry out all the functions of life because it is made up of only one cell; must be able to ensure nutrition, metabolism, growth, sensitivity, homeostasis, and reproduction (sexually or asexually) o More complex than most cells of multicellular organisms Evidence for cell theory: o Huge numbers of tissue from many different organisms have been examined using microscopes and have been found to consist of cells o Experiments can be done in which cells are burst open and the various subunits are separated using a centrifuge; the subunits of cells do not survive for long by themselves o If all cells are killed, and no cells are allowed to enter, no cells develop from the non-living; division of pre-existing cells can be seen and observed where new cells are being produced Size of cells: o All done using the SI system; each unit is one thousand times smaller than the previous one in the series: meters (m); millimeters (mm); micrometers (um); nanometers (nm) o Prokaryotic cells: range of 1 10 um o Animal cells: range 10 30 um o Plant cells: range 10 100 um Magnification: o size of a specimen: how large something actually is

o size of an image: how large the specimen appears in a drawing or photograph o magnification: how much larger the image is than the actual size o magnification = (size of image) / (actual size of specimen) o must use the same metric prefixes for this equation o micrograph: a photograph of an image under the microscope Surface area to volume rations is cells: o Metabolism: large numbers of chemical reactions take place in the cytoplasm of cells o Rate of reactions (metabolic rate of the cell) is proportional to the volume of the cell o For metabolism, substances used in the reactions must be absorbed by the cell and waste products must be removed o plasma membrane: how substances move in and out of the cells through o rate at which the substances cross this membrane depends on its surface area o if ratio is too small, substances will not enter the cell as quickly as is required, and waste products will accumulate o also important in the relation to heat production and loss Graphs in biology: o Independent variable: deliberately altered; shown using the scale on the x-axis o Dependent variable: variable that is affected; shown using a scale on the y-axis Multicellular organisms and cell differentiation: o Some unicellular organisms live in a colony together o Each colony consists of a protein gel, with 500 or more identical cells attached to its surface o Although the cells are co-operating they are not fused to form a single cell mass, nor do they form a single organism o Multicellular organisms: organisms consisting of a single mass of cells fused together These cells become specialized for specific functions o Differentiation: the development of cells in different ways to perform different functions o Expressed: when a gene is being used in a cell, used to describe this gene Stem cells: o Stem cells: cells that have the capacity to self-renew by cell division and to differentiate Gradually cells in the embryo become committed to differentiating in a particular way Once committed, a cell may still be able to divide about six more times The cells will differentiate in the same way and are therefore no longer stem cells Give some human tissue considerable powers of regeneration and repair Their potential for tissue repair and for treating a variety of degenerative conditions, including Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, and strokes

Therapeutic use of stem cells: o Greatest success so far has been in bone marrow transplant o These are hematopoietic cells (HS cells) Normally found in the bone marrow and will continually divide to produce new cells that differentiate into red and white blood cells Have huge growth potential; 100 HS cells can completely replace the blood system of mice when all cells in the bone marrow have been destroyed by radiation Used in the treatment of blood disorders, including acute leukemia, immune deficiency Lymphoma treated by the following procedure: Cells are removed from the bone marrow of patient Patient is given high dose of chemotherapy to kill dividing cells; both cancer and normal cells in bone marrow are killed HS cells from bone marrow are transplanted back into patient; HS cells can fully restore healthy production of blood cells in the bone marrow Extracellular components: cells that produce components that pass through the plasma membrane and form part of the structure outside; (even though the plasma membrane is usually considered to be the barrier between the inside of the cell and the outside) o Plant cells make extracellular components o Cellulose microfibrils are assembled inside the cell and pass out through the plasma membrane to add to the thickness of the wall o The wall maintains the shape of the cell and supports the plasma membrane o When water enters the plant cell by osmosis the wall prevents the expansion of the cell contents o The pressure makes the cell almost rigid, which helps to hold the whole plant up against the force of gravity Emergent property: arise from the interaction of component parts (The whole is greater than the sun of its parts) o Shown by multicellular organisms, life is an emergent property Prokaryotic cells: first organisms to evolve on Earth; have the simplest structure (such as bacteria); found almost everywhere o Cell wall: composed of peptidoglycan protects cell holds it shape prevents cell from bursting o Plasma membrane: composed mainly of phosolipids pushed up against the inside of the cell wall partially permeable controls entry and exit of substances pumps substances in or out by active transport produces ATP by aerobic cell respiration

