Question: is there anything smaller than cells

Paul McKeegan answered on 14 Nov 2017:

Yes, even cells are made up of even smaller things! For one thing, cells are different sizes. Bacteria cells are usually smaller than animal or plant cells, and viruses are small enough to get into bacteria cells! Cells are made up of many parts called organelles which do the different jobs of the cell. So the nucleus carries the DNA, the mitochondria release energy from food and so on. These, in turn, are made up of big molecules, like proteins and fats and small molecules, like sugars and water. The molecules are made up of atoms all joined together in chemical bonds. Even the atoms are made up of three different things known as sub-atomic particles. But even these are made up of something! Particle physicists are using the ‘large hadron collider’ in France to find smaller and smaller particles and I wonder if we will ever find the smallest thing in the universe!