What is a cell?
Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. The human body is composed of trillions of cells. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy, and carry out specialized functions. Cells also contain the body's hereditary material and can make copies of themselves.
Cells have many parts, each with a different function. Some of these parts, called organelles, are specialized structures that perform certain tasks within the cell. Human cells contain the following major parts, listed in alphabetical order:
Cytoplasm (illustration on page 6)
Within cells, the cytoplasm is made up of a jelly-like fluid (called the cytosol) and other structures that surround the nucleus.
Cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton is a network of long fibers that make up the cell's structural framework. The cytoskeleton has several critical functions, including determining cell shape, participating in cell division, and allowing cells to move. It also provides a track-like system that directs the movement of organelles and other substances within cells.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (illustration on page 6)
This organelle helps process molecules created by the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum also transports these molecules to their specific destinations either inside or outside the cell.
Golgi apparatus (illustration on page 7)
The Golgi apparatus packages molecules processed by the endoplasmic reticulum to be transported out of the cell.
Lysosomes and peroxisomes (illustration on page 7)
These organelles are the recycling center of the cell. They digest foreign bacteria that invade the cell, rid the cell of toxic substances, and recycle worn-out cell components.
Mitochondria (illustration on page 7)
Mitochondria are complex organelles that convert energy from food into a form that the cell can use. They have their own genetic material, separate from the DNA in the nucleus, and can make copies of themselves.
Nucleus (illustration on page 8)
The nucleus serves as the cell's command center, sending directions to the cell to grow, mature, divide, or die. It also houses DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the cell's hereditary material. The nucleus is surrounded by a membrane called the nuclear envelope, which protects the DNA and separates the nucleus from the rest of the cell.
Plasma membrane (illustration on page 8)
The plasma membrane is the outer lining of the cell. It separates the cell from its environment and allows materials to enter and leave the cell.
Ribosomes (illustration on page 8)
Ribosomes are organelles that process the cell's genetic instructions to create proteins. These organelles can float freely in the cytoplasm or be connected to the endoplasmic reticulum (see above).
For more information about cells:
The NCBI Science Primer offers additional information about the structure and function of cells in the chapter titled What is a cell? (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ About/primer/genetics_cell.html). Scroll down to the heading "Cell Structures: The Basics."
The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah offers an interactive introduction to cells (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/) and their many functions.
Additional information about the cytoskeleton, including an illustration, is available from the Cytoplasm Tutorial (http://www.biology.arizona.edu/Cell_bio/tutorials/ cytoskeleton/page1.html). This resource is part of The Biology Project at the University of Arizona.
Illustrations
The cytoplasm surrounds the cell's nucleus and organelles.
The endoplasmic reticulum is involved in molecule processing and transport.
The Golgi apparatus is involved in packaging molecules for export from the cell.
Lysosomes and peroxisomes destroy toxic substances and recycle worn-out cell parts.
Mitochondria provide the cell's energy.
The nucleus contains most of the cell's genetic material.
The plasma membrane is the outer covering around the cell.
Ribosomes use the cell's genetic instructions to make proteins.
What is DNA?
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people. The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences.
DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Together, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are arranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is somewhat like a ladder, with the base pairs forming the ladder's rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces of the ladder.
An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell.
DNA is a double helix formed by base pairs attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone.
For more information about DNA:
The National Human Genome Research Institute fact sheet Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) (http://www.genome.gov/25520880) provides an introduction to this molecule.
For additional information about the structure of DNA, please refer to the chapter called What Is A Genome? (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/About/primer/genetics_ genome.html) in the NCBI Science Primer. Scroll down to the heading "The Physical Structure of the Human Genome."
The New Genetics, a publication of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, discusses the structure of DNA and how it was discovered (http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/thenewgenetics/chapter1.html#c1).