HSCI 100

Human
Biology
Lecture 2

The wondrous cell

1
 Our main themes
• evolution
• variation, competition, selection, adaptation
• emergent properties
• interactions and connections promote novelty
• struggle against entropy
• organization is life, equilibrium is death
• homeostasis
• respond, react and regulate
• nature and nurture
• it’s the cards you’re dealt with and what you do with ‘em

2
 What characteristics are
shared by living organisms?

1. Organized from the atom to the biosphere

2. Maintain a relatively constant internal environment (homeostasis)
3. Respond to internal and external stimuli
4. Use materials and energy from the environment
5. Reproduce offspring
6. Growth and development
7. Evolutionary history through which organisms change over time

3
 Biology
The study of the life and its interactions

Human Biology
The study of the human body, its interactions and its
attempts to achieve its biological goals with those
interactions (its context)

4
 Human Biology

The overriding biological goal is ???

5
 Evolution

Because we study the challenges that the

human body faces and the different
solutions (adaptations) adopted over
time, we are examining biological
variation and selection from generation
to generation.

This is evolution: change over time

6
 Human Biology

What is the context in which humans try to meet these

goals?

• Physical or natural environments

• Social and cultural environments

Of course, the context changes over time and space,

so the results can vary greatly

7
Some Levels of Biological
Organization
• Atoms
• Molecules
• Macromolecules
• Organelles
• Cells
• Tissues and organs (multicellular
organisms)
• Populations
• Communities
• Ecosystems
• Biome/Biosphere

8
How are living things organized?

Molecule
The chemical compounds
of cells
Cell Population
All individuals of the same
The smallest unit of life
species in an area
Tissue
A group of similar cells
that perform the same
function Community
All the species in an
Organ
ecosystem that can
A structure with two or interact
more tissues working
together to perform a
function
Ecosystem
Organ systems A community and its
At least two organs physical environment
working together to
perform a function

Individual Biosphere
A single organism The part of the earth that
supports life

9
How are living things organized?

10
11
Scales of organization

12
 Emergent Properties

 Biological organization is built upon a hierarchy of

structures

 Each level of chemical and biological organization

has emergent properties, i.e. novel properties that
cannot be predicted from the properties of the
constituent parts

13
Emergent properties:
the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ……

14
One of life’s basic characteristic is a
high degree of order and a battle
against entropy

Have we violated the 2nd law of

thermodynamics?

15
What does the cell theory tell us?

• A cell is the basic unit of life

• All living things are made up of cells
• New cells arise from preexisting cells

16
A cell is the basic unit of life

17
Components of a cell

18
 What are the two major types of
cells in all living organisms?
• Prokaryotic cells
– Thought to be the first cells to arise
– Lack a nucleus
– Represented by eubacteria and archaebacteria
(= 2 domains of life)
• Eukaryotic cells (third domain of life)
– Have a nucleus that houses DNA genome
– Many membrane-bound organelles
– We (humans) are eukaryotes 19
Q: Where did eukaryotic cells come from?
A: The endosymbiotic theory

Mitochondria and chloroplast have their own DNA!

20
 Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes

• Nucleus
• Organelles
• Separation of Transcription & Translation
• Cytoskeletal networks
• Endo and exocytosis
• 1-10um vs. 10-100um
• Generally unicellular vs. generally multicellular

21
What do eukaryotic cells look like?

22
What does the cell membrane do?

23
What are some characteristics of
the plasma membrane?
• It is a phospholipid bilayer
• It is studded with proteins
that move in 2D space –
known as the fluid mosaic
model
• It contains cholesterol for
support
• It contains carbohydrate
groups on proteins and
lipids on the outer layer
• Selectively permeable
24
The outer and inner membranes
are different!

25
 The asymmetry of the
membranes exists everywhere

outside =
26
inside =
 What does selectively permeable
mean?

• The membrane
allows some things
in, while keeping
other things out

27
How do things move across the
plasma membrane?

1. Diffusion
2. Osmosis
3. Facilitated transport
4. Active transport
5. Endocytosis and exocytosis

28
 What are diffusion and osmosis?
• Diffusion is the random
movement of molecules
from an area of higher solute
concentration to an area of H2O
lower concentration –
simply obeying 2nd law of
thermodynamics and the
increase in entropy and
achieving equilibrium

• Osmosis is the diffusion

of water molecules across
a permeable membrane 29
 What are facilitated diffusion and
active transport?
• Facilitated transport is the
transport of molecules across
the plasma membrane from
higher concentration to lower
concentration via a protein
carrier
• Active transport is the
movement of molecules from a
lower to higher concentration
using ATP as energy; also
requires a protein carrier

These transporters are very specific!

