|
Artificial Cell
An artificial cell, synthetic cell or minimal cell is an engineered particle that mimics one or many functions of a biological cell. Often, artificial cells are biological or polymeric membranes which enclose biologically active materials. As such, liposomes, polymersomes, nanoparticles, microcapsules and a number of other particles can qualify as artificial cells. The terms "artificial cell" and "synthetic cell" are used in a variety of different fields and can have different meanings, as it is also reflected in the different sections of this article. Some stricter definitions are based on the assumption that the term "cell" directly relates to biological cells and that these structures therefore have to be alive (or part of a living organism) and, further, that the term "artificial" implies that these structures are artificially built from the bottom-up, i.e. from basic components. As such, in the area of synthetic biology, an artificial cell can be understood as a completely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all life, forms of life. Every cell consists of cytoplasm enclosed within a Cell membrane, membrane; many cells contain organelles, each with a specific function. The term comes from the Latin word meaning 'small room'. Most cells are only visible under a light microscope, microscope. Cells Abiogenesis, emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All cells are capable of Self-replication, replication, protein synthesis, and cell motility, motility. Cells are broadly categorized into two types: eukaryotic cells, which possess a Cell nucleus, nucleus, and prokaryotic, prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus but have a nucleoid region. Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms such as bacteria, whereas eukaryotes can be either single-celled, such as amoebae, or multicellular organism, multicellular, such as some algae, plants, animals, and fungi. Eukaryotic cells contain organelles including Mitochondrion, mitochondria, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Translation (biology)
In biology, translation is the process in living Cell (biology), cells in which proteins are produced using RNA molecules as templates. The generated protein is a sequence of amino acids. This sequence is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the RNA. The nucleotides are considered three at a time. Each such triple results in the addition of one specific amino acid to the protein being generated. The matching from nucleotide triple to amino acid is called the genetic code. The translation is performed by a large complex of functional RNA and proteins called ribosomes. The entire process is called gene expression. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA) is decoded in a ribosome, outside the nucleus, to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide. The polypeptide later protein folding, folds into an Activation energy, active protein and performs its functions in the cell. The polypeptide can also start folding during protein synthesis. The ribosome facilitates decoding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycoplasma Mycoides
''Mycoplasma mycoides'' is a bacterial species of the genus ''Mycoplasma'' in the class Mollicutes. This microorganism is a parasite that lives in ruminants. ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' comprises two subspecies, ''Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides, mycoides'' and ''Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, capri'', which infect cattle and small ruminants such as goats respectively. ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' subsp. ''mycoides'' The subspecies "''Mycoplasma mycoides'' subsp. ''mycoides'' (Mmm)", previously named "''Mycoplasma mycoides'' subsp. ''mycoides'' Small Colony (SC) type (MmmSC)", is known as the agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a contagious lung disease of cattle. It was first isolated in 1898 by Edmond Nocard et al. and the first mycoplasma to be isolated at all. Formerly, ''M. mycoides'' subsp. ''mycoides'' was known as ''Asterococcus mycoides''. The ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' cluster ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' belongs to the ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' cluster, or Mycopla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycoplasma Laboratorium
''Mycoplasma laboratorium'' or Synthia refers to a plan to produce a synthetic biology, synthetic strain of bacterium. The project to build the new bacterium has evolved since its inception. Initially the goal was to identify a minimal set of genes that are required to sustain life from the genome of ''Mycoplasma genitalium'', and rebuild these genes synthetically to create a "new" organism. ''Mycoplasma genitalium'' was originally chosen as the basis for this project because at the time it had the smallest number of genes of all organisms analyzed. Later, the focus switched to ''Mycoplasma mycoides'' and took a more trial-and-error approach. To identify the minimal genes required for life, each of the 482 genes of ''M. genitalium'' was individually deleted and the viability of the resulting mutants was tested. This resulted in the identification of a minimal set of 382 genes that theoretically should represent a minimal genome. In 2008 the full set of ''M. genitalium'' genes w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirror Life
