I didn’t want to change the video title because it was perfect.
It’s Friday and therefore I present you with two beautiful animations about the inner workings of a cell. Bring a packed lunch, your camera and a big bag of excitement and hop on the tour bus guiding you through an animal and a plant cell. “Over there you can see the world’s largest mitochondrion. Few people know that it was the inspiration for the Michelin man…” I hope that these videos will not only show you how complex and fascinating cells are, but also how much similarities there are between animal and plant cells. Cells rock!
Apoptosis is a mechanism in which death of an unhealthy cell is initiated and orchestrated through a tightly controlled molecular cascade. The steps of this cascade are visualised in this video. Drew Berry, who created the stunning animation, says: “The technique I used to make it work was difficult and very slow to pull off. The whole 4 min sequence took me around 12 months to research, construct and generate the imagery. I think visually it is my most successful piece at showing the mechanisms that emerge from randomly wandering, cytoplasmic molecules and membrane bound receptors.” (Molecular Animation of...
Have you ever wondered how things might look like inside your body, inside every tiny cell? Check out these stunning photo-realistic and interactive rendered “Cellular Landscapes” by Cell Signaling Technology. The image above shows the cellular landscape around a mitochondrion, which is also known as the “power station” of the cell because it produces energy. In the background you see the cytoskeleton, the cell’s “railway tracks”, transport vesicles and a lot of other important cell components. You can explore the cellular landscape in two ways: move your mouse over the image to find out more about individual structures and...
The Khan Academy is on a mission to provide free online educational resources for everyone, no matter if you are a student, teacher or “a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology”. With over 2700 videos available, they are doing very well! This blackboard-style video explains the different parts of a cell.
I thought it would be a fun experiment to try and put together a Plant Cell Biology Advent Calendar, with christmas-sy entries related to plants, cells, biology or science! I am not entirely sure yet if I will manage to post something every day since I will be spending most of my time over the next couple of weeks at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – but I’ll do my best! Happy first December and ching-ching-ching! (
Our new science music video is online! This video is a collaboration between plant cell biologists at Oxford Brookes University, the University of Warwick and the musician Cyrus Mower. We love plant organelles and we want to share our passion with the world!
Halloween is approaching quickly and if you don’t have a costume yet and love science, why not come up with something completely different? Here are some ideas: 1) Green fluorescent protein Green fluorescent protein (or short, GFP) glows brightly in the dark. Use neon green A0 cardboard to create a tube and cut out holes for your arms. Or, for a more advanced version, get some glow-in-the-dark spray paint to enhance your outfit. Then take a torch or laser pointer, shine it on yourself, jump up and down and shout: “I am so excited!” 2) Actin cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton...
Check out this amazing Sushi Cell by “Scientist In Training”! The kidney beans are mitochondria, the Golgi bodies are made from spam and rice resembles the cytoplasm. I am hungry now!
Did you know that the 21st of May is Talk Like Yoday Day? If unsure how to speak like yoda you are, this neat website try. Paste your text in the box and, translate it for you, will it! Yeesssssss. YouTube user ScenicDude put together this little video from cell biology animations and Star Wars music. It made me laugh. A lot. “Infinite like the universe, the creativity of biology students is.”
YouTube user mrspereiraclass uploaded this very nice animation which explains the parts of a plant cell and the functions of specialised cells in different parts of the whole plant.
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