• Question: What is a cell made of?

    Asked by Julia0206 to Eoin, Ester, Ildiko, Natasha, Paul, Tom on 14 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Paul McKeegan

      Paul McKeegan answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Mostly water! Cells have an outer membrane made of special fats, which contains the water, and everything else floats around in the water. Fat doesn’t mix with water – you can see this when cooking with oil, the fat floats on top of the sauce! This fact is really useful and means that cells can have organelles, which contain proteins and other molecules kept in one place by little fat membranes. The organelles can then have specific jobs within the cell.

    • Photo: Eoin McKinney

      Eoin McKinney answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      Nucleus in the middle that contains the DNA and controls everything (the brains of the cell), a membrane around the edges, stuffed full of proteins that act as gatekeepers, controlling what gets in and out. The membrane also contains proteins that let other cells recognise it as ‘self’ and tell them not to attack. Most of the cell is a sort of watery soup called cytoplasm which contains all the chemicals and salts the cell needs to survive as well as building blocks for proteins called amino acids. The cytoplasm also contains other cell structures that keep it alive – the mitochondria are basically like power stations, producing all the energy, ribosomes are like protein factories turning messages from the nucleus into protein. Cells come in different shapes and sizes, usually to help them carry out their specific function. Some produce loads of proteins and so have lots of ribosomes and protein machinery, others have very little cytoplasm indeed. Some – like neurons – are very long and thin to help them carry messages (like nerve impulses) around the body. The longest neuron in your body stretches from the top of your head to your big toe!!

    • Photo: Natasha Myhill

      Natasha Myhill answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      Cells are made up of a number of different protein and lipid components. The cell membrane surrounds the cell and keeps everything inside. Then inside there are a number of components that give the cell their function. All the cell’s genetic material is stored as DNA in the nucleus. Then there are other components, called organelles, that help to package signals and send them to different parts of the cell or beyond! Some of these have funny names including Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The mitochondria are really important as they are responsible for making energy for the cell to use.

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