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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

globules, cemetery chambers, and noxious seaweed, what is a cell?

Biologist Henri Milne-Edwards and his contemporaries in the 1800s referred to cells as globules.  Many rejected the term “cell” that Robert Hooke used to describe the dead dried plant cells he looked at under the microscope.  He was considered a botanist when he made this declaration, and therefore most likely the animal cell biologists were not sold on the term "cell" being used to describe animal tissues. A cell was a room and the term was used to describe the small above ground cemetery crypts at that time…..so it was not necessarily a term of endearment.  It also implied that  cells were empty, and many early biologists believed they were filled with some kind of “protoplasm.”
After  the term cell became widely accepted many biologists claimed, based on their observations, that all creatures were made of these small compartments called cells.  Additional cell theories implied that cells were derived from cells and their arrangement determined in part the morphology of living things.  Is this true? Is every living creature with the exception of viruses and prions made  of cells?  Maybe not.  There is an asexually reproducing seaweed called Caulerpa taxifolia. It grows so well that it crowds out all other aquatic plants on the ocean floor.  However it appears to be a giant multinucleate single cell. ( so much for my idea that unicellular life does not exist).  What is bizarre is that this single celled creature can form stem-like, root-like and leave-like shapes as a single cell.
In class we will try to define what a cell is, but here is my question for the blog.  From a teleological  perspective, what is the advantage of multicellularity, what is the advantage of making most every macro-creature out of really really small cells?

40 comments:

  1. One advantage to having many cells in an organism is specialization. With many cells come many types of cells that are oriented around one main job, which makes it able to complete the job more effectively. In most organisms, not having different types of cells would be disastrous, as it would be unlikely to find a single type of cell that could accomplish all of the necessary processes to keep a large organism alive. Another advantage is being able to effectively heal wounds and replace old or dead cells, instead of having one massive cell rupture when it is injured and die.

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  2. The main advantage I see for making a creature out of many very small cells is that if one cell or even a bunch of cells die, the whole creature can still survive. For example, if you get a cut, a bunch of cells are destroyed. However, other cells are able to fix the problem by forming a clot so that the whole organism does not die.
    Also, if an organism is composed of a single cell, it can only get so big. An organism’s surface area dictates how much it can take in. An organism’s volume dictates how much it needs to take in. Therefore, if its volume exceeds its surface area it will die. If on the other hand, an organism is multicellular, it is able to grow and make complex systems like organs and tissues. An unicellular organism cannot have organs or tissues.
    Smaller cells are also more efficient in energy usage than larger cells. This is because smaller cells have larger surface area to volume ratios. Therefore, if an organism is made up of a bunch of really small cells, it will be more energy efficient overall than an organism made up of larger cells.

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  3. I remember last semester when Dr. Englin was talking about how small cells were and why. One of his reasons was the surface to volume ratio. The needs of the cell are dependent on this ratio, because it is through the surface of the cell that nutrients are taken in and waste products are excreted. The smaller the cell, the larger the surface to volume ratio, the better it is for the cell. Then, when you put all of these teeny tiny cells together, you can get something as large as a whale or elephant, or something as intelligent as humans, not to mention keeping cells single and invisible to the naked eye. Only God could think of such things as these!

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  4. Multicellular life allows for more efficiency than what unicellular life gives. It also allows for more complex organisms. Take a human for example. If we were made up entirely of one cell, we would not be able to function. We are made up of cells, then tissue, then organs. This seaweed has none of this complexity. It cannot be broken down into smaller parts and, seemingly, functions only in reproducing.
    And Elizabeth latched on to a very good point. If one cell dies, that does not mean the entire organism dies with it. In humans, an entire arm could be cut off but we would still be able to survive. I doubt this seaweed would be able to sustain such an injury. If one part of it dies, more than likely the rest of the organism is likely to follow.

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  5. I feel like there would be more reasons than specialization and the multicellular positive of one cell dying, the creature as a whole would still live...but I can't seem to figure it out..is it possible that they are able to adapt to their environment easier due to the fact that their specialized work is equally distributed?
    I do feel that the volume to ratio thoughts that Elizabeth was talking about make sense though. An organism would save energy in order to function a normal lifestyle if it had smaller cells.

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  6. Having an organism composed of many cells is a great survival "technique" more cells means that if one cells dies or is hindered in it's ability to complete it's role the tissue wont die and stop functioning. Specialization is another importance of having multiple cells a neuron and a muscle cell although similar in some aspects "cell anatomy?" they are different in their roles that they play. Although the seaweed seemed to show that part of the cell where specialized I wonder if it could specialize to the degree of say a mammal or even a fish.