o Pili: Protein filaments protruding from cell wall Used for cell to cell adhesion Used when two cells are exchanging DNA during a process of conjugation o Ribosomes Small granular structures Synthesize proteins o Cytoplasm Fluid filling the space inside the plasma membrane Water with many dissolved substances Contains many enzymes and ribosomes Carries out chemical reactions of metabolism o Nucleoid Region of cytoplasm containing genetic material DNA molecule is circular and naked o Flagella: Structures protruding from the cell walls with a corkscrew shape Can be rotated to propel cell from one area to another Solid and inflexible Eukaryotic cells: more complicated internal structure than prokaryotic cells; have a nucleus and organelles in the cytoplasm with single or double membranes o Nucleus: Stores almost all the genetic material of the cell Where the DNA is replicated and transcribed, and where mRNA is modified before export to cytoplasm o Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER): Consists of flattened membrane sacs called cisternae Function is to synthesize protein for secretion from the cell passes into the cisternae and is then carried by vesicles, which bud off and are moved to the Golgi apparatus o Golgi Apparatus: Consists of flattened membrane sacs called cisternae, like rER Processes proteins brought in vesicles from the rER Most of these proteins are then carried in vesicles to the plasma membrane for secretion o Lysosomes: Spherical with single membrane Formed from Golgi vesicles Contain high concentrations of protein; contain digestive enzymes, which are used to break down ingested food in vesicles or break down organelles in the cell or whole cell o Mitochondria: Fluid inside is called the matrix Produce ATP for the cell by aerobic cell respiration Fat is digested here if it is being used as an energy source in the cell

o Free ribosomes: In the cytoplasm and are not surrounded by a membrane Synthesize protein, releasing it to work in the cytoplasm as enzymes, or in other ways Constructed in a region of the nucleus call nucleolus _______________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 2: MEMBRANES
Phospholipids: an essential component of membranes, both the plasma membrane that surrounds the cytoplasm and all the membranes inside cells o Hydrophobic: two hydrocarbon tails which are not attracted to water o Hydrophilic: a phosphate head, that is negatively charged to which water is attracted o Phospholipid bilayer: when phospholipids are mixed with water that become arranged in double layers, with heads facing outwards and tails inwards A very stable structure; the basis of the membranes of cells Bonds form between the phosphate head and the surrounding water, and the tails form hydrophobic interactions a weak type of intermolecular interaction, but collectively strong because of the huge number of tails in a membrane Membrane structure: o Not composed entirely of phospholipids, also contain proteins Integral proteins: proteins embedded in the phospholipid bilayer Peripheral proteins: proteins more loosely attached to the surface of the membrane Membranes are asymmetrical, with differences between the two faces of the membrane in terms of the proteins that are exposed Membrane proteins: the many different types of proteins in the membrane have a wide range of function o Hormone binding sites (also called hormone receptors) (insulin receptor) o Immobilized enzymes with the active site on the outside (Small intestine) o Cell adhesion to form tight junctions of cells in tissues and organs o Cell-to-cell communication (receptors for neurotransmitters at synapses) o Channels for passive transport to allow hydrophilic particles across by facilitated diffusion o Pumps for active transport which use ATP to move across the membrane Diffusion: movements of particles result in a process called diffusion, because individual particles move independently and the direction of their movements is random o More particles move randomly from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration; there is a net movement from the higher to the lower concentration o Diffusion is an effective method of moving particles a few micrometers but it is too slow over greater distances o Transport systems have to be used that involve pumping of a fluid containing the particles (such as in the blood system)

