THE LAST TRANSMISSIONStories from the Edge of Science3D ATLAS / LIVING SYSTEMS / INNER WORLD 02
Cross the membrane, find the genome, and trace the cellular machinery. Choose a structure to reveal its story and the observations behind it.
Choose a structure. Drag to rotate; pinch or use the zoom buttons.
FILE 01 / LIVING SYSTEMS
Plasma membrane / a selective interface
The plasma membrane separates the interior from its surroundings and regulates exchange. This translucent shell keeps internal structures visible while giving the cell a defined edge. Its color and apparent thickness are artistic choices; this model does not resolve a lipid bilayer or membrane proteins.
FILE 02 / LIVING SYSTEMS
DNA / nuclear envelope / nucleolus
Most of this cell’s DNA is housed inside a membrane-bound nucleus. Pores in the nuclear envelope regulate traffic with the rest of the cell; the nucleolus is a region involved in making ribosomal components. The central sphere and luminous threads are a diagram of these relationships, not a mapped chromosome arrangement or a microscope image.
FILE 03 / LIVING SYSTEMS
Double membrane / folded inner membrane
Mitochondria use chemical gradients across their folded inner membranes to help produce ATP. They also retain a small genome. Genetic and biochemical evidence supports a bacterial ancestry through endosymbiosis; the timing and sequence of the larger eukaryotic transition remain research questions. The four glowing bodies here stand in for a variable, often dynamic network, not a measured count or position.
FILE 04 / LIVING SYSTEMS
Rough ER / ribosomes / protein production
The rough endoplasmic reticulum lies near and connects with the nuclear envelope. Ribosomes attached to it make proteins that enter the secretory pathway. In this scene, thin folded ribbons and pinpoint lights suggest the ER and ribosomes without claiming a faithful three-dimensional reconstruction of any one cell.
FILE 05 / LIVING SYSTEMS
Processing / sorting / dispatch
The Golgi receives proteins and lipids from the endoplasmic reticulum, modifies and sorts them, and helps dispatch them in vesicles. Its flattened stacks are recognizable in cell images, but the arcs and floating beads shown here are a simplified route map. Individual cargo molecules and their motion are not simulated.
This is a representative animal-type eukaryotic cell, drawn as a translucent teaching model. It is not a species-specific cell, a live simulation, or a photograph. Organelles vary between cell types and change shape and position over time. Their sizes, numbers, colors, and paths are arranged here for visibility; plant cells also have structures absent from this model, including chloroplasts and a cell wall.
The membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, ER, and Golgi are described in NIH’s cell organelle guide and OpenStax Biology 2e. For the mitochondrial origin, see the NCBI Bookshelf review.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVE
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SCALE LAB / THREE USEFUL COMPARISONS
Compare black-hole horizons, calculate a signal’s travel time, and zoom from a cell toward an atom. Every tool shows its working and the assumptions behind its answer.
Open Scale LabSCIENTIFIC INQUIRY / APPLIED HERE
Explore all twelve principlesThe cutaway organizes structures so their relationships can be explored. Real cells differ in shape, composition, and activity, and some structures are enlarged for visibility. Follow the reading links for the evidence behind a particular biological claim.
Ask yourself Which assumptions drive this result, and where would the model stop being useful?
FROM THE VISUAL ARCHIVE
Read the investigation ↗