Microscope cell images
Animal cells
All living things are made up
of one or more cells. Cells are
the basic units of structure and
function in organisms. All cells
come from existing cells.
Cells of the same type that are
grouped together form a
tissue. A tissue is a group of
the same sort of cells, all
working together to do a job.
Electron microscope image of
an animal cell.
Mitochondria- the “powerhouse” of the cell, this structure
harvests energy from organic material. Muscles use a lot of
energy- so a muscle cell has to have numerous mitochondria.
(Mitochondria is the plural – a single one is a mitochondrion)
Mitochondria are about
the size of a bacterial
cell.
This is an electron microscope
image of a ribosome, magnified
1000’s of times.
Ribosomes –are drawn as little balls either floating in the cytoplasm or
they can be found attached to a larger structure called the rough
endoplasmic reticulum (you don’t need to remember that one!). The
job of the ribosomes is to synthesize (make) proteins.
Image of muscle cells. Muscle
cells are able to change length,
they need lots of energy to do
this.
A nerve cell (neuron) can be very long
so that signals can be carried around
the body very quickly (> 400km/h).
Sperm cells are packed full of
mitochondria.
Plant cells
Plant cells differ from animal cells by
having additional organelles.
Plant cells have chloroplasts that
converts sunlight into energy
Plant Cells have a cell wall that is a
thicker outer coating that helps
maintain the shape of the cell and
protects it from damage (this
makes our lettuce crunchy)
The cell wall is made of cellulose.
Plant cells have central vacuoles
(sacs) that contains a watery liquid
called cell sap, which aids
structure of the plant.
Bacterial cells
flagellum
Bacteria are found everywhere including our surrounding
environment and inside our bodies. Bacterium is a primeval form of
life and can be unicellular or a single celled micro-organism. Bacteria
can only been seen through a microscope as they are so tiny that they
exceed no more than a few micrometres in length. The shape of
bacteria differs and can be found in the form of a rod, sphere or
spiral. As bacteria do not have a nucleus, they possess a single circular
DNA chromosome that is located within the cytoplasm of the cell.
There is no sexual interaction and bacteria multiply by binary fission.
Depending on circumstances, bacteria may or may not cause disease. As long
as a bacterium does not over populate or colonize a specific area in the body,
it is unlikely you will suffer a disease. Studies have proven that there are more
bacterial cells than human cells in the body, with most of them situated in the
skin and digestive tract.
Fungal cells
Yeast cells are a very
common fungal cell.
They vary in size, but
are usually about 4
thousandths of a
millimeter (4 microns)
in diameter, too small
to see without a
microscope.
Yeast are one-celled
creatures that eat
starches and
sugars. Enzymes inside
the mitochondria in the
yeast cells use oxygen to
break up the food
molecules into smaller
molecules and let out
some energy for the cell
to power itself. This
process also makes
some carbon
dioxide molecules, and
the yeast cell considers
the carbon dioxide
molecules to be waste,
puts them in vacuoles,
and gets rid of them
through the cell
membrane.
Candida Albicans is a yeast that
normally lives in our intestinal
and vaginal tracts, along with
friendly or good bacteria. Yeast
helps good bacteria grow, as long
as the good bacteria is there in
sufficient numbers and has the
advantage in numbers. It’s
excessive growth creates an
imbalance in multiple systems in
the body that is called candida.
Frequent use of antibiotics is
considered the main contributor
to bad bacteria and the
weakening of the intestinal wall,
subsequently causing candida
Magnification
: x1,000