What is a cell?

 

What is a cell?

What is a cell?

Cells are the basic building blocks of living things. The human body is composed of trillions of cells, all with their own specialised function.

What is a cell?

  • Cells are the basic structures of all living organisms.
  • Cells provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food and carry out important functions.
  • Cells group together to form tissues, which in turn group together to form organs, such as the heart and brain.
  • Our cells contain a number of functional structures called organelles.
  • These organelles carry out tasks such as making proteins, processing chemicals and generating energy for the cell.
  • The nucleus is based at the centre of the cell and is the ‘control room’ for the cell.
  • The genome is found within the nucleus.

Illustration showing the structures of an animal cell. Image credit: Genome Research Limited

Illustration showing the structures of an animal cell.
Image credit: Genome Research Limited

This page was last updated on 2021-07-21

How helpful was this page?

👎 👍 Send

What's the main reason for your rating?

Send

Which of these best describes your occupation?

Send

how old are students / how old are you?

Send

What is the first part of your school's postcode?

Send

How has the site influenced you (or others)?

Send

Thankyou, we value your feedback!

If you have any other comments or suggestions, please let us know at comment@yourgenome.org

Feedback

Can you spare 5-8 minutes to tell us what you think of this website? Open survey