Cells are awfully efficient and high performing structures that we are blessed to have all around us, whether that be on the table you're leaning on, the food you're eating right now (and most liekly dropping onto your laptop as your read this very sentence) and every other nameable object! We should be really grateful to them that we are able to live our lives without needing to worry about protein synthesis or chemical balance and all that scientific jazz, but because we are curious humans and our minds are so complex that we have a desire to fulfill every question and query, we can wonder,  'What happens when our cells don't work the way they should? How do they keep performing so well and what do they need to survive?'.

 

So, what do cells need? They mainly need 2 things; energy and oxygen. Cells need energy to perform their daily duties such as chemical reactions, cellular movement etc. which in turn, requires oxygen.  so it's not so complex but there are other ways to make sure your cells are functioning at maximum performance and at maximum efficiency! 

 

1) A stable environment-  a cell needs a stable environment otherwise it would have to adapt to too many things and overwork itself. The cell often encoutneres situations where their environmet cannot support them, hence they perform homeostasis, a process which allows them to maintain a contant and balanced internal environment.  

 

2) Energy- which can come in 2 forms; chemical or physical. An example of chemical energy is the nutrients from digesting energy-rch foods. An example of physical energy is sunlight, in which the cell can take just from being in the presence of the sun. Cells need energy to do everything they have to to keep us up and running. This energy may not be in the form it needs when first taken in, therefore is converted or transformed into a more useful form.  For example, the cells need heat energy to keep a stable temperature therefore they need energy to keep at a condition where they can perform at high efficiency. Also, the formation of chemical bonds releases lots of energy (conversely, breaking bonds takes a lot of energy) therefore the cell is constantly undergoing chemical reactions to produce enough energy. 

 

3) Oxygen and Glucose- In order to respire, the cell needs to have an abundance or a rich source of oxygen to produce a chemical called ATP (also known as our energy source). ATP, scientifically known as Adenosine Triphosphate, is a product of aerobic respiration and is responsible for transporting the chemical energy the mitochondria has transformed/ ingested to aid the cell's metabolism. For the cell to metabolise, the ATP is to be broken into its original 3 phosphate groups before being reformed again during aerobic respiration. This is an interesting concept as it would mean that the ATP is constantly being recycled in the cell, boosting efficiency and productivity. 

 

4) Membrane- The cell membrane plays the role of the protector in a cell and without it, the cell would not be so resistent to large amounts of pressure and change. It is important the the membrane remains fatty, healthy and undamaged so that the cell can survive for longer and function better. The membrane also controls which substances can enter and leave the cell, meaning that it is responsible for keeping the cell  concentration the same as its' surrounding environment whilst removing unecessary cellular waste. Without the membrane, the cell would not be able to perform diffusion (when the higher concentration subtance moves to the lower concentration substance to find equilibrium) and hence would not recieve nutrients and remove waste. 

 

5) It's organelles- The organelles are what make the cell able to function in a more organized and advanced manner. Each organelle has a specific contribution to the overall purpose of the cell (to learn more, locate yourself to the Cell Organelles page) so without it, the cell would be, well... non-efficient and dysfunctional. 

 

The cell needs so much to keep itself functioning, and these are only the general subheadings. In truth, there is so much more going on behind the scenes that we- scientist and eople alike- have not yet found an explanation for.