Amazing Activities In Cells

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The human body works as a finely tuned machine, with 75 trillion cells, all working in synchronization.  On average, the individual cell forms 2000 proteins every second.  Each cell selects thousands of amino acids and organizes them into carefully sequenced strings before shipping them off to an appropriate site where they are needed.

If you could tour a cell you would encounter a vast number of interconnections.  Although there are many doors for entry into the cell, they are gated, and only open if they receive the correct signal.  Each cell with its own particular need for certain molecules has a membrane that allows the right ones to enter and denies entry to those that are not useful.  Some portals open by subtle changes in electrical potential across the cell wall.  Others open when a specific molecular key comes and unlocks the door, allowing a particular molecule to pass.  The cues come from within the cell.

Within the cell's flexible walls is an energy producing factory that takes glucose from the food we eat, and stores it in a power packed molecule known as ATP.  When the cells burn this fuel, no raging fire is involved, but a complex series of body temperature reactions.  The end products are disposed of through a unique membrane, what can determine which can and cannot pass.

So next time you look in the mirror, marvel at the organization and complexity hidden in the trillions of cells inside your body.