Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Metaplasia occurs when a cell of a certain type is replaced by another cell type, which may be less differentiated. It is a reversible process thought to be caused by stem cell reprogramming. Stem cells are found in epithelia and embryonic mesenchyme of connective tissue. A prominent example of metaplasia involves the changes associated with ...
Its shape can change in response to changes in its environment or other factors; each possible shape is called a conformation, and a transition between them is called a conformational change. Factors that may induce such changes include temperature, pH, voltage, light in chromophores, concentration of ions, phosphorylation, or the binding of a ...
Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell changes from one type to a differentiated one. [2] [3] Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellular organism as it changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types.
The equivalent process in animal cells is called crenation. The liquid content of the cell leaks out due to exosmosis. The cell collapses, and the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall (in plants). Most animal cells consist of only a phospholipid bilayer (plasma membrane) and not a cell wall, therefore shrinking up under such conditions.
It generally involves drastic changes in cell shape which are driven by the cytoskeleton. Two very distinct migration scenarios are crawling motion (most commonly studied) and blebbing motility. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] A paradigmatic example of crawling motion is the case of fish epidermal keratocytes, which have been extensively used in research and teaching.
Morphogenesis (from the Greek morphê shape and genesis creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of tissue growth and patterning of cellular differentiation .
Cell shape changes through mitosis for a typical animal cell cultured on a flat surface. The cell undergoes mitotic cell rounding during spindle assembly and then divides via cytokinesis. The actomyosin cortex is depicted in red, DNA/chromosomes purple, microtubules green, and membrane and retraction fibers in black. Rounding also occurs in ...
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...