Cell communication (biology)
In cells, DNA is housed in the nucleus and it never leaves. The DNA within the nucleus is transcribed by tRNA, and the transcriptions of the DNA become RNA. The RNA (ribonucleic acid) leaves the nucleus to float freely around the cytoplasm, and it contains the instructions of the DNA that are vital to the coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. The ribosomes then take the RNA messages and turn them into proteins that build cells. When a virus enters a cell and inserts its DNA code into the nucleus, it gets transcribed and released into the cell for the ribosome to make it into a protein. This is how viral infections occur. The cell then explodes with the overproduction of the virus, releasing it into the body to infect any and all other cells it finds. It is theorized that through evolution, cells developed a defense system called RNAi (RNA interference) to stop the production of the proteins that have suspicious mirror image messages of the RNA. They don’t just destroy the suspicious messages, but the correct messages as well to stop all production of that message. This is a cell’s self-destruct mechanism and every cell, plant and animal, have RNAi: a way to turn off the production of a certain gene inside the protein.
Cell biology
The study of the cell is done on a molecular level; however, most of the processes within the cell are made up of a mixture of small organic molecules, inorganic ions, hormones, and water. Approximately 75-85% of the cell's volume is due to water making it an indispensable solvent as a result of its polarity and structure. These molecules within the cell, which operate as substrates, provide a suitable environment for the cell to carry out metabolic reactions and signalling. The cell shape varies among the different types of organisms, and are thus then classified into two categories: eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In the case of eukaryotic cells - which are made up of animal, plant, fungi, and protozoa cells - the shapes are generally round and spherical or oval while for prokaryotic cells – which are composed of bacteria and archaea - the shapes are: spherical (cocci), rods (bacillus), curved (vibrio), and spirals ("spirochetes)".