    Infection is also a great reason for an organism being made up of many cells. If for example and organism was made of only three cells and one of them happens to get infected by a virus first it would lose a third of its ability to survive and then the other two cells would be quickly infected and killed but with more cells there is a higher chance that the viral infection will not infect every cell in the body Beaufort the immune system reacts.

    -David Jaimes

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  7. The Caulerpa taxifolia seems to flourish even though unicellular organisms face disadvantages; it even has a form of specializatiion of its parts and its competitive nature makes it hard to injure or kill. Perhaps if it did not have plant-like characteristics it would die. This is amazing because not only does its existence and survival seem unlikely, it thrives while most other multicellular organisms would quickly perish if they were unicellular. An advantage of multicellular life forms consisting of small cells is that they can survive longer (repair and replacement, as Eric said), like how humans have completely new cells every seven or so years. If we were one cell, we probably would not only survive more than a month.

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  9. The advantage of multicellularity is the organisms have greater chances to survive during harsh condition through various way of detecting food and defensing for themselves, and do not have to rely on the mutualistic relationships to exchange nutrients.

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  10. Two of the advantages of making a large creature out of small cells are: A cell’s large surface area to volume ratio. This ratio enables individual cells to acquire more nutrients (surface area) for their own demand (volume). Also, Cell’s with specialized functions can provide maximum benefit to other cells. An example of this is how humans have specialized tasks. In the work place you may have bosses, secretaries, janitors, ect… In the body of Christ you have specialization of labor that is determined by God given spiritual gifts. Even the Trinity shows specialization of tasks. When God designed the cell, he mirrored many of these concepts into his creation.

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  12. I think that God designed multicellularity because, with the exception of the Caulerpa taxifolia, it creates diversity in the type of cells. Within an organism, if it was made up of one stratified epithelial cell the organism would not be able to function because as humans we have multiple cells within even one type and we have different types that perform many different functions. Multicellularity is the only way that an organism could have these functions. God may have also created it that way so that if one of the cells is damaged, the others can surround and repair it. I agree with everyone that surface area to volume ratio is the reason that God would create macro-organisms from really small cells so that they will have enough surface area to take in enough nutrients and let out their waste in proportion to their volume. By design all cells seem to thrive and prefer to be multi-cellular even if they are single cells, so in my opinion it would have to be that cells need to carry out different tasks and so you need multicellularity to carry out those tasks because one cell cannot do that on its own.

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  13. I definitely agree with what Gage said in class this afternoon about "host protection." When something goes wrong with one cell, it only affects that cell. Also, surrounding cells can react to it as well.

    I personally believe that having those different cells in our body provides for diversity and complexity in their functions (just as we discussed in class). Also, when we know that our bodies are held together but something as small as a cell, we are humbled to know that our lives really are just vapors and be thankful for the Lord's sustenance every single nanosecond of our lives. :)

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  14. from a teleological perspective, I would say that the advantage of multicelluarity is that these multicellular organisms can group together for a common cause/task/function. I think that if all organisms were unicellular, the human race, and really all living organisms would have a shorter life span and eventually die off, becoming extinct. Only because by being a multicellular organisms, when something bad happens, (like what Liz was saying), a cut for example isn't a big deal because our bodies cells repair themselves and attack the problem and fix it. However if all organisms were unicellular we couldn't in a sense 'repair ourselves' so we wouldn't live as long, and so we would slowly die off and become extinct like I stated above.

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  15. Many organisms were designed multi-cellularly because they need the protection that being made of many small cells provides. If a few cells are damaged, the entire organism does not die but uses other cells to repair itself. I agree with all the others who mentioned the the surface area to volume ratio. If God had not designed multi-cellular organisms with many tiny cells, those organisms would not be able to take in the nutrients that they needed nor get rid of the waste they created.

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  16. I agree with what everyone is saying about diversity and protection of the organisms, but I think there is also a benefit to the ecosystem. Unicellularity isn't working out so well for the ocean floor clogged with Caulerpa taxifolia. If all organisms were designed this way, the earth would quickly die because it can't support all that life. God knew that and designed us with multiple cells. I also think it's an illustration of the church. Every person is a cell in the Body of Christ, and has his or her own function. We all help each other and support each other. That might be far out(and a little creepy), but every time I read 1 Corinthians 12 that's what I think of. Maybe it's just my nerdyness. :)

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  17. i agree with some of the students who say that from a teleological perspective,the advantage of multicellularity is that it can serve many different functions or purposes. Not only can these cells serve different functions but these cells have the capability of living longer because it has a large number of smaller cells, just in case some cells might die.
    so the advantage of making almost every macro-creature out of many really small cells, is that as this creature grows more cells develop therefore growing to then serve different functions in the creature. It also goes back to the survival of the creature, with having so many cells, if some die it does not harm the creature.

