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The three main structures phospholipids form in solution; the liposome (a closed bilayer), the micelle and the bilayer. The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes are flat sheets that form a continuous barrier around all cells.
Membrane lipids are a group of compounds (structurally similar to fats and oils) which form the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The three major classes of membrane lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol. Lipids are amphiphilic: they have one end that is soluble in water ('polar') and an ending that is soluble in fat ...
The cell membrane has different lipid and protein compositions in distinct types of cells and may have therefore specific names for certain cell types. Sarcolemma in muscle cells: Sarcolemma is the name given to the cell membrane of muscle cells. [46] Although the sarcolemma is similar to other cell membranes, it has other functions that set it ...
The energy derived from the pumping of protons across a cell membrane is frequently used as the energy source in secondary active transport. In humans, sodium (Na + ) is a commonly cotransported ion across the plasma membrane, whose electrochemical gradient is then used to power the active transport of a second ion or molecule against its ...
Phospholipids are a key component of all cell membranes. They can form lipid bilayers because of their amphiphilic characteristic. In eukaryotes, cell membranes also contain another class of lipid, sterol, interspersed among the phospholipids. The combination provides fluidity in two dimensions combined with mechanical strength against rupture.
In non-excitable cells, and in excitable cells in their baseline states, the membrane potential is held at a relatively stable value, called the resting potential. For neurons, resting potential is defined as ranging from –80 to –70 millivolts; that is, the interior of a cell has a negative baseline voltage of a bit less than one-tenth of a ...
The egg cell or ovum (pl.: ova) is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, [ 1 ] in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is not capable of movement (non- motile). If the male gamete (sperm) is capable of movement, the type of ...
A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another. Biological membranes, in the form of eukaryotic cell membranes, consist of a ...