Functions of the cell nucleus: What does the center of the cell do? (2023)

December 23th

Did you know that the nucleus, which is about 10 microns in diameter, is almost6 pies, that is, about 2 m of DNA?

Comparing the size of the nucleus to the length of DNA would be like comparing a blueberry to a roller coaster.

Despite its small size, theThe nucleus is the control center of the cell.! This little commander contains important information that influences the behavior of thebiowarriors, the heroes of the BioWars comics. He is also responsible for the reproduction of cells in our body.

But, what are the main functions of the cell nucleus? What kind of commands are there for thebiological cells?

Let's see why this small but mighty "cell brain" is important and what cool things it can do!

Want to know what the BioWarriors do and how they fight germs? Read the BioWars comic!

What is a core?

The nucleus is an organelle that most eukaryotic cells have.is where ourgenetic material is stored. This fact alone makes it one of the most important elements in our body!

The only human cells without a nucleus are the red blood cells and the corneal cells of our skin. On the other hand, there are some cells with more than one nucleus, such as liver cells and muscle fibers.

The nucleus is often referred to as the "control center" of the cell. But why? What does the core do to live up to that title?

Before delving into the functions of the nucleus and the importance of this organelle, we must go back to basic biology. Do you remember what organelles are? What about eukaryotic cells?

Why don't we answer these questions one by one to help you better understand the history of nuclei and why they are important?

The nucleus is an organelle.

Organelles are small structures within the cell that perform many important functions. The major organelles in eukaryotic cells include:

• Kern:the cell mentor
• mitochondria:Responsible for energy production.
• Ribosomes:Organelles that help make proteins, d. H. Molecules that fuel cells and keep them functioning.
• Cloroplasteno:These organelles are responsible for photosynthesis, i. H. the process of converting carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight, and water into oxygen and sugar, d. H. food
• Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER):A network full of ribosomes within a cell that help transport proteins and other molecules.
• Golgi apparatus, also known as Golgi Body:Like the ER, the Golgi apparatus helps transport proteins and lipids, especially when you need to transport them out of the cell.

The nucleus is a part of the structure of the eukaryotic cell.

Every living organism on the planet belongs to one of two categories.— Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes.

prokaryoteThey are small organisms with a single cell. For example bacteria, like the badribbonsThe bacteria from the BioWars comics belong to the prokaryotes.

The main difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is thatProkaryotes do not have a nucleus.! This type of cell has only a membrane, cytoplasm, DNA, and ribosomes.

eukaryotesThey are plant and animal cells, fungi and protists, that is, all eukaryotic organisms that do not belong to animals, plants or fungi.

The nucleus is one of the three main structural components of the eukaryotic cell.The other two companions are:

• The cell membrane:The membrane surrounds each of our cells. Its function is to prevent toxic substances, such as various acids, from entering cells. The protective membrane also contains receptors that allow communication between the cell and the extracellular space, that is, the cell's environment. The extracellular space contains nutrients and hormones that bind to receptors and trigger a metabolic response in a cell.
• The cytoplasm:This is the clear gel-like solution in all eukaryotic cells. It is where cells expand, grow and divide. Contains all the organelles including the nucleus.

Would you like to know how carcin and other cancer cells work? We can tell you!

What does the nucleus do in a cell?

As small as it is, the cell nucleus plays an important role in our body. Among a variety of important functions that it has, some of its main features are:

• Control the synthesis, that is,protein formation. We'll talk more about that soon!
• save theDeoxyribonucleic acid - DNA. Our genetic material lives in the walls of the cell nucleus!
• control the processMitosis!During mitosis, cells divide their genetic material into two nuclei, namely thereplicated dna. The replication process is important because once DNA cells divide, they create two new daughter cells with the same DNA. And these cell copies help tissues grow, like our liver tissue, and repair them when damaged!
• Transcribe DNA!The sequences of DNA molecules are copied, that is,transcribed in the nucleus to produce ribonucleic acid - RNA.The processes of transcription and creation of RNA arecrucial for subsequent protein production.

Would you like to discover more amazing things that our bodies can do? We are protecting you!

How is the core?

In most eukaryotic cellscore size ranges from 5 to 10 microns in diameter. Of all the organelles in our cells, the cell nucleus is the largest!

The shape of the nucleus varies from cell to cell. In most cases,the nuclei are spherical or round. They can also look like pears or resemble a teardrop.

However, some cells havemultilobed nucleus, like themneutrophilthat fight bacteria and help our bodies heal.

Most neutrophils have three or four lobed nuclei. When a neutrophil nucleus has only one lobe, it is usually a sign of abnormality.

Generally,The shape of a nucleus can change when someone gets sick.. For example, people with premature aging syndrome, which causes them to age rapidly from early childhood, have larger nuclei than normal neutrophil nuclei. Its shape is also distorted.

The screenshot below shows the difference between a normal neutrophilic nucleus (left) and the nucleus of a person with premature aging syndrome (right).

AutoNormal aging can lead to changes in the shape of the cell nucleus.In most cases, the nuclei of an older adult lose their spherical shape and look more like stones.

Scientists have also discovered this.People with cancer have cells with abnormally shaped nuclei. In fact, nuclear shape changes are one of the most important factors that help researchers identify embedded cancer cells as malignant.carcinomano BioWars universe.

What is the core structure?

When split in half, the core has a thread-like texture. Think of a basket of wool after a kitten is gone. this basket of woolconsists of nuclear envelope, nuclear pores, nucleoplasm, chromosomes, and nucleolus.Let's look at each of these structural parts:

• atomic envelope:It consists of the inner and outer membrane. your homework isprotect the genetic material of the cell and keep it away from other cellular components.
• Kernpore:Nuclear pores are small channels on the surface of the nuclear envelope. it is your missionallow communication between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.For example, they allow proteins to enter the nucleus of the cell.
• Nucleoplasma:The gel-like area within the nuclear envelope. Store DNA and more34%protein-coding genes, which are genes that tell the body to make proteins. In addition, the nucleoplasm storesNucleotides: The building blocks of DNA and RNA.
• chromosomes:chromosomesconsist of DNA molecules, that is, transmitting genetic material from one generation to the next. You know how several generations of a family have the same eye color? All chromosomes do this! They usually come in pairs. Every cell in our body contains23pairs of chromosomes or 46 chromosomes in total.
• Nucleolus:The largest structure within the nucleus responsible for producing ribosomes.

People sometimes confuse Nucleolus with Nucleus, so let's find out more about Nucleolus and all the amazing things it can do.

What is the difference between nucleus and nucleolus?

Despite having similar names, the nucleolus and the nucleus are two completely different cell structures.

The nucleolus is an organelle within the nucleus of the cell. It is usually spherical and shows up as a dark spot in the nucleus.

Although extremely small, theThe nucleolus plays an important role in our body - it creates ribosomes!

You see, as soon as the nucleoli form the ribosomes, the ribosomes leave their homes. They migrate to the cytoplasm through nuclear spores.

In the cytoplasm they find the messenger RNA, that is, the mRNA.

mRNA is the RNA that has left the nucleus and carries the DNA's instructions for making proteins. The mRNA communicates the design of the protein to the ribosomes through codons, a chain of 3 nucleotides, each of which corresponds to an amino acid.Think of amino acids as molecules that build proteins!

Once the ribosomes arrive at the crime scene, the mRNA binds to them. and that's whenThe translation process begins: the ribosomes begin to read the codons and translate them into protein chains!

In addition to the formation of ribosomes, the nucleolus plays another important role.

In recent years, scientists have begun to understandthe importance of nucleoli in the regulation of p53 activation— the tumor suppressor protein that enters the nucleus of the cell.

In most cancers, the p53 protein is altered so that p53 stops working instead of preventing tumor formation. But according to an article published indaily science,Chemotherapy targeting the nucleoli can help reactivate the p53 gene and encourage it to fight off infected cells.

Our bodies already have an elite cadre of natural killer cells (NKCs) that unleash cytotoxic bursts on cancer cells. In the BioWars universe, the NKC are personified as the fearless leader of the NKC, Cid, and his trusted soldier.syringe. The two lead the NKC squad and command it to kill.virusand infected cells.

In the event that the NKCs fail to defeat the evil invaders, it's reassuring to know that targeting the nucleolus with drugs can help prevent cancer cells from spreading.

Meet the rest of the BioWars army and find out how they protect the immune system!

Important information about the functions of the cell nucleus.

The nucleus is one of the most important elements in eukaryotic cells. The nucleus not only contains our genetic material, but it is also where mitosis takes place, which is crucial for cell growth and the replacement of older cells.

Also, transcription takes place in the nucleus when DNA is transcribed into RNA. And our body needs RNA to synthesize proteins!

What fascinates you the most about nuclei? Leave us a comment below!