One of the most remarkable things about cell biology is apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Probably an epigenetic process, it is the difference between organism life and death and shows the intricacies of cell communication mechanisms. One mistake and you have a paddle instead of a hand, or no eyes. Life emerging from death.In order to understand this one needs to understand cell physiology and communication well. I plan on going there with my BIOS 250B students this session. Cell biology is the essence of all biology because it is at the cell level that the non-living pieces (DNA, ATP, oxygen, glucose) come together to make LIFE, truly greater than the sum of its parts. Apoptosis even shows how life requires death. Not magic, just totally wonderful, and a picture of the universe itself.
What a gorgeous collection. The human body replaces perhaps a million cells a second. Too little or too much Apoptosis plays a role in a great many diseases. I hope I got it right time. Thanks a lot......
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