Coasting Through Life

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Coasting Through Lifes Theme Park
The Wonders of Life's Basic Building Blocks

• By Maggie Pahos, Amanda Donnelly, Don Kane, and
  Andrew Nicholas

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Tour Map
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Hello everyone! Welcome to the wonderful tour of
a cell in Don's body! The cell we will be
visiting today is an animal cell. We've picked
out the eight most important parts of the cell.
Buy your tickets at the heart.Okay. Board our
RNA "sTrain" with your tickets. Hurry up!
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Before we begin the tour, we would like to inform
you about how we are getting into the cell. Our
"sTrain" is a complex code of RNA that we are
sitting in at the very moment. Our RNA is
surrounded by a protected cover of proteins. If
you folks know anything about virology, you would
know that RNA and proteins usually make up a
virus. But don't worry, our "sTrain" is specially
designed to not harm the cell. Please keep your
arms and legs in the vehicle at all times. We are
coming close to the cell! Buckle up your seat
belts!
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Right now we are being attached to the cell
membrane, also called the plasma membrane. This
part of the cell allows it to absorb and extract
molecules in and out of the cell. This is truly
the cell's outer boundary. The proteins on this
phospholipid layer are attracted to the proteins
on our "sTrain". We will soon be sucked into the
cell.
Plasma Membrane
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The cell has let us in and we are now being
transported towards the rough ER. Please do not
open your windows, it's pretty gooey out there!
All the organelles and insides of the cell are
floating in the cytosol. If you look to your
right, you can see the mitochondria hard at work!
Right now it is taking in all the fats or
"lipids" and sugars to turn them into energy for
our cell! This process is known as cellular
respiration. Those floating globs you see are
basic vesicles and vacuoles, which store
materials for our cell to use later. Now we are
approaching the rough endoplasmic reticulum and
the ribosomes are waiting for us. Let's go!
Vacuole
Mitochondria
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The ribosomes are breaking our RNA down into
protein and will put us into the rough
endoplasmic reticulum shortly. Notice the
enormous organelle not far away from us. That is
the nucleus, the ultimate control center of the
cell. It uses genetic code and DNA to produce
enzymes and proteins that allow our cell to
function. Without it, the cell would be worthless
and life wouldn't exist.
Ribosome
Nucleus
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The ribosomes have broken us down and we are
traveling through the endoplasmic reticulum, our
personal super-highway. Soon, a vesicle will be
taking us out and transporting us to the Golgi
apparatus.
3D Diagram
Real ER
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We have left the rough ER and are traveling to
the Golgi apparatus through a lysosome. Lysosomes
are complex membranous vesicles that are used to
break down proteins. Another type of complex
vesicle is the peroxisome, primarily utilized to
digest excess waste and ship it out of the cell.
Peroxisome
Lysosome
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The lysosome has taken us to the Golgi apparatus,
where we will be processed, packaged, and shipped
out of the cell. Notice the pancake stack
appearance of the organelle. This a very eminent
part of the cell as it carries out some of its
final processes. Not all proteins and enzymes
that go through the apparatus are shipped out of
the cell. Many are stored in the vacuoles for
later use. For example, it may store proteins and
enzymes that can be used to produce adrenaline
when the body needs it, when Don needs to get
excited or hyper for an athletic event!
Dons Adrenaline Rush (Thanks Golgi!)
Golgi Apparatus
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The Golgi apparatus is done with us and has
decided to ship us out of the cell to be digested
from the body. This concludes our exciting tour
on the RNA "sTrain". We hope you had a delightful
and insightful experience, but don't worry if you
missed anything. We have provided a organelle
review to improve your understanding of the
animal cell we just visited!
Click Review Doc --
Thanks for Riding with Us!
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Bibliography

• Google Image Directory. Online.
  http//www.google.com/imghp?hlentabwiieUTF-8
  oeUTF-8q. Oct. 19, 2003
• Animal Cells. Online. http//users.rcn.com/jkimb
  all.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/AnimalCells.html.
  Oct. 18, 2003
• Mader, Sylvia S. Inquiry to Life. New York
  McGraw-Hill, 2003.