Deficiencies cause diseases: Glucose transporter → diabetes, ion channel → cystic fibrosis
Many are targets of drugs/toxins: Prozac is SSRI or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor,
digitalis blocks the ATP-based pump shown above 30
Comparing transport
Concentration difference

Your text here

Concentration difference
31
Membrane proteins transport
many types of molecules

32
 What are endocytosis and
exocytosis?
• Endocytosis transports
molecules or cells into the
cell via invagination of the
plasma membrane to
form a vesicle

• Exocytosis transports
molecules outside the cell
via fusion of a vesicle
with the plasma
membrane
33
 Membrane asymmetry is
maintained

organelle lumen

There is cytosolic (inside) layer and a non-cytosolic (exoplasmic

or outside) layer in each membrane bilayer
34
 Subcellular organization
• The inside of eukaryotic cells is organized
• There are discrete compartments are
called organelles
• Often these are separated off by a
membrane
• They are composed of assemblies of
different molecules working together to
carry out specific functions
• The organelles work together
35
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/15/science/1248069334032/the-animators-of-life.html
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/science/16animate.html?ref=science
and
http://biovisions.mcb.harvard.edu/ 36
Go to slide 53

37
 Ribosomes build a cell’s proteins

• Ribosomes = rRNA and protein

– Two major subunits; large and small

Free ribosomes – proteins goto cytoplasm or nucleus, not in or across membranes

Bound ribosomes – on ER membrane, and proteins go into or across membranes
38
 The endomembrane system

1. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) manufactures

membranes and performs many other biosynthetic
functions
2. The Golgi apparatus finishes, sorts, and ships cell
products
3. Lysosomes are digestive compartments
4. Endosomes are vesicles derived from plasma membrane
endocytosis
5. Vacuoles have diverse functions in cell maintenance
39
How does the endomembrane
system function and appear?

40
 The ER:
cell factory

• Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

= 1/2 the membranes in a
eukaryotic cell
• ERs that differ in structure and
function.
– Smooth ER  lacks
ribosomes
– Rough ER  bound
ribosomes
• Both synthesize phospholipids

41
 The smooth ER is rich in enzymes

• Synthesize lipids, phospholipids, and

steroids.
• sex hormones of vertebrates and adrenal steroids.
• Carbohydrate metabolism
– Catalyzes a key step in the mobilization of
glucose from stored glycogen in the liver.
• An enzyme removes the phosphate group from
glucose phosphate, a product of glycogen
hydrolysis, permitting glucose to exit the cell and go
to other cells via bloodstream

42
 The rough ER makes proteins

• Rough ER is especially abundant in those

cells that secrete proteins.
– As a polypeptide is synthesized by the ribosome, it is
threaded into the cisternal space through a pore
formed by a protein in the ER membrane.
– Many of these polypeptides are glycoproteins
– Packaged in transport vesicles
– Membrane bound proteins are synthesized directly into
the membrane.
– As the ER membrane expands, products
(membranes+proteins) are transferred as transport
vesicles to other components of the endomembrane
system.

43
 The ER:
other roles
• Detoxification of drugs and poisons.
– Alcohol and barbiturates.
– Frequent exposure leads to the proliferation of smooth
ER  tolerance to drugs
• Storage of calcium ions (Ca2+)
– Muscle cells are rich in enzymes that pump calcium
ions from the cytosol to the lumen of the cisternae.
– When nerve impulse stimulates a muscle cell, calcium
rushes from ER  cytosol = “contraction”.
– Then enzymes then pump the calcium back, readying
the cell for the next stimulation.
44
 The Golgi:
the warehouse
– Transport vesicles from the ER travel to the Golgi
apparatus for modification of their contents.
– cis side receives material by fusing with vesicles
– trans side (shipping) buds off vesicles that travel
to other sites.

45
 The Lysosome:
a compartment for degradation
Lysosomal enzymes
• hydrolyze proteins, fats, polysaccharides, and nucleic
acids
• Work best at pH 5 (acidic)
– Proteins in the lysosomal membrane pump hydrogen ions from
the cytosol to the lumen of the lysosomes.
• Massive leakage from lysosomes can destroy a cell by
autodigestion
• Compartmentalization to digest macromolecules safely
– Tay-Sachs disease is a disorder of incomplete lysosomal
degradation that largely affects brain function.

46
Lysosomes

47
 The Mitochondrion:
the powerhouse of the cell
• Site of ATP production via aerobic metabolism –
i.e. cellular respiration
• Probable origin; engulfed aerobic bacteria
• Double membrane system

• Mitochondria have a
smooth outer membrane
and a highly folded inner
membrane, the cristae.
– Cristae increase surface
area for enzymes that
make ATP.
• Inner membrane encloses
the mitochondrial
matrix, a fluid-filled space
with DNA, ribosomes, and
enzymes.
48
 The Nucleus:
DNA sanctuary

• Separates
• DNA/genome from
cytosol
• transcription from
translation
• Key Features
• Double membrane
• nuclear pores
• nucleolus
(rRNA+ribosomal
proteins) – where
ribosome subunits
are first put
together
• Chromosomes
49
 The cytoskeleton:
architecture and highways

• A series of protein polymers (non-covalent bonds)

– Cell shape
– Mechanical strength
– Locomotion
– Chromosome separation
– Anchorage and transport of organelles

• 3 fiber types:
– thick microtubules
– thin actin filaments
– medium-sized intermediate filaments

50
 Cytoskeleton networks

Microfilaments Microtubules Intermediate filaments

protein subunit = actin = tubulins = keratins and others
Cell shape and locomotion Mitosis Cell strength
Connect cell:cell:ecm* Organelle movement Cell:cell:ecm*
Cytokinesis Cilia, flagella Nucleus shell
Muscle movement 51
*ecm = extracellular matrix
 Cilia and Flagella

• Both are made of

microtubules

• Both are used in

movement

• Cilia are about 20x

shorter than
flagella 52
Indigenous and Endogenous –
Cell Biologists and Aboriginal Artists

53
54
55
 Living things are seemingly contradictory
combinations of order and disorder, rule and
exception, pattern and chaos, stability and change,
creation and destruction.

Fin
56