Cell Membrane Structure and Function

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Learn about the plasma membrane that surrounds all cells and keeps them alive!

Transcript:
All cells are completely surrounded by a membrane that separates them from their environment, kind of like how your skin completely covers your body. This cell membrane is sometimes called the plasma membrane, and it acts as a barrier, regulating what gets in and out of the cell. Because the membrane lets some things through but not others, we say that the membrane is semi-permeable or selectively permeable.

If we zoom in on the membrane, we can see that it is made of several molecular parts.
Most of the membrane is made of molecules called phospholipids. Phospholipids have a head made of phosphate and 2 tails made of fatty acids. The heads are hydrophilic, meaning that they are attracted to water, or literally, “water loving.” The tails, however, are hydrophobic, meaning that they repel water. Literally, hydrophobic means “water fearing.” Because of these properties, phospholipids form two layers known as a phospholipid bilayer, with the hydrophobic tails facing each other and the hydrophilic heads facing the watery external environment and the watery cytoplasm inside of the cell. So, the water lovers get to be next to water and the water fearers can hide away from it—a perfect arrangement. The phospholipid bilayer is the main component of the membrane, and it is largely responsible for making the membrane semi-permeable. Basically, the smaller and less charged something is, the easier it is to pass through the phospholipid bilayer. Bigger, more charged things have a harder time.

A second membrane component is cholesterol. Although people often think of cholesterol as a bad thing, it’s actually a very important part of cell membranes, where it helps to stabilize the membrane and make it better at controlling what can pass through it.

Proteins are another important part of the membrane. They do many functions, but one of the most important ones is transporting materials across the membrane, especially if they have a hard time passing through the phospholipid bilayer.

A fourth membrane component is carbohydrates. These are often involved in cell identification. Blood types, for example, are the result of membrane carbohydrates attached to proteins. These help you to identify blood that belongs to you and distinguish it from foreign invaders.
All of these components work together to make the plasma membrane that surrounds all cells, a critically important barrier needed for all life on earth!

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abdullahmohammed
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DudeeProPlus
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mollygrigg
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This video was a good break from the constant reading I am doing. Thank you for the visual and useful info.

Lee-soub
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Thank you so much! This helped me better understand the cell membrane structure and function.

playstation
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I usually don't comment on youtube videos but I have to on this one it was very easy straight to the point explained in easy words it was just perfect

wardon
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I was bothering about this topic and wandering the whole YouTube untill I found this video whic literally just made me understand the whole plasma membrane in like 3 mints there are a lot of lectures of more than 1 hour on YouTube but they are worthless... You did a great job loved it!!! **SUBSCRIBED!!**

abhayyadav
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Animation helps us understanding the biology more better❤

AlfiyaSolanki-xo
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You can't tell me with this well arranged part of "only the cell membrane" God does not exist, or that it came by accident

vncstudios
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This was so easy to understand. Thank you!

DeliciousAnt
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Blaster-etitz
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Perfect job at explaining cell membrane structure and function

samerabreese
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It really helped me a lot . Thanks a bunch 👍 😊

Jashandeepvyqs
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What a video maker you are
All of content in this I perfectly understand 💖

tarunop
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LOVE‼I usually hate background music, but this was the best🥰❤ Awesome visuals & narration.🙌🏾

skinnailsnurse
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great simple understandable explanation, thank you BioMan!

renoyo
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Best animated video and explained perfectly

isherotime
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Thank you! This was explained so simply yet to detailed! This cleared things up for me as I am learning this in Living Environment right now!

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