BLOCK 1 Flashcards
(238 cards)
prokaryotes
bacteria and archaea; lack a nucleus and internal membranes
eurkaryotes
multicellular animals; plants and fungi, unicellular protists; has nucleus and extensive internal membrane system
cell theory
- all living things are made of one or more cells
- the cell is the structural and functional unit of all living things
- all cells come from pre-existing cells by division
modern cell theory
- cells contain hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell during cell division
- all cells are basically the same in chemical composition
- all energy flow (metabolism and biochemistry) of life occurs within cells
the central dogma
activation
transcription
processing
translation
proteome
read gene sequences to predict the complement of proteins
differential gene expression
determines which genes are expressed and at what levels
transcription factors
proteins that interact with specific DNA regulatory sequences associated with genes to modulate transcription by recruiting RNA polymerases
transcriptome
genes being transcribed
epigenetics
heritable changes in the genetic potential of a cell without changes to the underlying DNA sequence
chromatin modifications
epigenetic changes that regulate the access to regulatory sequences and thus regulate transcription (methylating cytosines prevents accessibility to gene)
noncoding RNAs
regulate/ control mRNAs
microRNAs (miRNAs)
nonprotein coding; folded and cleaved into siRNAs
long non-coding RNAs
processed into siRNAs
small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)
destroys and inhibits complementary mRNAs by RNAi
RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)
inhibits or destroys targeted RNA
primary cells
non-cancerous, non-transformed
some divide, some already differentiated
can be isolated or cultured
challenge of primary cells
not alive forever
transformed cells
cancerous cells
can be grown in culture; some model basic cell functions, others retain specialized functions
stem cells
can be isolated or induced
embryonic stem cells that have self-renew capacity, not differentiated but capacity to do so is there
light microscopy
limited in contrast, magnification, resolving power
why is contrast poor in light microscopy?
cells are transparent so they don’t absorb light and therefore contrast is poor
techniques for enhancing contrast in light microscopy
modulate phase of light using optical tools
modulate contrast of specimen
enhancing contrast: modulating phase of light using optical tools
phase contrast (strict contrast) differential interference contrast (DIC) --> 3D looking