cell: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 26, 2026

News •

How L-carnitine, found in red meat and exercise supplements, may amplify inflammation • Oct. 22, 2026, 2:20 PM ET (Medical Xpress)

They Created a Cell That’s Almost Alive. What to Do With It Now? • Oct. 14, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (New York Times)

Facts

Also Known As	cell system

Photos and Videos

Artist's illustration of human nerve cells showing a central neuron with a green nucleus, branching dendrites, and glowing signals traveling along axons against a dark background.

Illustration comparing three cell types: a round animal cell and an irregularly shaped plant cell, both showing labeled organelles, and an elongated bacteria cell with labeled structures such as flagella and capsule.

Cutaway illustration of a eukaryotic animal cell showing labeled internal structures, including the nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and other organelles.

Diagram of the eight-step tricarboxylic acid cycle showing the sequence of metabolites from acetyl CoA through citrate, isocitrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, succinyl CoA, succinate, fumarate, malate, and oxaloacetate, with arrows indicating the flow of reactions and production of ATP, NADH, FADH2, and CO2.

Diagram illustrating the process of protein synthesis: DNA unzips in the nucleus, messenger RNA (mRNA) forms on the DNA strands, and then mRNA moves to a ribosome where transfer RNA (tRNA) helps assemble amino acids into a protein chain.

Diagram showing early human embryo development. The top row illustrates ovum cleavage from a single cell to a morula. The bottom row shows blastocyst formation and implantation, with labeled cell structures.

Detailed diagram of a plasma membrane's lipid bilayer showing two layers of phospholipid molecules with hydrophilic heads facing outward and hydrophobic tails inward, embedded cholesterol, integral (intrinsic) proteins spanning the membrane, peripheral (extrinsic) proteins attached to the surface, and sugar side chains extending from the outer face.

Red blood cells

How Are Plant Cells Different from Animal Cells?

Functions of cells

The video thumbnail image shows an illustration of an animal cell next to a photo of a whale swimming in the oean.

How Do Organelles Work in Plant and Animal Cells?

The function of the cell membrane in biology explained

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Topics

endocytosis radiosensitivity myocyte irritability hepatocyte endocrine cell anaerobe blood cell germ cell receptor Biosphere ecosystem DNA community Organ multicellular organism evolution heredity death Biology

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Key People

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Torbjörn Oskar Caspersson

Swedish cytologist and geneticist

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Daniel Mazia

American biologist

Rudolf Virchow

Rudolf Virchow

German pathologist and statesman

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Fred H. Gage

American geneticist

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Lynn Margulis

American biologist

Ralph M. Steinman.

Ralph M. Steinman

Canadian immunologist and cell biologist

Ohsumi, Yoshinori

Yoshinori Ohsumi

Japanese biologist

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Günter Blobel

German-American scientist

Rothman, James E.

James E. Rothman

American biochemist and cell biologist

Schekman, Randy W.

Randy W. Schekman

American biochemist and cell biologist

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Elizabeth Stern

Canadian pathologist

Purkinje, Jan Evangelista

Jan Evangelista Purkinje

Czech physiologist

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John Sulston

British biologist

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Paul Alfred Weiss

American biologist

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Albert Claude

Belgian-American cytologist

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Max Schultze

German zoologist

Beneden, Edouard van

Edouard van Beneden

Belgian embryologist and cytologist

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Keith Roberts Porter

American biologist

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George E. Palade

Romanian-born American cell biologist

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Walther Flemming

German biologist

Mechanism of cellular autophagy, illustration for Nobel Prize Award in Medicine 2016. 3D illustration showing fusion of lysosome with autophagosome containing microbes and molecules.

Parts of a Cell Quiz

greylag. Flock of Greylag geese during their winter migration at Bosque del Apache National Refugee, New Mexico. greylag goose (Anser anser)

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