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  18. As discussed in class today, the advantages to multicellularity include specialization, protection (against such things as genetic mutations and physical damage), structural diversity, and modularity. I also believe that God, in His perfect wisdom, knew that the complexity of cells would show His glory and creativity (Romans 1:20, Job 38-41) in a way that only cells could do. Personally, I never cease to marvel at the power of God every single time I open my bio textbooks. The unfathomable complexity of the cell is a shining testimony to the incredible power of our God who made them.

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  19. I agree with Bethany, the purpose behind multi-cellular life must be more than survival because the Caulerpa taxifolia survives and flourishes too well. I would lean more toward the diversity in functions and the surface to volume ratio arguments. On a biblical level I think that God created multi-cellular organisms for the diversity we have in different organisms....of course He could have made life diverse with unicellular if He wanted but that's a whole other discussion.

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  20. My understanding of the benefits of multi-cellularity is mainly for the surface area to volume ratio. The cell carries on many processes and has many needs to import and export products. The cell membrane is a vital aspect of the cell and needs to be in proper proportions to the area of the cell to carry out its functions. The size of the cell is the perfect surface to volume ratio and allows the cell to operate at maximum capacity. Another aspect I think multi-cellular life contributes is the speed of reactions. At the cellular level things are much smaller and it takes far less time to carry out specific processes than at our size. Down at that level there is a different time aspect and it allows the cells to react faster to what the organism is experiencing. Many hormones, proteins, and a variety of other molecules are being created in cells in response to the organisms actions and it needs to do this at a rapid pace to keep the organism alive.

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  21. Multicellurity has the purpose of repairing the interval for survival of the cell. It helps with the division of labor for the cell, and the level property.
    The more cells a creature has, the more that macrocreature can accomplish. In the sense of healing itself faster, or protecting itself. Maintaing homeostasis..etc. The more cells it has the more work it can get done in protecting the cell.

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  22. cashburn, what do you mean by "level property"?

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  23. some advantages include: specialization ( each cell has a specific job to do, thus it will be able to put all effort into that job without having to do different jobs thus becoming more productive), also it can be protective of the macro-creature ( damage is localized, and problems that effect one cell can be recognized and taken care of before it "infects" or damages other cells such as viruses), also because of the specialization of cells the macro-creature can be more complex and all together more productive.

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  24. Well I'm going to be my special self and compare this to the body of Christ. (Because that's what it reminded me of...multicellularity at least). So anyways, my thoughts went from "we have different types of cells, like blood cells that work in our body" to "hey, just like how there are many types of spiritually gifted people in the church!" (yes I know I'm weird.) In other words my brain went from an organism and its cells to the body of Christ...Anyways, I suppose it goes under the category of specialization. When you asked about macro creatures it just brought me to the thought of why God uses our insignificant selves to further His kingdom!! lol yup...doesn't always make sense to me, but I think it just proves that God can use anything for His glory! :) -Sarah Gonzales

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  25. Multicullularity can form tissues that are specialized in certain tasks, so the tissue only needs to concentrate on performing one job. And many of the same tissues can form more complex organs which cannot be done by unicell.

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  26. Multicellularity does allow for specialization but I think most importantly it's good for defense. If one cell mutates, others will either kill it and prevent further damage or if some cells become infected or poisoned it can be contained and handled without the problem racing throughout the entire organism (usually- granted there are obviously some that can't be contained and can kill quickly).
    The small size of a macro-organisms cells allow cells to function at the most economic surface area to volume ratio. Materials can move through very quicklky thanks to this.

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  27. Muliticelluar organism are far more benitfical to an organism due to the fact that multicelluar organism have some 6million cells in them so that whem some of the cells die it dies not affect the function of the whole organism but it's is easily repaired due to the fact hat there are so many cells they can easily repair the damage. On the other hand infringer organisms can't repair in an efficient manner as the multicelluar organism can. It cant be as protected as a organism with 6million guards at it command.

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  28. According to an article from Evansville University, these are the benefits of multicellularity:
    "Increased size: Diffusion of nutrients into the body limits how large a unicellular
    organism can be. It is easier to get nutrients into, and waste products out of, a large body made of many
    small cells. If increased size is favored (bigger predators can eat a larger range of food; bigger prey can be eaten by fewer organisms), multicellularity may be favored as well.

    Division of labor: When different cells and tissues within the body are specialized for
    particular functions, they can do those functions more efficiently than a single cell that has to simultaneously do all the bodily functions. This increased efficiency may sometimes provide a competitive edge.
    Longer lives (replace cells): The life span of a multicellular individual is not limited to
    the life span of a particular cell. Multicellular animals can live, and produce offspring, for a longer period of time.”
    http://faculty.evansville.edu/de3/b39903/PDFs/Multicellularity.pdf

    So in my own words, I would say that multicellular organisms can constantly replenish and repair themselves by killing and reproducing cells constantly. Also, if a cell is designed for a specific function, it would be more efficient at performing its designated function. It sounds to me like the huge single-celled seaweed is acting as a multicellular single cell, if that’s at all possible. Its characteristics parallel that of a multicellular organism. Because it still has differentiation, I wonder how does the single cell organize itself and its intracellular functions to make that happen?

