Trimester 1

What I have learned:
I learned alot about mitosis and meiosis. I had no idea that cells went through that much. Mitosis consistes of four main stages. Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase/cytokenesis. Mitosis describes the process in which the cell must duplicate and divide its cells in order to repair and replace other cells. While meiosis is the process for sex cells. At the end of the process they form 4 cells, a tetrad. Meiosis basically goes through PMAT twice, in order to form 23 chromosomes.

What I have found difficult:
I have a hard time remembering the shapes of different organisms within cells and that makes it really hard for me to label stuff. I can remember some things based on their color, like chloroplaste is green, but I cannot remember shapes.

How is structure related to function?
Cells are all very similar, therefore the shape of a cell can make all the difference. Cells go through various stages in order to obtain the shape that they do. Sometimes when a cell does not form properly they are like mutated cells and can be very dangerous for the organism. Cancer is spread due to a cell that did not form correctly, therefore the structure of a cell is essential to the proper and intended function.

Reflection Chapter 6.2-6.3

• This is what I learned about, the motion of substances in the membrane. Movement in a cell does not simply consist of floating around. But instead, different substances are allowed in certain places that others may not be. Diffusion describes when substances are allowed to travel all over. While a selectively permeable membrane stops some particles from going in the direction they intended. The term passive transport describes Diffusion across a membrane, which pretty much means the particles freely float around the membrane as they wait to possibly enter without any expended energy.
• What i found difficult about what i have studied is, the concept of osmosis. I don't understand the difference between osmosis and isotonic. I know isotonic describes the equilibrium of a solvent and solute but does that mean that osmosis is only describing what it takes for the solution to become equilibrium?
• How is structure related to function?

The structure of a membrane dictates its function. Many membrane have the same content, its the way that they organize themselves that makes them have different functions. If the structure of a membrane does not turn out correctly its function will not work. For example, if a hydrophobic tail ended up facing the outside, the function may be mute because it does not like water. When the structure of a membrane is deformed or cut apart we call it denatured and is considered dead.

Jello And Its Gross Contents
-Gelatin (processed collagen)
-Collagen

• structural protein in animals' connective tissue, skin, and bones
• makes up 1/3 protein in human body
• composed of glycin, proline, and hydroxyproline
• three polypeptide chains
• held together by hydrogen bonding

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8120jello.html

I'm not entirely sure what i'm supposed to be blogging.....