Animal Cell Process Lab Report

It was time to depart. The engines had been warmed up, the supplies were ready and the equipment had been installed and was ready to use. “Five, four, three, two, one, BLAST-Off” chanted Captain Xerox at headquarters, and with that our micro-V96 craft was propelled towards the cell membrane for the first leg of our journey to investigate the process of Protein Synthesis in a eukaryotic animal cell. The cell membrane is a delicate wall of phospholipid molecules, consisting of hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails that swayed and looked like a mosaic. Our craft could not enter the cell directly through the semi-permeable membrane as it consisted of a negatively charged polysaccharide which was too large and was moving against the concentration gradient. “Hurry up Yasmin” yelled …show more content…
Out of my rear view mirror I see a relatively small vesicle moving towards our craft. Without notice, it attacks our craft. I manage to steer clear of the attacking organelle; however our craft has sustained some damage. I send a SOS call to captain Xerox. “Captain Xerox speaking. Your craft has been attacked by a lysosome. Lysosomes are small specialised vesicles that hold a variety of enzymes. Their role is to digest particular molecules that enter the cell. That was a close one. You are currently experiencing a leak from your craft, of Botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. Clostridium Botulinum is a contaminant incorporated in the crafts shell and is one of the most poisonous poisons present. The cell is very lucky the lysosome has isolated and digested the toxin before cell function was affected. That was a close one!” Just in time the concentration gradient was ready, and it was time for us to exit the cell. As the craft passed through the semi permeable membrane, I remark “ wasn’t that a journey of a life