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Cell Membrane Structure and Function > Links
An amazingly thin membrane surrounds each cell on Earth and, for eukaryotic cells, defines internal compartments known as organelles that perform specialized functions. These links provide information about membrane structure and function.
1) How Is the Structure of a Membrane Related to Its Function?
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Membrane Structure
- Which component(s) of a membrane give it its fluid characteristics? What features keep a membrane from freezing? How are proteins arranged in a membrane? Use this site to review membrane structure.
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Lipids
- This site uses effective diagrams to describe the basic structure of lipids in cellular membranes.
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Lipid Bilayer
- This Web site provides a brief overview of lipid bilayers. Click on the links to learn more.
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2) How Do Substances Move Across Membranes?
Membrane Transport
- All cells must use proteins in the membrane to regulate entry and exit of most molecules. Here is a good overview of membrane transport processes.
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Membrane Transport Animations
- See some good animations of passive and active transport at this site.
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Endocytosis
- At this site you can review the three types of endocytosis: phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis. Click on Exocytosis at the bottom of the page to learn about the reverse process.
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Membrane Tutorial
- Work through this excellent tutorial for a deeper understanding about cell membrane structure and function.
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3) How Are Cell Surfaces Specialized?
Epithelia
- Proteins in the plasma membrane of a cell interact with proteins in neighboring cells to hold the cells together in a tissue. The variety of cell organizations in epithelia are shown in this neat Web site.
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Cell Wall
- From this page you can find more information about cell walls in plants.
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Penicillin
- Typically, bacteria have cell walls, and antibiotics such as penicillin can kill bacteria by interfering with their ability to manufacture their walls. The movie shown here demonstrates what happens to bacteria when they cannot properly build a cell wall. The sound effects are, of course, not real. Other links on this page provide additional information about antibiotics.
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Fungi
- In addition to plants, bacteria, and some protists, fungi also have cell walls. This site provides extensive information about fungi, including their fossil record.
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2003
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