Basic Bio

Students! Here is some basic biology knowledge that even your English teacher can understand. Therefore, since you know more than I do about biology concepts, you will surely understand and will be able to lean biological terms in English! I have written these definitions after studying in books and on the Internet.
Voici quelques connaissances generales en biologie, le fruits de mes modestes recherches! Si je comprends, vous comprendrez, car c'est votre domaine plus que ce n'est le mien. Et vous apprendrez sans mal quelques mots d'anglais.

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Last update: July 2013

 Cell: All living things are made of cells! All cells come from preexisting cells (cells that existed before). The cell is the fundamental unit of life.

Prokaryotic cells: From the greek "pro", which means "before". They are very simple and primitive but robust. They are at a lower stage of the evolution (they are less evolutionarily advanced than Eukariotic cells) and one of the oldest forms of life. They include bacteria and cyanobacteria. They don't have a nucleous: The DNA (in the shape of a circular ring) floats in the cytoplasm. They sometimes have a flagella (= a tail).

Prokaryotic cell

Eukaryotic cells: (attention, prononcez "eu-" = iou) They are a higher form of life, and their name comes from the greek "Eu", which means "good". They are more sophisticated and they have a defined nucleus containing DNA, and organelles.

Subcellular components: Elements which are contained within/inside a cell.

(ABOVE/ci-dessus) Organelles:
1 Nucleolus
2 Nucleus
3 Ribosomes (little dots)
4 Vesicle
5 Rough endoplasmic reticulum
6 Golgi apparatus
7 Cytoskeleton
8 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
9 Mitochondria
10 Vacuole
11 Cytosol
12 Lysosome
13 Centrioles within Centrosome
14 Cell membrane

Organelles: They are specialized subunits in a Eurokaryotic cell, floating in the cytoplasm. They each have a distinct structure and function in the processes of the cell (the eukaryotic cell).

Cytoskeleton: It is a protein structure that keeps/maintains the shape of the cell. It also helps move organelles around the cell. There are two types of cytoskeleton proteins:
                         - the microtubules:
They are big and thick hollow rods ( a rod is "tige" or baguette", hollow is "creux"). They form tracks (a track is "une piste") which the organelles can use to move around the cell.
                         - the microfilaments:
They are smaller and they are thin rods (thin means "fin" or "mince"), made of a protein called actin.

The cytoskeleton 

Sometimes, the microtubules are compared with a structure called a "scaffold".
Here is a picture of a scaffold: