Unit · year 1

BU-101 · Cell Biology

Threads structure · systems26 lectures7 concepts

The cell as the fundamental unit of life: its architecture, membranes and division.

PREREQUISITES

None — this unit is the entry point to the canon.

Lectures

L01	What Makes Something Alive —
L02	The Discovery of the Cell Cell theory
L03	Cell Theory Cell theory
L04	Microscopy: Light, Electron, and Beyond Cell theory
L05	Scale in Biology: From Atom to Organism —
L06	Prokaryotic Cell Architecture Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
L07	Eukaryotic Cell Architecture Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
L08	Comparing Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
L09	The Nucleus and Genetic Control Organelles and the structure-function principle
L10	Mitochondria and Chloroplasts Organelles and the structure-function principle, The endosymbiotic theory
L11	The Endomembrane System Organelles and the structure-function principle
L12	Ribosomes and Protein Export Organelles and the structure-function principle
L13	Lysosomes, Vacuoles, and Degradation Organelles and the structure-function principle
L14	The Cytoskeleton Organelles and the structure-function principle
L15	Structure Serves Function: The Organising Principle Organelles and the structure-function principle
L16	Membrane Composition The fluid mosaic membrane
L17	The Fluid Mosaic Model The fluid mosaic membrane
L18	Membrane Proteins and Their Roles The fluid mosaic membrane
L19	Cell Walls, Junctions, and the Extracellular Matrix —
L20	The Cell Cycle: Phases and Control The cell cycle and mitosis
L21	Mitosis Stage by Stage The cell cycle and mitosis
L22	Cytokinesis and Cell Division in Plants and Animals The cell cycle and mitosis
L23	Meiosis and the Halving of Chromosome Number The cell cycle and mitosis
L24	The Origin of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts The endosymbiotic theory
L25	Evidence for Endosymbiosis The endosymbiotic theory
L26	Synthesis: The Cell as the Unit of Life Cell theory, Organelles and the structure-function principle

Concepts in this unit

T-001

Cell theory

All living things are made of cells, and cells arise only from pre-existing cells.

T-002

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Two fundamentally different cellular architectures.

T-003

Organelles and the structure-function principle

Each organelle's form is matched to its role.

T-004

The fluid mosaic membrane

A dynamic lipid bilayer studded with mobile proteins.

T-005

The cell cycle and mitosis

How a cell duplicates and divides its contents faithfully.

T-006

The endosymbiotic theory

Mitochondria and chloroplasts descend from engulfed bacteria.

T-174

The Lineweaver-Burk linearisation

Plotting 1/v against 1/[S] turns the Michaelis-Menten hyperbola into an exact straight line, at the price of an error structure that demands weighting by v^4.