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  29. From a teleological perspective, what is the advantage of multicellularity, what is the advantage of making most every macro-creature out of really really small cells?
    "The first step in the development of a complex organism is the establishment of a pattern of cells with different states that can differentiate along different pathways. … [P]atterning processes require signalling between and within cells, leading ultimately to gene activation or inactivation. Such a process can lead to reliable patterns of cell activities only if all the cells have the same set of genes and obey the same rules [emphasis added].’1"
    http://creation.com/multicellularity

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  30. what is the advantage of making most every macro-creature out of really really small cells?
    Cells are physical entities that have a membrane of genectic material which participates in it's self-replication. Cells can interact with each otherwhich then form tissues, which is the base of macro-organismic life. Some cells are very independent and do not need or require macro-organismic life. So then the cell can still act with other cells in creating its own DNA by self-replication.

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  31. Cells work together either by killing each other to creat another entity or reproducing there are many ways that cells can self-replicate.

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  32. There are many advantages to making living organisms multicellular. The first is that it becomes a larger store for nutrients, as the nutrients can be stored in separate cells and channeled across membranes. Also as the cells combined have a large surface area, it is much easier for the cells to get nutrients from the environment for the organism's disposal. It also isolates changes in temperature, impact, etc. It also allows for the cells to become specialized, meaning that the cells can take on specific tasks for the advancement of the species.

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  33. There are numerous reasons why multicellularity is advantages for life. The first reason is the smaller the cell, the faster reactions and other life processes can take place. It also allows for greater organization. One of the biggest advantages is that multicellarity and small cells allow for greater diversity and complexity. Organs can be made of a variety of different specialized cells, all in the exact place they need to be. Having huge amounts of cells also means if some die, or have a defect, it will most likely not affect the organism.

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  34. Having multiple cells has many benefits to an organism. One, is that smaller cells increase the surface are ratio of the organism, allowing the organism to absorb more nutrients. Second, having many cells decreases the danger of losing a cell. If a cell is of a muliticellular organism is lost it will probably not stop the function of the organism. However, if one cell of a unicellular organism dies then the organism is, well, dead. Multicellularity makes it much easier for the organism to repair itself and respond to damage to itself. Third, multiple cells allow for differentiation to take place as well as the formation of tissues, organs, and organ systems.

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  35. Multicellularity allows the cell to have a variety of cells all working together. Different jobs for different cells and a numerous amount of those cells can produce an efficient system of life as well as protection for the cell.
    The variety of cells leads to more complexity as well.

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  36. I believe the advantages would be that it is easier to sustain life. One cell can live on its own, or a bunch of cells can form together to make a human being. Even maintaining wastes and nutrients seems to be more efficient in the sense that it is easier for a smaller entity to get the things needed. But in all honestly, this is Gods design and I believe that this is just a glimpse into His creative mind. He is so complicated, but so simple in the sense that a whole human as complicated as our structures are, are made from small cells single cells. I don’t know if it makes sence but its hard to put into words I guess :)

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  37. Benefits of multicellularity is being able to have division of labor between differentiated cells, and being able to have better resistance to changes in the environment.

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  38. The advantage of multicellularity is that you have more surface area. With more surface area you can increase everything including density and space. It is more efficient and I don’t think there are any negatives. It allows things to go in and out of the cell quicker and easier. With more surface area there is more endocytosis and exocytosis meaning the cells eats more and gets rid of waste quicker.

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  39. wow this is really an amazing organism for it to be able to form so many different structures from one cell. I find it very interesting. the advantage would be that organisms would be able to survive better with more cells. The simple mathematics of probability would explain that with more cells an organism has, the greater its chances of survival. i am not totally sure how to take a teleological stance on this because i am not sure how this would relate to the greater purpose of life. however, i do like Erik's stance on the subject of spiritual gifts and specialization. It just is a garter example of how God's created us to be and how that plan works. God proves His own methods through His creation over and over.

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  40. I remember talking about something similar in an earlier blog. Basically, cells progress at a more efficient level when there are many different cells doing individual things to benefit the whole. For example, what Micayla was saying about how there is a bigger surface area to soak in stuff like nutrients. In addition to that, we see so many cells that have a lifespan of a few weeks, but multicellular organisms, organs, tissue, and plants and animals live so much longer!

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