Simple diffusion across membranes: involves particles passing between phospholipids in the membrane o Can only happen if the phospholipid bilayer is permeable to particles o The center of the membrane is hydrophobic, so ions with positive or negative charges cannot easily pass through o Polar molecules can only diffuse at low rates between the phospholipids of the membrane o Small particles can pass through more easily than larger particles o Only happens if the concentration of the particle is higher on one side of the membrane than the other (called a concentration gradient) Facilitated diffusion: when channels help particles to pass through the membrane from a higher concentration to a lower concentration o Ions and other particles, which cannot diffuse between phospholipids, can pass into or out of cells if there are channels for them through a plasma membrane These channels are holes with a very narrow diameter The chemical properties of the channel ensure that only one type of particle passes through o Cells can control which types of channel are synthesized and placed in the plasma membrane and in this way they can control which substances diffuse in and out of the cell Osmosis: the net movement of particles moving in or out of the plasma membrane o Water is able to move in and out of the cell freely unlike most other solutes o Only occurs when there are substances dissolved in water solutes o Water molecules that bond to solutes cannot move freely, reducing the effective concentration of water o Regions with a higher solute concentration have a lower water concentration than regions with a lower solute concentration Tends to cause water to move from regions of lower to higher solute concentration Active transport: o Cells sometimes take in substances even when there is a higher concentration of the substance inside the cell than outside (it is absorbed against the concentration gradient) o Sometimes cells pump substances out, even though there is already a large concentration outside This is not diffusion, and energy is necessary for this to happen, which is supplied by ATP, which is supplied by every cell through the process of cell respiration o Carried out by globular proteins in membranes call protein pumps or transport proteins o The molecule or ion enters the protein pump and can reach as far as a central chamber. A conformational change to the protein takes place using energy from ATP. After this, the ion or molecule can pass to the opposite side of the membrane and the protein pump returns to its original conformation Endocytosis and exocytosis:

o Vesicle: as small sac of membrane with a droplet of fluid inside, used to move materials around inside cells Formed when a small region of a membrane is pulled from the rest of the membrane and is pinched off, which is done using ATP o Endocytosis: when vesicles form at eth inner surface of the plasma membrane of a cell, trapping fluid from outside the cell o Exocytosis: protein is synthesized by ribosomes on the rER and is stored in the cisternae of the rER. Vesicles bud off the cisternae and carry the protein to the Golgi apparatus. Here the vesicles fuse with the cisternae of the Golgi apparatus, so that the protein can be process. The protein gradually moves through the sack of the cisternae, until it is finally released in more vesicles. These move to the plasma membrane and fuse with it, releasing a protein from the cell _______________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 3: CELL DIVISION

All living organisms need to produce new cells, and can only do this by division of pre-existing cells Binary fission: cell division in prokaryotes; used for asexual reproduction o Involves the replication of the single circular chromosome o Cytokinesis: two copies of the chromosome move to opposite ends of the cell Division of the cytoplasm to form two cells quickly follows o Mitosis: division of the nucleus to form two genetically identical nuclei in eukaryotic cells Interphase and the cell cycle: o Cell cycle: ordered sequence of events that is the life of a cell; refers to the events between once cell division and the next in a eukaryotic cell o Interphase: an active period in the life of a cell when many metabolic reactions occur, including protein synthesis, DNA replication, and an increase in the number of mitochondria and/or chloroplasts Possible for a cell to remain in interphase indefinitely Consists of three phases: G1, S, and G2 G1 phase: cellular contents, apart from the chromosomes, are duplicated S phase: each of the chromosomes is duplicated G2 phase: preparation for mitosis Mitosis prophase and metaphase: o Prophase: The chromosomes become shorter and fatter by coiling, which happens repeatedly, until the nuclear membrane breaks down Microtubules: grow from the poles of the cell from a structure call the microtube organizing center (MTOC) to the chromosomes Form a spindle shape and so the MTOCs together with the microtubules are referred to as the mitotic spindle o Metaphase: Spindle microtubules attach to the centromeres

Chromosomes are moved to the equator of the cell, with a spindle microtube attached to one of the sister chromatids form one pole and another spindle microtubule attached to the opposite sister chromatid from the other pole Mitosis anaphase and telophase: o Anaphase: Pairs of sister chromatids separate and the spindle microtubules pull them towards the poles of the cell Produces two genetically identical nuclei because sister chromatids are pulled to opposite poles The centromeres of sister chromatids must be attached in metaphase to spindle microtubules from different poles o Telophase: Nuclear membranes reform around the chromatids, now called chromosomes, at each pole The chromosomes uncoil, the cell divides and the two daughter cells enter interphase again Cancer: o Ultraviolet light, carcinogens, and viruses can damage the cell cycle, causing uncontrolled cell division resulting in the formation of tumors If a tumor is malignant, cells can become detached and move to other parts of the body, where they develop into secondary tumors _______________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 4: CHEMICALS OF LIFE