The image above was lifted from an article in "The Daily Mail," found here.
It is a really bad representative cell, since it is a famous cancer cell line known as HeLa cells and it behaves in ways very much unlike good, normal cells. But, you can see a nucleus (stained for DNA in blue) and some fibers that are part of the "cytoskeleton." To see those, the researchers have used a technique to make them glow either red (microtubules) or green (actin fibers…or microfilaments.

In the same way that one can trace your heritage using your DNA, the evolutionary history of all living things can be fit to a tree of life. You might be surprised where you fall.

I want to refresh you somewhat concerning the chemistry you will need to know to understand biology. Also, we use a "short-hand" notation when drawing organic molecules (molecules including carbon and hydrogen). This blog introduces you to that system, and some of the functional groups we will use consistently.

Introduction to a new and fun form of isomer!