Mirror life (also called mirror-image life) is a hypothetical form of life using mirror-reflected molecular building blocks. The possibility of mirror life was first discussed by Louis Pasteur. This alternative life form has never been discovered in nature, although certain mirror-image components of molecular machinery have been synthesized in the laboratory and, in principle, entire mirror organisms could be created. In December 2024, a broad coalition of scientists, including leading synthetic biology researchers and Nobel laureates, warned that the creation of mirror life, could cause "unprecedented and irreversible harm" to human health and ecosystems worldwide. The potential for mirror bacteria to escape immune defenses and invade natural ecosystems might lead to "pervasive lethal infections in a substantial fraction of plant and animal species, including humans." Given these risks, the scientists concluded that mirror organisms should not be created without compelling evi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Weapon
Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and Toxin#Biotoxins, biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date. Some biological agents have the ability to adversely affect health, human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergy, allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic engineering, Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNA World Hypothesis
The RNA world is a hypothetical stage in the evolutionary history of life on Earth in which self-replicating RNA molecules proliferated before the evolution of DNA and proteins. The term also refers to the hypothesis that posits the existence of this stage. Alexander Rich first proposed the concept of the RNA world in 1962, and Walter Gilbert coined the term in 1986. Among the characteristics of RNA that suggest its original prominence are that: * Like DNA, RNA can store and replicate genetic information. Although RNA is considerably more fragile than DNA, some ancient RNAs may have evolved the ability to methylate other RNAs to protect them. The concurrent formation of all four RNA building blocks further strengthens the hypothesis. * Enzymes made of RNA (ribozymes) can catalyze (start or accelerate) chemical reactions that are critical for life, so it is conceivable that in an RNA world, ribozymes might have preceded enzymes made of protein. * Many coenzymes that have funda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Active Transport
In cellular biology, active transport is the movement of molecules or ions across a cell membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration—against the concentration gradient. Active transport requires cellular energy to achieve this movement. There are two types of active transport: primary active transport that uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and secondary active transport that uses an electrochemical gradient. This process is in contrast to passive transport, which allows molecules or ions to move down their concentration gradient, from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, with energy. Active transport is essential for various physiological processes, such as nutrient uptake, hormone secretion, and nig impulse transmission. For example, the sodium-potassium pump uses ATP to pump sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell, maintaining a concentration gradient essential for cellular function. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lipid Membrane
The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes form a continuous barrier around all cells. The cell membranes of almost all organisms and many viruses are made of a lipid bilayer, as are the nuclear membrane surrounding the cell nucleus, and membranes of the membrane-bound organelles in the cell. The lipid bilayer is the barrier that keeps ions, proteins and other molecules where they are needed and prevents them from diffusing into areas where they should not be. Lipid bilayers are ideally suited to this role, even though they are only a few nanometers in width, because they are impermeable to most water-soluble ( hydrophilic) molecules. Bilayers are particularly impermeable to ions, which allows cells to regulate salt concentrations and pH by transporting ions across their membranes using proteins called ion pumps. Biological bilayers are usually composed of amphiphilic phospholipids that hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unilamellar Liposome
A unilamellar liposome is a spherical liposome, a vesicle, bounded by a single bilayer of an amphiphilic lipid or a mixture of such lipids, containing aqueous solution inside the chamber. Unilamellar liposomes are used to study biological systems and to mimic cell membranes, and are classified into three groups based on their size: small unilamellar liposomes/vesicles (SUVs) that with a size range of 20–100 nm, large unilamellar liposomes/vesicles (LUVs) with a size range of 100–1000 nm and giant unilamellar liposomes/vesicles (GUVs) with a size range of 1–200 μm. GUVs are mostly used as models for biological membranes in research work. Animal cells are 10–30 μm and plant cells are typically 10–100 μm. Even smaller cell organelles such as mitochondria are typically 1–2 μm. Therefore, a proper model should account for the size of the specimen being studied. In addition, the size of vesicles dictates their membrane curvature which is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phospholipid Bilayer
The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes form a continuous barrier around all cells. The cell membranes of almost all organisms and many viruses are made of a lipid bilayer, as are the nuclear membrane surrounding the cell nucleus, and membranes of the membrane-bound organelles in the cell. The lipid bilayer is the barrier that keeps ions, proteins and other molecules where they are needed and prevents them from diffusing into areas where they should not be. Lipid bilayers are ideally suited to this role, even though they are only a few nanometers in width, because they are impermeable to most water-soluble ( hydrophilic) molecules. Bilayers are particularly impermeable to ions, which allows cells to regulate salt concentrations and pH by transporting ions across their membranes using proteins called ion pumps. Biological bilayers are usually composed of amphiphilic phospholipids that hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
